KEYS: Chapter 3 Step-by-Step: Designing Performance Assessment Tasks

Identify the target Design backwards form standards to specific tasks

Insights on Designing Performance Assessment Tasks A Meaningful and Communicative Context Supports Learning Assessing for Understanding Requires Assessing for Transfer Contextual Support and Cognitive Involvement are Critical Lower Anxiety Helps Students Learn the Language Design of the Task Can Support Development of the Communication Skill

Terms Thematic Focus- engaging students through a meaningful topic, a subject-content theme or a specific context Essential Questions- generate a variety of thoughtful responses Context- defines key elements of the performance Language Levels-Novice, Intermediate, Advanced and Superior Language Functions-describe communication tasks Modes of Communication - Interpretive, Interpersonal, and Presentation Mode Formative Assessment -learning checks, guided activities, applications of skill and knowledge with teacher support Summative Assessment -End-of –unit or End-of-course assessment

Designing Performance Assessment Tasks STEP 1 Create a Rich and Engaging Thematic Focus Incorporate an important question to explore Students need to be personally engaged Essential questions should be an important focus To push the essential question into the realm of what will be motivating to students, a meaningful and purposeful context needs to be included – Cognitively engaging – Intrinsically interesting – Culturally connected – Communicatively purposeful

Designing Performance Assessment Tasks STEP 2 Identify What Students Need to do to demonstrate Their Learning Determine the various ways the students can demonstrate their learning. Interpretive, impersonal and presentational activities

Designing Performance Assessment Tasks STEP 3 Evaluate Tasks Against the Targeted Level of Proficiency Look at the characteristics of the targeted language level Language Demands Movement form Teacher-Supported to Independent Use of Language Teacher Expectations

Designing Performance Assessment Tasks STEP 4 Sort Performance Tasks as Formative or Summative Formative Versus Summative – Provide a balanced assessment system – In formative assessment, feedback is specific and highly focused – In summative assessment, feedback is more broad and holistic

Sample Formative Assessments Ticket to leave- a word or phrase or question that a student answers before leaving the classroom to show understanding from the day’s lesson Quick oral checks- yes/no questions, open-ended questions… Information gap pair activity- interpersonal communication Maintain the conversation- interpersonal communication Leave a message- listen to a prompt, read an or text message and reply with a recording Finding information on the Internet- Students are given a website or a topic to research their Write captions-presentational communication- students summarize illustrations Finish a story-presentational task- read a part of a story and continue or rewrite the end Rough draft- essay or story with opportunity to correct errors

Sample Summative Assessments Interpretive- conversational task with another student Interpretive-summarize info found from websites, identify something from a reading, compare and contrast… Presentational- organize information and write a postcard or a letter

Designing Performance Assessment Tasks STEP 5 Fine-Tune and Integrate the Summative Performance tasks Connection of one task to the next

Designing Performance Assessment Tasks STEP 6 Incorporate Other Standards to Enrich the Unit of Instruction and Performance Tasks The 5Cs: Communication, Culture, Connections, Comparisons and Communities Teacher enriches the unit of instruction and the performance tasks by checking on ways to incorporate the standards of the 5Cs.

Designing Performance Assessment Tasks STEP 7 Pilot with Students and Use the Results to Adjust the Assessment Tasks Students ask for all the logistic details about the performance expected: how, how much, how long, how many…