Exploring MultimoDal Assessments
Project Description, Research Question, and MEthods
Project Description, Research Question, and MEthods
I teach a semester-long high school World Literature course in the DeKalb County School District in Georgia, United States. My school is on a block schedule, which consists of four 90-minute classes a day. As a result, the World Literature course is broken up into four units. Unit plans are created and provided by the district office, which outline the standards to be covered, essential questions, corresponding big ideas, required assessments, and suggested performance assessments. Each unit has specific state standards that are referred to as priority standards that teachers must teach and assess throughout the unit. The unit also includes supporting standards, which are additional standards that can be tied into the lessons to supplement the priority standards. Supporting standards can be included in assessments, but are not required to be assessed. The district office also provides a list of suggested novels, non-fiction articles and texts, poetry, and other resources for each unit.
I teach a semester-long high school World Literature course in the DeKalb County School District in Georgia, United States. My school is on a block schedule, which consists of four 90-minute classes a day. As a result, the World Literature course is broken up into four units. Unit plans are created and provided by the district office, which outline the standards to be covered, essential questions, corresponding big ideas, required assessments, and suggested performance assessments. Each unit has specific state standards that are referred to as priority standards that teachers must teach and assess throughout the unit. The unit also includes supporting standards, which are additional standards that can be tied into the lessons to supplement the priority standards. Supporting standards can be included in assessments, but are not required to be assessed. The district office also provides a list of suggested novels, non-fiction articles and texts, poetry, and other resources for each unit.
Going into Unit 1, I knew I wanted to give students the county-created post-assessment, which consists of seven multiple-choice questions and one constructed response question, along with a multimodal project created by me. My two general-level classes took these assessments. My first period class is a World Literature collaboration class with 15 general-level students and ten special education students. My second period class is a general-level World Literature class with no special education students. The demographics of these classes are as follows:
Going into Unit 1, I knew I wanted to give students the county-created post-assessment, which consists of seven multiple-choice questions and one constructed response question, along with a multimodal project created by me. My two general-level classes took these assessments. My first period class is a World Literature collaboration class with 15 general-level students and ten special education students. My second period class is a general-level World Literature class with no special education students. The demographics of these classes are as follows:
The demographics of the class are important because my African American and Hispanic students consistently produced lower test scores than my Asian and Caucasian students. As has been widely researched and as Erin Hamel asserts, "US schools privilege European, American, middle class, Christian, English-only literacy practices" (429). This could be a contributing factor to the discrepancy in scores and emphasizes why multimodal assessments can serve as equalizers in the high school English classroom. All except two of these students are sophomores. One is classified as a freshman, due to a lack of credits, and one is classified as a junior.
The demographics of the class are important because my African American and Hispanic students consistently produced lower test scores than my Asian and Caucasian students. As has been widely researched and as Erin Hamel asserts, "US schools privilege European, American, middle class, Christian, English-only literacy practices" (429). This could be a contributing factor to the discrepancy in scores and emphasizes why multimodal assessments can serve as equalizers in the high school English classroom. All except two of these students are sophomores. One is classified as a freshman, due to a lack of credits, and one is classified as a junior.
As shown in the graphic below, 62.2% of my students have a lexile level under 1080, which means they do not read on a tenth-grade reading level. This information is important because this could also be a factor in why they struggle on the county-mandated multiple-choice test and why they did not perform well on their End-Of-Course Test in ninth grade.
As shown in the graphic below, 62.2% of my students have a lexile level under 1080, which means they do not read on a tenth-grade reading level. This information is important because this could also be a factor in why they struggle on the county-mandated multiple-choice test and why they did not perform well on their End-Of-Course Test in ninth grade.
As evidenced in the graphic below, 45.5 % of my students in these classes were either classified as developing learner or beginning learner, and 41.8% had no data at all for their 9th Grade Literature End-Of-Course Test. Students who were in the ESOL (English Speakers of Other Languages) program last school year did not take the 9th Grade Literature End-Of-Course Test. 31% of the students without data were in the ESOL program. The other 10% never took the test. According to the Georgia Department of Education,
As evidenced in the graphic below, 45.5 % of my students in these classes were either classified as developing learner or beginning learner, and 41.8% had no data at all for their 9th Grade Literature End-Of-Course Test. Students who were in the ESOL (English Speakers of Other Languages) program last school year did not take the 9th Grade Literature End-Of-Course Test. 31% of the students without data were in the ESOL program. The other 10% never took the test. According to the Georgia Department of Education,
Beginning Learners do not yet demonstrate proficiency in the knowledge and skills necessary at this grade level/course of learning, as specified in Georgia’s content standards. The students need substantial academic support to be prepared for the next grade level or course and to be on track for college and career readiness. Developing Learners demonstrate partial proficiency in the knowledge and skills necessary at this grade level/course of learning, as specified in Georgia’s content standards. The students need additional academic support to ensure success in the next grade level or course and to be on track for college and career readiness.
