Descriptive Feedback A Powerful Tool for Raising Student Achievement

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Descriptive Feedback A Powerful Tool for
Raising Student Achievement
High School Late Start Meeting Learning Team
Professional Development Developed by The
Department of Safe Schools Single School Culture?
for Academics
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Lets review Descriptive Feedback
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There are two types of feedback

Evaluative
Descriptive
Youre doing better. Good job you got a B!
You used the correct formula. Now go back and
check your computation.

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What Is Descriptive Feedback?
Specific information in the form of written
comments or conversations that help the learner
understand what he or she needs to do in order to
improve.
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What is Evaluative Feedback?

• A summary for the student of how well she or
  he has performed on a particular task.
• In the form of
• Letter grades
• Numbers
• Check marks
• General comments such as good,
• excellent, or needs improvement.

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How are Descriptive Feedback and
Evaluative Feedback different?
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Descriptive vs. Evaluative

• Non-specific
• Analyzes and
• grades student
• work.
• Is related
• to a score by
• using letters, numbers or other symbols.

• Specific
• Analyzes and
• compares student
• work to rubrics,
• standards,
• exemplars
• Is related
• to performance and
• the improvement of
• performance.

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Why is Descriptive Feedback so important?

• It provides opportunities for the learner to
• Make adjustments
• Create improvement toward mastery of a specified
  standard.

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Why is Descriptive Feedback so important?

• Clear, concise feedback matched to standards will
  promote student achievement. (OConnor,
  2002)
• Research confirms..
• Specific, descriptive feedback that focuses on
  success and points the way to improvement has a
  positive effect. (Davies, 2002)

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It is the quality of feedback that determines its
power.
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Quality Feedback should include three critical
elements

• Strengths
• Areas to Improve
• Improvement Strategies

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Give your students a Feedback Sandwich!

• The Areas to Improve are layered between
  praise of strengths and a plan to build the
  weaknesses into strengths.

(www.sofweb.vic.edu.au)
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Step 1 Strengths

• Identify at least one positive aspect of the
  students work to emphasize.
• Tip Use the wording of the rubric if necessary
  to help you express students strengths.

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Step 2 Areas to Improve

• Identify a specific weakness that, if corrected,
  could result in improvement.
• Dont overwhelm students with too many areas in
  which to improve - focus on the one that would be
  most productive.
• Tip Always connect feedback to the learning
  goals.

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Step 3 Improvement Strategies

• Help students by identifying an appropriate
  strategy that is connected to the weakness you
  mentioned.
• Follow up by helping students to create a focused
  plan for improvement that includes the identified
  strategy.
• Tip Be sure to monitor students progress as
  they implement their improvement plans.

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Quality Feedback
Ineffective Feedback

• timely

• delayed

• relevant

• irrelevant

• concise

• overwhelming

• specific

• general

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No matter how you provide feedback, students must
develop and follow a plan of action for
improvement!
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Review Descriptive Feedback Information on Page 2
of the Teacher Packet
Page 2
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What kind of Descriptive Feedback would you
give students following a Short- or
Extended-Response Question?
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Content Area Small Group Activity

• Directions
• Bring the Short- and Extended-Response student
  samples to your small group meeting
• Five unscored Short-Response Questions
• Five unscored Extended-Response Questions

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(Directions continued)

• As a small group or with a partner
• 1. Read the Short- and/or Extended-Response
  Question.
• 2. List the qualities of a top-response.
• 3. Individually score each student sample using
  the appropriate rubric.
• 4. Give written descriptive feedback to each
  student
• Strengths
• Areas to Improve
• Improvement Strategies

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References

• Davies, A. (2000). Making Classroom Assessment
  Work. Courtenay Connections Publishing
• Marzano, R., Pickering, J., Pollock, D. (2001).
  Classroom Instruction That Works Research-based
  Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement.
  Alexandria ASCD
• OConnor, K. (2002). How to Grade for Learning.
  Glenview Pearson