As part of our
ongoing support of local assessment, the Vermont Department of Education
contracted The Vermont Institutes to facilitate the portfolio scoring
calibration sessions in writing and mathematics for 2004. As in
past years, calibration took place for grades 4, 8, and 10 in math
and grades 5, 8, and 10 in writing.
The calibration process provides teachers the opportunity to
hone their scoring skills through direct scoring of benchmark
work and
comparison of their scores with the “true” scores established
through benchmarking. Last year, 3,296 Vermont educators participated
in calibration.
March was designated
as the calibration month. Principals, Curriculum Coordinators, and
Superintendents received letters asking them to consider hosting
calibrations.
This year,
there were two new aspects of the calibration process. First, teachers
were requested to register online so that we could anticipate the
number of participants at each site and ensure ample materials and
optimal space. Second, we piloted a process of providing “warm-up”
items in high school mathematics prior to the calibration sessions.
This could serve to shorten the sessions and provide teachers the
chance to practice at their leisure. The “warm-ups”
were mailed to each high school in mid-January and are also found
above. Should this early warm-up process be popular with high school
mathematics teachers, it will be extended to other grades and content
areas in the future.
If you have
any questions, please call The Vermont Institutes at 802-828-0060.
