Highlights from “Developing a System-wide Approach to Support Students in Teaching Themselves,” a session by Michael McDowell of Tamalpais Union High School District at the International Visible Learning Conference.
Contributed by Jeffrey Spanier, English and AVID teacher, Carlsbad High School, CA
The major focus of this breakout session was the shift Tamalpais Union High School District made in instruction. Following Visible Learning principles, the district looked for ways to put the learning process into the hands of students—specifically through the students’ ability to self-assess. The goal of the district was to enable learners “to understand their own performance to meet academic expectations.”
What impressed me most was Mr. McDowell’s explanation of classroom assessments. He explained that the assessments were individually designed by classroom teachers. There is no pressure put on the classroom teacher to adapt assessments to a standard. The belief seems to be: the teachers know the students, they know the curriculum, and they, therefore, know best how to assess their students. In 21 years of teaching high school, I have never heard an administrator speak so wisely on assessment. In fact, I have only heard the opposite—how can we create in-common assessments? How can we align class assessments with standardized testing? Mr. McDowell continued to explain the respectful collegiate relationship developed with teachers—such autonomy in assessment complimented by expecting a teacher not garnering positive results to consult colleagues and redesign assessments.
Wow.
In light of Mr. Hattie’s discussion on “Far Transfer” learning, it seemed a necessary next step in assessment.
Interestingly enough, I sat between two individuals. 
One a high school teacher and the other a high school administrator. My excitement was mirrored by the other teacher who said he had also wondered why he wasn’t allowed to decide how to best test his students. He also shared that he felt that his class grade says something about skill level and knowledge transfer, but that his district office always felt they needed another assessment tool to mark a student’s proficiency level. The administrator was not a believer in the approach Mr. McDowell explained. It was clear that she did not feel that teachers could be trusted to either accurately or fairly determine a student’s ability level based on the teacher’s own assessment tools. I wondered aloud why her district would hire teachers they didn’t trust with teaching and assessing… She didn’t have a response.
I applaud the work Mr. McDowell’s district and teachers are doing, but fear that overall we are a long way away from giving teachers the respect and trust required to make such a shift nationwide.
