Tools for AssessmentSusan Muir

K-4 Math Coach

Making assessment an integral part of daily mathematics is a challenge. It requires planning specific ways to use assignments and discussions to discover what students do and do not understand. It also requires teachers to be prepared to deal with students’ responses. Merely spotting when students are incorrect is relatively easy compared to understanding the reasons behind their errors.

The latter demands careful attention and deep knowledge of the mathematic concepts and principles that students are learning…

The insights we gain by making assessment a regular part of instruction enable us to meet the needs of students who are eager for more challenges and to provide intervention for those who are struggling.

Burns 2005, p.31

Types of Classroom Assessment

After reading that passage:

Jot down the challenges that you face making assessment a part of daily mathematics instruction?

What are two ways that would help you

overcome these challenges?

Reflection

Assessment Pyramid

Formative Assessment:

Assessment and teaching should be integrated into a whole

Ongoing assessment allows teachers to monitor students on a daily basis and modify teaching based on what students need to be successful

Improves our teaching practices

Provides students with timely feedback that they need to make adjustments to their learning.

Assessment for Learning

How Do We Assess for Learning?

P3.1 Demonstrate understanding of increasing and decreasing patterns including:

observing and describing extending comparing creating patterns using manipulatives, pictures, sounds,

and actions.

N3.1 Demonstrate understanding of whole numbers to 1000 (concretely, pictorially, physically, orally, in writing, and symbolically) including:

representing (including place value) describing estimating with referents comparing two numbers ordering three or more numbers.

Identify the Outcomes to be Learned

What will the children do to know that the learning has occurred?

What should children do to demonstrate the understanding of the mathematical concepts, skills, and big ideas?

What assessment tools will be the most suitable to provide evidence of student understanding?

How can I document the children’s learning?

Determine How the Learning Will be Observed

Anecdotal Notes and Observations

Prepared Bloom’s Taxonomy Questions

Opportunity for Open- Ended Thinking and Discussion

3 Point Rubric for: of and as learning

Assessment Tools

What learning opportunities and experiences should I provide to promote the learning outcomes?

What will the learning environment look like?

What strategies do children use to access prior knowledge and continually communicate and represent understanding?

What teaching strategies and resources will I use?

Plan the Learning Environment and Instruction

Open- Ended Discussion

What conclusions can be made from assessment information?

How effective have instructional strategies been?

What are the next steps for instruction? How will the gaps in the development of

understanding be addressed? How will the children extend their learning?

Assess Student Learning and Follow -up

Develops and supports student’s metacognitive skills

Self assessment/Peer Assessment

Make sense of information and make connections to own self

Helps students set learning goals

Assessment as Learning

What are the specific outcomes in the task?

Begin by describing the Acceptable Level then use Bloom’s Taxonomy to identify differentiating criteria as you move up the scale. The criteria should not go on beyond the original performance task but reflect higher order thinking that students could demonstrate.

Developing a Rubric or Rating Scale

The more precise the descriptors the words are for each scale, the more reliable the tool.

Measures such as frequency (always, usually, sometimes and never) are better than descriptors such as quality (fair, good, excellent)

Rating Scales

Refer back to: Jot down the challenges that you face making assessment a part of daily mathematics instruction?

What are two ways that would help you overcome these challenges?

What are some new tools that you learned today that would help you with your challenges?

What do you still need?

Reflection

Rethinking Classroom Assessment with Purpose in Mind WNCP

Learn Alberta (Assessment) http://www.learnalberta.ca/content/mewa/html/assessment/process.html

Mathematics Assessment a Practical Handbook for grades K-2 NCTM

50 Tools and Techniques for Classroom Assessment by Karen Hume

Resources