The process of collecting information about students

and classrooms for the purpose of making

instructional decisions.

Observations – rating forms, narrative descriptions, checklists, logs and anecdotal notes

Performance samples – work products, artifacts

Tests – informal reading inventories, end-of-unit tasks, teachers’ quizzes

Assessment Decision Assessment Decision Cycle for Student Cycle for Student

LearningLearning

Reflection

Assessment

Instructional Design

Instruction

ASSESSMENT FUNCTIONSASSESSMENT FUNCTIONS Determine students’ needs, interests, and Determine students’ needs, interests, and

current knowledge/skillscurrent knowledge/skills Make instructional decisions Make instructional decisions

Monitor instruction to provide teacher and Monitor instruction to provide teacher and students with feedback and progress students with feedback and progress

information information Evaluate student outcomes and performanceEvaluate student outcomes and performance

Accumulate a body of evidence of student Accumulate a body of evidence of student achievement achievement

Evaluate unit outcomes and overall programsEvaluate unit outcomes and overall programs

Pre-Assessment: Prior to building the unit – ◦ What do students already know, do and what are their

attitudes/dispositions?◦ What do students need to know, do, and be like?

Determine students’ prior knowledge and experiences Determine students’ needs, interest

Embedded Assessments: During the unit – ◦ Linked to each lesson plan◦ Determine students’ progress ◦ Confirm or modify instructional decisions

Post-Assessment: At the end of the unit◦ What do the students know, do and what are their

attitudes/dispositions?◦ Did student reach their targeted learner outcomes?

Did your unit work? Where do we go from here?

InformalWhen students areevaluated on a daily

andinformal basis usingobservations,

anecdotalnotes and checklists

FormalWhen students areevaluated throughprecise andthorough quizzes, written tests or alternative

assessment

Valid– measures what it claims to measure

Reliable – produces dependable, consistent scores for persons who take it more than once over a time period

Objective – eliminates biases, prejudgments and personal feelings

Diagnostic – used at the outset of a unit, semester or year to identify problems and assess prior knowledge

Feedback – used during instruction to provide corrective feedback to students

Reporting – used at the end of a unit or semester to determine progress or grades and make judgments about student achievement

Assess all instructional objectives Cover all cognitive domains Use appropriate test items Make tests valid and reliable Use tests to improve learning

Begin with least difficult questions Make tests items reflect instructional objectives and content

taught Watch vocabulary of the test itself Make it possible for everyone to demonstrate what they

have learned Make test directions clear Place all items of the same type together Include all the information and materials students will need

for the test Include several test items for each objective Make more items than you will need and use the best ones Design questions that use both high and low cognitive levels Use tests to improve learning

Informal and student centered measures Selected response measures Constructed response measures Performance and portfolio measures

KWL Charts Show what you know charts Self-assessment measures such as graphs

of progress toward acquisition of standards Paper and pencil measures such as tickets

to leave, journal entries, log entries, question of the day

Teacher observation data recorded anecdotally (in the form of notes) or more discrete measures (frequency counts, absences, duration, fluency)

Subject specific assessment guided by teaching and learning (use of problem solving process, use of scientific method)

Used to ascertain students’ mastery of larger domains of content

Measure only lower-order kinds of cognitive capabilities

True & False Matching Multiple-choice Completion/sentence stems

Fill-in-the Blanks – when measuring students’ abilities to recall factual information

Multiple-Choice – when measuring objective information of either factual or higher-level analytic skills

Matching – when measuring student recall of a fairly large amount of factual information

True/False – when the content calls for students to compare alternatives

Short answer – when measuring higher-level analytic skills

Essay – when measuring higher-level thought processes and creativity

50% chance of correct guess Keep a balance between true and false Avoid broad generalizations (never, always) Use clear language and avoid using terms

denoting degree (large, long time, regularly)

Avoid using negative statements Underline the word that makes it true or

false Encourage revision of statements that are

false Keep true and false items the same length

Never use all of the above or none of the above Avoid negatively stated stems Distribute the order of correct answers randomly Make the wording simple and clear Use appropriate distracters Make sure there is only one correct answer Make sure all distracters are plausible Use either sentence stems or questions Separate the stem from the possible answers Use three to four possible responses

Include no more than 10 items to be matched Make the phrases in the descriptors list longer than the phrases in the options list Put definitions on the left and words on the right Make directions clear on how to match Underline the key word (person, place, etc) Make sure all options are plausible distracters Specify in the directions whether options can be used more than once Put it all on a single page

Provide a single-word answer or a brief, definite statement

Supply enough context to give it meaning Omit insignificant words Avoid textbook language Provide clues, if necessary Provide enough blanks for each word Put the blank toward the end Allow students to use a word or sentence bank Provide first letter clues

Elicit responses more closely approximating the kinds of behavior students must display in real life

Require students to perform

Short answer Essay

Call for students to supply a work, phrase or a sentence in response to either a direct question or an incomplete statement