Beginning Learners do not yet demonstrate proficiency in the knowledge and skills necessary at this grade level/course of learning, as specified in Georgia’s content standards. The students need substantial academic support to be prepared for the next grade level or course and to be on track for college and career readiness. Developing Learners demonstrate partial proficiency in the knowledge and skills necessary at this grade level/course of learning, as specified in Georgia’s content standards. The students need additional academic support to ensure success in the next grade level or course and to be on track for college and career readiness.
Only 12.7% of the students in my class were considered to be proficient learners by the state of Georgia and none of my students were considered to be distinguished learners, meaning they achieved advanced proficiency in the knowledge and skills associated with the grade level. This confirms Hamel's statement that "dominant literacy practices continued to leave too many children in the margins of successful teaching" (428). This further demonstrated why multimodal learning and assessments could be beneficial to my students.
Only 12.7% of the students in my class were considered to be proficient learners by the state of Georgia and none of my students were considered to be distinguished learners, meaning they achieved advanced proficiency in the knowledge and skills associated with the grade level. This confirms Hamel's statement that "dominant literacy practices continued to leave too many children in the margins of successful teaching" (428). This further demonstrated why multimodal learning and assessments could be beneficial to my students.
With this information in mind, I was interested in seeing the results of the assessments, and also students' opinions about each assessment's role in helping them to display their learning. The theme of Unit 1, is Africa, so our anchor text for the unit is Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Adichie Ngozi. Because of the parameters of their multimodal project, I felt it necessary to have students practice using their multimodal skills in a way similar to how they would use them on the project. As a result, I had students create a Remix Journal, which is based on Theresa Redmond's article entitled "Sparking Learning through Remix Journaling: Authenticating Participatory Ways of Knowing". This assignment required students to create a remix journal entry for each group of pages they were assigned on a Google Slides presentation. Students were required to include the pages that were covered, a quote, a verbal or written explanation, and an image, video, gif, or meme. Students were told to ensure that each slide was meaningful and helped to convey their thoughts and reaction to the day's reading. Each time we read the novel, students created a journal entry based on the pages we read that day. Halfway through the novel, students submitted their remix journal to ensure they were consistently working on it. They submitted the second half of their remix journal after we finished reading the novel. While students chose to mostly use images and text, they were still able to practice making meaning with text and images simultaneously.
With this information in mind, I was interested in seeing the results of the assessments, and also students' opinions about each assessment's role in helping them to display their learning. The theme of Unit 1, is Africa, so our anchor text for the unit is Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Adichie Ngozi. Because of the parameters of their multimodal project, I felt it necessary to have students practice using their multimodal skills in a way similar to how they would use them on the project. As a result, I had students create a Remix Journal, which is based on Theresa Redmond's article entitled "Sparking Learning through Remix Journaling: Authenticating Participatory Ways of Knowing". This assignment required students to create a remix journal entry for each group of pages they were assigned on a Google Slides presentation. Students were required to include the pages that were covered, a quote, a verbal or written explanation, and an image, video, gif, or meme. Students were told to ensure that each slide was meaningful and helped to convey their thoughts and reaction to the day's reading. Each time we read the novel, students created a journal entry based on the pages we read that day. Halfway through the novel, students submitted their remix journal to ensure they were consistently working on it. They submitted the second half of their remix journal after we finished reading the novel. While students chose to mostly use images and text, they were still able to practice making meaning with text and images simultaneously.
Purple Hibiscus Remix Journal (1).docxOnce the unit ended, we reviewed for the Unit One Exam. I provided students with a study guide and students took the Unit One Exam in one class period. It consisted of seven multiple-choice, standard-specific, questions on cold reads and one constructed response question. The multiple-choice portion of the assessment self-graded, and I graded the constructed responses using the district-provided rubric. The second assessment was a standards-based multimodal project over Purple Hibiscus called the Purple Hibiscus Culture Project. The project required students to analyze the elements of culture that I provided in Purple Hibiscus and in their own life. They had the option of conveying this information however they saw fit, outside of solely using text. I encouraged them to be creative and think outside of the box. The multimodal assessment was graded using a rubric I created.
