Assessment Whittney Smith, Ed.D.

“Physical vs. Autopsy” Formative: Ongoing, varied assessment used as a tool for learning and diagnosing Summative: A single test, usually given at the end of a lesson, unit, or semester to measure achievement

Continuous Learning Cycle “Just as a finished architectural blueprint must contain everything needed to guide the actual construction of a building (including plumbing, electrical, door and window scheme, and so on), it is necessary to first design the “big picture” blueprint of a comprehensive instruction and assessment model.” Larry B. Ainsworth and Donald J. Viegut

Focused Assessment Any purposeful activity that provides information to be used as feedback for modifying teaching and learning. Characteristics: Ongoing and coincides with instruction Varied so that students with different learning styles have the opportunities to demonstrate their understanding in ways that make sense to them. Appropriately reflect the content standards and the information that was actually taught.

Student Involvement When students feel they have no ownership in the process or that they are the audience rather than the participants, they will not be inspired or take responsibility for the learning Self Assessment Self Reflection Peer Assessment

Thinking About Assessment & Layers of Learning What do you want students to know and be able to do at the end of the lesson? essential learning application learning complex-thinking

Performance vs. Selected- Response Assessments PerformanceSelected-Response complex-thinking layer of learning (determine, interpret, judge, create...) essential knowledge layer of learning (facts, concepts, or concrete knowledge) journals, concept maps, essays, projects, presentations, experiments, etc. multiple choice, fill-in-the-blank, matching, etc.

Thinking About Assessment What do you believe are the most powerful factors that influence student success, and what role does formative assessment play? Which kinds of assessments invole active engagement from the learner, and which do you feel cause deeper learning? Which formats allow you to customize learning for diverse learners?

Formative Assessments Teacher Observation with Checklist Graphic Organizers and Representations Essay Writing to Show Deeper Understanding Teacher Questions The Three-Minute Talk Kinesthetic Projects Journal Entries Self-Assessment

Summative Assessments One shot at being successful - “sink or swim” Norm-referenced (compared to all test-takers): state assessments, Regents, SATs, ACTs Criterion-referenced (achievement based on standard criteria): teacher-made, text-book

Looking at Test Results What does our classroom data tell us about student performance in using reading strategies? Which assessments show inconsistencies or varying results? What criteria will we use to measure our success? Was this common assessment effort successful for studnet learning? What is our evidence of that? What could we have done differently to improve our results?

Analyzing Test Results... By Student By Classroom All Classrooms Higher order questions Were student incorrect responses consistent? Certain Content Areas Was the topic/content taught with great enough depth in deficient areas? Were assessment questions and directions worded clearly? Lack of reading/writing proficiency Lack of cultural relevance -- How will we reteach these areas? -- What will we do with the students who have already learned it? learned it? Emotional/social student situation

checklists, rating scales, projective tests, & rubrics Checklists (to analyze skills or behaviors in an organized way) Rating Scales (numeric or graphic with consistent descriptors) Projective Tests (Sentence Completion, Drawing, Tests, Rorschach, Apperception Tests Rubrics (qualitative instrument for measuring progress and grading; holistic, developmental, analytic)

Understanding Backward Design “Think like an assessor, not a ‘teacher’ or activity designer!!” The key to better design is deriving lessons from learning goals, and feedback against goals in transfer tasks; not merely interesting work, focused on content Ask: What do the desired learnings/abilities imply for the evidence we need to collect, provide feedback about, and ‘teach to’?

3 Stages of (“Backward”) Design 1. Identify desired results 1. Identify desired results 2. Determine acceptable evidence 2. Determine acceptable evidence 3. Plan learning experiences & instruction 3. Plan learning experiences & instruction

Assessment of Understanding “You really understand when you can”: explain, connect, systematize, predict it show its meaning, importance apply or adapt it to novel situations see it as one plausible perspective among others, question its assumptions see it as its author/speaker saw it avoid and point out common misconceptions, biases, or simplistic views Thus, assessments and feedback must refer back to these performance goals

Works Cited Brookhart, Susan M. How to Create and Use Rubrics for Formative Assessment and Grading. ASCD, Doty, Gwen. Focused Assessment, Enriching the Instructional Cycle. Solution Tree, Dougherty, Eleanor. Assignments Matter, Making the Connections That Help Students Meet Standards. ASCD, Wiggins, G. and McTighe, J. Understanding by Design. ASCD, 2005.