Suitable for assessing relatively simple kinds of learning outcomes such as those focused on students’ acquisition of knowledge

Students have to produce a correct answer, not just recognize it

More difficult to score

Employ direct questions rather than incomplete sentences

Nurture concise responses with short blanks Limit to one or two blanks Provide first letter clues when necessary

Gages a student’s ability to synthesize, evaluate and compose

Difficult to score Restricted-response item limits the form

and content of the response Extended response item provides students

with more latitude in responding

Make the wording of a question as clear as possible

Provide guidance on how students should use their time

Write a sample answer ahead of time and assign points to various parts of the answer

Have students justify their answers Allow students more time, if needed Provide sentence stems or word banks Use holistic scoring

Score responses holistically and or analytically◦ Holistically has general criteria◦ Analytically has degrees of acceptability for each criteria

Prepare tentative scoring key in advance of judging students’ responses

Score all responses to one item before scoring responses to the next item

Evaluate items anonymously Decide on the importance of mechanics

The backbone for post-assessments of units Designed to promoted enduring understanding Tied to real-life, authentic, functional activities Experientially-based Age appropriate Differentiated

◦ Content◦ Product◦ Process

Clear criteria for performance

PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT -Requires students to demonstrate that they can perform tasks.

AUTHENTIC ASSESSMENTS - Requires students to apply and extend what they know or can do in relation to a significant and engaging problem or question about real life.

PORTFOLIOS – Is a purposeful collection of student work that exhibits a student’s effort and achievement over a period of time.

Written work like lab reports, book reports, research papers, journals, etc.

Oral work like class discussions, panels, debates, simulations, games, etc.

Performances like speeches, role playing, presentations of visual materials, etc.

Challenge students to: ◦ Tackle project work regularly and frequently ◦ Judge their own work◦ Collaborate and converse with others◦ Distinguish a real audience for their work beyond

the classroom teacher ◦ Continue their learning and development over

time◦ Understand what it means to do better

RubricsRubrics Specify varying levels of quality for a Specify varying levels of quality for a

specific assignmentspecific assignment Usually used with complex, long-term, Usually used with complex, long-term,

performance-based assignments or performance-based assignments or assessmentsassessments

Have two features:Have two features: Specifies what counts – the criteriaSpecifies what counts – the criteria Illustrates gradations in the quality of work, Illustrates gradations in the quality of work,

using descriptors for strong, middling, and using descriptors for strong, middling, and problematic student work.problematic student work.

Why Rubrics?Why Rubrics? Easy to explainEasy to explain Supports learning Supports learning

of meta-cognition of meta-cognition through self-through self-assessment, assessment, monitoring, and monitoring, and self-management self-management (Goodrich, 1996) (Goodrich, 1996)

Provides students Provides students with feedback with feedback about strengths about strengths and areas for and areas for improvementimprovement

Supports Supports development of development of specific skills (e.g., specific skills (e.g., writing - Andrade, writing - Andrade, 1999)1999)

How do you develop a rubric?How do you develop a rubric? Deconstruct the complex, final performance into Deconstruct the complex, final performance into

subsets of skills subsets of skills With students, look at models of good/poor work, With students, look at models of good/poor work,

work with students to determine what differentiates work with students to determine what differentiates one from anotherone from another

List the criteria (what counts), considering level of List the criteria (what counts), considering level of content understanding, process skills, standards, content understanding, process skills, standards, technology, format, etc.technology, format, etc.

Pack and unpack the criteria until you can formulate Pack and unpack the criteria until you can formulate and create the categories to be judged (format, and create the categories to be judged (format, organization, items, etc.)organization, items, etc.) Generic formGeneric form Kid-friendly language Kid-friendly language

Articulate levels of quality (Yes, Yes but, No but, No)Articulate levels of quality (Yes, Yes but, No but, No)

Sample Criterion: Briefly Sample Criterion: Briefly summarize the plot of the storysummarize the plot of the story

YesYes, I briefly summarized the plot , I briefly summarized the plot using significant details. using significant details.

YesYes, I summarized the plot , I summarized the plot butbut, I , I included some unnecessary details or included some unnecessary details or left out key information.left out key information.

NoNo, I didn’t summarize the plot, , I didn’t summarize the plot, butbut I I did include some details from the did include some details from the story.story.

NoNo, I didn’t summarize the plot., I didn’t summarize the plot.

www.http://pblchecklist.4teachers.org/

http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php

http://ncsu.edu/midlink/ho.html

http://www.odyssey.on.ca/%7Eelaine.coxon/rubrics.htm

http://www.rubrics4teachers.com/

http://www.teach-nology.com/web_tools/rubrics/

http://www.idecorp.com/assessrubric.pdf

http://landmarks4schools.org/classweb/tools/rubric_builder.php3

http://school.discovery.com/schrockguide/assess.html

Group all items of similar format together Arrange items from easy to hard Space the items for easy reading Keep items and options on the same page Position illustrations near descriptions Decide whether to use a separate answer

sheet Check test directions Provide space for name and date