Once the unit ended, we reviewed for the Unit One Exam. I provided students with a study guide and students took the Unit One Exam in one class period. It consisted of seven multiple-choice, standard-specific, questions on cold reads and one constructed response question. The multiple-choice portion of the assessment self-graded, and I graded the constructed responses using the district-provided rubric. The second assessment was a standards-based multimodal project over Purple Hibiscus called the Purple Hibiscus Culture Project. The project required students to analyze the elements of culture that I provided in Purple Hibiscus and in their own life. They had the option of conveying this information however they saw fit, outside of solely using text. I encouraged them to be creative and think outside of the box. The multimodal assessment was graded using a rubric I created.
Both assessments addressed the skills related to the anchor standards for the unit. I collected data on each student’s mastery of the anchor standards using their performance on the assessments. After the data was collected, I provided my perspective on each student’s mastery of the standards and skills. I compared the results and reflected on the differences and similarities present. I also identified the disparities in the results and how each type of assessment was beneficial and detrimental to students. Students did a self-reflection after both assessments were graded. This self-reflection asked students about their perception of both assessments. It asked them what they thought was negative and positive about the assessments, if they felt one was more beneficial than the other, if they prefer one over the other, and how they feel about their results. I also provided them with the opportunity to explain their answers. This information was also be compiled and analyzed to provide the student’s perspectives on the two assessments. All research was done locally in my classroom with only my students.
Both assessments addressed the skills related to the anchor standards for the unit. I collected data on each student’s mastery of the anchor standards using their performance on the assessments. After the data was collected, I provided my perspective on each student’s mastery of the standards and skills. I compared the results and reflected on the differences and similarities present. I also identified the disparities in the results and how each type of assessment was beneficial and detrimental to students. Students did a self-reflection after both assessments were graded. This self-reflection asked students about their perception of both assessments. It asked them what they thought was negative and positive about the assessments, if they felt one was more beneficial than the other, if they prefer one over the other, and how they feel about their results. I also provided them with the opportunity to explain their answers. This information was also be compiled and analyzed to provide the student’s perspectives on the two assessments. All research was done locally in my classroom with only my students.
Assessment 1
Assessment 1
World Literature_ELA_Unit 1_Assessment_FINAL (1).docx*This is the aforementioned multiple-choice assessment that was prescribed by my school district. These are all cold reads, meaning students have never read any of these passages. The expectation is that I would determine students' mastery of the standards listed on the assessment based on their performance on this assessment.
*This is the aforementioned multiple-choice assessment that was prescribed by my school district. These are all cold reads, meaning students have never read any of these passages. The expectation is that I would determine students' mastery of the standards listed on the assessment based on their performance on this assessment.
Assessment 2
Assessment 2
Purple Hibiscus Culture Project.docx*This is the Purple Hibiscus Culture Project. This assessment is teacher-created and sought to address student mastery of the listed standards through students' creation of a product encompassing all the elements of the culture listed. Students are required to examine the listed elements of culture through the lens of the novel as well as through their own lens. The purpose of this project was to provide students with a multimodal option for them to use to display their mastery of the standards while still incorporating their own culture and life into it. I created a rubric that would provide me with some wiggle room with points distribution since the project is creative and the grading can be somewhat subjective. I wanted my students' grades to be as accurate as possible and I did not want rote categories that awarded everyone the same amount of points.
Student Reflection Questions
Student Reflection Questions
Works Cited
Works Cited
McTighe, Jay, and Steve Ferrara. Assessing Student Learning by Design: Principles and Practices for Teachers and School Leaders. Teachers College Press, 2021.
McTighe, Jay, and Steve Ferrara. Assessing Student Learning by Design: Principles and Practices for Teachers and School Leaders. Teachers College Press, 2021.
Shipka, Jody. “Negotiating Rhetorical, Material, Methodological, and Technological Difference: Evaluating Multimodal Designs.” College Composition and Communication, vol. 61, no. 1, National Council of Teachers of English, Sept. 2009, pp. 343-366.
Shipka, Jody. “Negotiating Rhetorical, Material, Methodological, and Technological Difference: Evaluating Multimodal Designs.” College Composition and Communication, vol. 61, no. 1, National Council of Teachers of English, Sept. 2009, pp. 343-366.