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EDWN 601Assessment and Grading

Assessment vs Standardized testing

Teacher-created tests & Performance Assessment

Grading and evaluation - communication with parents and students

Reflective practice - communication with peers, community

PRETEST...

Overview

Homework

Think of a topic you might teach and make a list of fewer than 10 concepts or skills you might include in that topic. Bring your list tomorrow morning.

e.g. topic: ecology,

concepts/skills: habitat, carrying capacity, interdependence, producer, consumer, food web

Standardized Testing

what it is and what it’s not...

Testing

• Take a moment and discuss each question:

What do we care about?

How do we use tests?

What questions do you have?

• Each answer reported to papers on wall

Standardized Assessment

Terms on Std Tests

Testing procedures

Standardized test procedures - all students participating in the test follow the same procedures, hear the same directions, are allowed the same time/assistance. VERY IMPORTANT

quiet, controlled setting, teacher may read test questions or explain word meaning on most tests, but not on reading test

SPED modifications - often include smaller group, test read aloud, extended time, other as indicated on IEP

Typical Standardized Tests

IQ tests

General intelligence

scores range from 20-180

80-120 is average

most people don’t know their score

paper and pencil vs individually administered

Wisconsin school report cards

Report card for every school in WI

Several criteria: Achievement, growth, closing gaps, college and career readiness (CCR)

Info guide at: http://reportcards.dpi.wi.gov/files/oea/wirptcrdguide/story.html

Analysis of WSAS results

Proficient & Advanced %’s

AYP - mandated by NCLB

Original goal 100% proficiency by 2014

Modified 2011 for all states, many states (incl. WI) have been given waivers for the 100%

Sort by demographics to see differences (or similarities)

WINNS data

Select school by various sorting criteria

Modifications to WSAS for SpEd students or WAA

WKCE data can be found at:

•http://data.dpi.state.wi.us/data/SelSchool.aspx

Communicating results

WSAS results go home to parents

Test in the Fall, results in late Spring

parent-teacher conference? accompanied with letter?

results discussed with students - rarely

Smarter Balanced Assessments

Developed by a consortium of states

Currently piloting ELA & Math, science will be next

Will be computer adaptive and provide immediate results http://www.smarterbalanced.org

Standardized assessment Paper

Discuss your feelings about standardized tests - pro or con, support your opinions with citations

Choose a WI school district and analyze its most recent test results for grade 8 or 10

Overall results, but pay special attention to your subject area

Do demographic differences affect scores?

Data driven decision making

IMPORTANT new strategy in teaching

Using information from standardized testing and other quantitative/qualitative sources to guide school decisions like grouping, curriculum planning, staffing, remediation, acceleration

• Activity

• - in your assigned groups, examine the provided data and prepare a presentation of

your findings.

Where am I at?

Please write brief notes on each bullet:

What ideas were interesting/new?

What additional information would I like?

How can I use these ideas?

Test and performance assessment

construction

Planning a curriculum, reprise

Semester Plan Assignment

• Any questions?

Outline of topics

WMAS and Disciplinary Literacy Standards

All teachers should address both sets of standards

Each unit should address a subset of the standards

Planning assessment

Not only evaluative

ASSESS progress, skills, perspectives, in addition to content comprehension

Use in planning instruction through pretest, or to focus re-teaching

Formative & Summative

Formative assessment: opportunity for feedback, intended to support growth

Summative assessment: determination of overall success/quality/learning

• Any assessment can function either way, depending on how you use it.

Test questions

Multiple choice - easy to use, hard to write

True/false - can be tricky either way

Matching - easy to write, really best for vocab

Short answer/essay - easy to write, hard to grade (maybe use a rubric)

Skill based [math problem, applied problem, practical exam, etc.] - be very clear!

Matching

Can be a good way to start a test

Difficulty is increased by having more answers than questions

Make sure word choice is consistent with your teaching [one of the potential problems with ‘book tests’]

Provide a line on which to place answer - otherwise somebody will draw impossible to interpret lines to answers

True/False

Write very clearly.

Avoid absolutes (always, never).

... interesting twist - underline/italicize a term/phrase and have it replaced when false

Multiple Choice

Keep the bulk of the words in the stem of the question.

Write reasonable distractors - don’t include Dumbo

Use a correct answer and 2-3 distractors, decrease the number of distractors for SpEd students

Make sure the correct answer is not always the same “letter”

Skill

Critical for skill-based courses like math, foreign language, science, FACE, Tech

Set up a situation that is similar, but not identical to, a skill learned in class.

Prepare a set of criteria ahead of time, so that grading will be more consistent [rubrics can help here]

Short Answer

Write your question as clearly as possible. [duh]

Using a question/example from class makes this comprehension

Using a new, similar question/example makes this an application or analysis

Prepare in advance some criteria for grading [rubrics are helpful here]

ALL tests

Major form of communication with students

Make sure all written work is correctly spelled and reads at the appropriate level

Check pagination

Be sure all directions are clear [have somebody unfamiliar with the content read through]

Clapping Institute

11 volunteers

Debriefing:

Volunteers: How did you feel during the activity?

Observers: What did you notice?

How does this all relate to assessment?

Performance Assessment

Designing a performance task

Choose a realistic activity that conveys successful understanding/skill demonstration & Write a performance assessment

Be specific about the components of the task

describe the taskwrite a rubric/checklistuse standard English

Checklist

Best for tasks that have only ‘done’ or ‘not done’ as possible evaluations.

e.g. name on paper, safety procedures followed

More difficult to use for leveled grading unless many items are listed - otherwise the grade will be pass/fail

Creating a good checklist

Rubrics

Good for evaluation of performances/tasks that are not all or nothing

Clear descriptions of expectations enhance learning, provide a feedback tool

Provide clear communication about learning outcomes

Increases the consistency of scoring

Making a rubric

List the essential components of the task

Describe in words how a top level performance would look for each component [place next to component]

Describe the lowest performance you would accept as passing for each component [place furthest away]

Devise 1-2 levels in between these

optional: Assign points to each level, to arrive at a numeric score [e.g. 5,4,3 instead of 3,2,1]

Design a rubric

Task: cleaning your room

Create at least 3 essential components of this task

Make a rubric with at least 3 levels that describe each component

Unit assessment

• Once you have chosen the WMAS and CCSS your unit addresses:

Write a test or quiz to assess some or all of the info

Write a performance task with rubric that could be used in the unit.

Where am I at?

Please write brief notes on each bullet:

What ideas were interesting/new?

What additional information would I like?

How can I use these ideas?

GradingArticle - Grading student work

- read your section and jigsaw

Traditional grading

A ‘normal’ curve

Things to consider...

percents? mastery?

components of student work - achievement, effort, behavior, attendance

weighting of components - allocation of points

ease of use and ease of explanation

Grading activity

Graph the total points on attached graph paper

Assign grades based on some defensible criteria

Identify other information you would have wanted to include in the grade and consider how you would keep track of it.

When time is up, share your system/grades with your group

Where am I at?

Please write brief notes on each bullet:

What ideas were interesting/new?

What additional information would I like?

• How can I use these ideas?

Reflective Practice