Performance Assessment Doris R. Brodeur, Ph.D. TEP

Acknowledgment Some of the information for todays class was excerpted from: Developing Performance Assessment Tasks: Templates for Designers developed by the Maryland Assessment Consortium and presented by Jay McTighe, Director

Outline Basic Principles of Assessment Learning Objectives and Alternative Assessments Performance Assessment Summary Reflection

Learning Objectives To recognize that assessment practices are based on assumptions and principles of teaching and learning To match appropriate assessment methods with learning objectives To design performance tasks and associated assessment rubrics

The Role of Assessment Curriculum Teaching And Learning Experiences Assessment Inspiration and Motivation Learning

Instructional Planning (Wiggins & McTighe, 1998) Identify desired results Plan teaching and learnig experiences Determine acceptable evidence

BRAINSTORM: Reasons for Assessment Generate a list of reasons for assessment in the classroom. Include in your list reasons for assessment methods that are alternatives to written tests. Appoint a recorder for your group.

Keys to Sound Assessment (Stiggins, 1997) Clear objectives Appropriate methods Control of bias Appropriate sampling Clear purpose

Learning Objectives (learning outcomes, achievement targets) Knowledge Reasoning Skill Attitude mastery of content; knowing what or knowing about use of knowledge to solve problems knowing how to do something disposition: opinion; affective domain

Types of Assessment Selected response Constructed response Performance (process and product) Personal communication

Matching Assessment With Objectives Selected response Constructed response Process and/or product Personal communi- cation Self-report Knowledge Reasoning Skill Attitude

Performance Task Blueprint Learning objectives Concepts and principles Skills, processes, and procedures Description of the task Student products and/or performances Criteria for assessing each product and/or performance

Assessing andRecording Results (Rubrics) Level of detail of results Holistic rating Analytic rating Recording procedures Checklists Rating scales Anecdotal records Summary narratives

Constructing a Rubric Identify the keyelements, traits, or dimensions to be evaluated Think about what an exemplary responseto the task would look like. (What are the key characteristics of such a response?) Decide the number of scale points needed to discriminate among the full range of different degrees of quality (3 to 5 are usually sufficient) Decide if the identified elements are of equal importance or will be weighted differently.

Examples of Rating Scales Understanding: thorough, substantial, partial or incomplete, misunderstanding or serious misconceptions Frequency: usually/consistently, frequently, sometimes, rarely, never Effectiveness: highly effective, effective, moderately effective, ineffective Quality: missing,inadequate, adequate, good, very good Quality: missing, does not meet expectations, meets expectations, exceeds expectations

Involving Students in Assessment Share the performance criteria with students at the beginning of the unit. Have students keep track of which criteria they have met and which are yet to come. Have students create visual displays of performance criteria for bulletin boards. Engage students in developing performance tasks and criteria.

Involving Students in Assessment (cont.) Have students evaluate their own and each others performance. Have students track their own growth over time with respect to certain performance criteria. Have students predict their performance, and then check their actual assessment.

Performance Assessment Considerations Purpose of the assessment Expertise to develop clear criteria Ability of students to perform in required ways Number of students to be assessed Complexity of the learning objective Availability of materials Resources to observe and assess

References Burke, K. (1994). The mindful school: How to assess authentic learning. Palatine, IL: Skylight. McTighe, J. (1996/1997). What happens between assessments? Educational Leadership, 54(4), Stiggins, R. J. (1997). Student-centered classroom assessment, 2nd ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill. Trevisan, M. S., Davis, D. C., Calkins, D. E., Gentili, K. L. (1999). Designing sound scoring criteria for assessing student performance. Journal of Engineering Education, 88(1), Wiggins, G. (1996/1997). Designing authentic assessments. Educational Leadership, 54(4), Wiggins, G., & McTighe, J. (1998). Understanding by design. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Summary Reflection 3 important ideas I learned about performance assessment 2 questions or concerns I still have about performance assessment 1 step that I will take related to performance assessment