Performance Assessments (or PBL) J.H. MacMillan (2011) Classroom Assessment – Principles and Practice for Effective Standards-Based Instruction, 5th ed., Pearson Education Inc.

 Students construct responses and knowledge  Create products, or perform demonstrations to provide evidence of their knowledge and skill  Adapt the content knowledge and apply it to a situation based in reality (‘authenticity’)  Motivate students with engagement in a scenario  Promote critical thinking, communication, teamwork, and problem solving Performance Assessments

 Learning should prepare students for life by being an integral part of life itself -- John Dewey  Simulating real problems and real problem-solving is one way to encourage this connection!  Performance assessments give students opportunities to choose among a diverse selection of projects  Performance assessments facilitate the creation of learning opportunities based upon students’ individual interests and strengths  Shift from “How will we test students on what we have taught?” to “What performances can we design to see what students can do with what they know?” Why Performance Assessments?

 Students as active participants, not passive selectors of a right answer  Outcomes should be identified and should guide the design of the task  Student activities should match the objectives and allow student demonstration of mastery of intended outcomes  Students should actively apply knowledge and skills to reality based situations and scenarios  Clear set of criteria should be available to help judge the proficiency of student response Characteristics of Performance Assessments

1.Reflect on standards of instructional unit(s) 2.Identify observable and measurable indicators for each standard 3.Generate a meaningful context for the task (real issues, problems, themes, student interest areas) 4.Identify thinking skills or processes that encourage application of knowledge and skills 5.Identify student products or performances 6.Generate Criteria & Rubrics Process for Performance Assessment Task Design

1. Reflect on standards of instructional unit(s): Academic Standard: Distinguish among the principles of force and motion Identify elements of simple machines in compound machines. Step 1: Standards

Identify observable and measurable indicators for each standard My performance assessment will focus on the ability of my students to:  Compare and contrast simple machines to complex machines Step 2: Observable Outcomes

Generate a meaningful context for the task (real issues, problems, themes, student interest areas) :  You are a graphic designer and have been asked to assist in the creation of cartoon characters created in the likeness and movement of simple and complex machines. Step 3: Context

Identify thinking skills or processes that encourage application of knowledge and skills  Your goal is to identify a minimum of 8 simple machines and complex machines, observe the workings of these machines, compare and contrast these machines, and determine movements and combinations of movement that could be used to represent these machines. Step 4: Process

Identify student products or performances  Develop cartoon characters as graphical representations of the machines and the movements of these machines. Be sure to distinguish between simple and complex on the graphics, identifying the reasons for the difference. Create a cartoon with your characters telling a story about what makes them the same, and what makes them different! Step 5: Product

 Your work will be judged by a panel of cartoon designers who will judge the creativity of your work. In addition, an engineer will evaluate your classification and identification of simple and complex machines. A successful result will lead to the creation of a new cartoon series! Step 6: Criteria for Success

Possible “Roles” for these tasks  Advertiser  Author  Political Candidate  Cartoon Character  Coach  Composer  Filmmaker  Teacher  Lawyer  Newscaster  Photographer  Detective  Interviewer  Researcher  Playwright  Park Ranger  Tour Guide  Travel Agent  Nutritionist  Board Member  Caterer  Translator  Engineer  Scientist  Doctor  Fire Fighter  Police Officer

Possible products for these tasks…  Advertisement  Brochure  Puzzle  Magazine Article  Memo  Position Paper  Poem  Questionnaire  Story  Test  Journal  Blog  Movie  Discussion  Skit  Speech  Song  Dance  Newscast  Play  Advertisement  Collage  Collection  Graphic  Diagram  Model  Map  Painting  Photograph

Model for the development of performance assessments  Identify Setting and Role:  You are..  You have. been asked to…  Your job is…  Goal or Challenge  Your task is…  The goal is…  The problem/challenge…  Product/Performance  You will create…  In order to…  You need to develop…  So that  You need to decide…  For…  Audience  Your clients are…  Your audience will be…  You will work to convince…  Criteria for Success  Your performance needs to…  Will be judged by…  Should meet the following standards…  A successful result will…