Assessment Basics and Active Student Involvement

Big Ideas & Key Questions

• How does assessment fit into the teaching/learning process?

• Learning targets - why should I care?

• Evidence – what’s that?

• Assessment methods - what are my options?

• Scoring guides – what are those?

• How do I put it all together?

What have been your experiences with assessment?

What have been the purposes of assessment in

your school career?

Assessment

• Marv• Teach, test, and hope for the best….• “It’s not teaching that causes results, it’s

adjustments by the learner.” - G. Wiggins

• Learners need feedback => Assessment

My Learning Targets

1. Students will develop their understanding of the role of assessment in the larger processes of curriculum planning and active learning (ala *UbD). (concept/generalization)

2. Students will develop their understanding of the learning target categories: fact, concept, skill and disposition (adopted from *Stiggins).

(concept/generalization)

3. Students will develop their understanding of basic assessment methods (M.C./short answer, essay, performance assessment, personal communication) and scoring guides (e.g. rubrics) (concept/generalization).

4. Students will develop their ability to make reasonable associations between types of learning targets and the four basic assessment methods (skill/process). * UbD: “Understanding by Design”

Backward Design: Assessment in the curriculum planning process

• Know your content!• Develop your learning targets;

• Develop your assessments;

• Develop your instructional activities;• Evaluate the quality and equity of the process.

Planning with Assessment in Mind

Planning with Assessment in Mind

ExamplesIf Target = facts about WWI Then Evidence might = recitation of facts And Assessment Method = selected response If Target = conceptual understanding of the causes of WWI Then Evidence might = an effective essay about how you might have averted WWI as a time traveler And Assessment Method = essay If Target = Skill / ability to use the concept of "sample space" to solve a probability problem Then Evidence might = your ability to show how to derive and use a sample space in the Spinners Exercise. And Assessment Method = performance assessment. If Target = positive disposition regarding 17th C. British Lit. Then Evidence might = students select this lit. for pleasure reading. And Assessment might be personal communication (or selected response / short answer, e.g., a survey)

• Fact – that which we know

• Concept/Generalization – that which we understand

• Skill/Process– that which we can do

• Disposition– that which we value, enjoy, appreciate, etc.

Target => Evidence => Assessment

Learning Targets: Fact

Students will know….• that the capital of Australia is Canberra;• twelve important dates for WWI:

– June 28, 1914 - Archduke Ferdinand, is assassinated in Sarajevo, . . . , – June 28, 1919 - Peace Treaty signed in Versailles.

• an isosceles triangle has 2 sides of equal length;• the definition of perseverance : [Steadfastness in doing

something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success.]EVIDENCE: state the definition of “perseverance.”ASSESSMENT: selected response - matching test

Target => Evidence => Assessment

Learning Targets: Concept/GeneralizationConcept: an abstract idea generalized from particular instancesGeneralization: statements about relationships between or among concepts

Students will understand….• that confronting prejudices and stereotypes is part of

building meaningful relationships across differences;• that it takes perseverance to work for justice;• Perseverance as “steadfastness in doing something despite

difficulty or delay in achieving success.”EVIDENCE: identify and explain examples of perseverance in

the novel, “Something to Hold.” ASSESSMENT: essay or personal communication

Target => Evidence => Assessment

Learning Targets: Skill/Process

Students will be able to….• make inferences about character traits that support

characters’ abilities to build relationships across differences; • glean information about causes of the Civil War from primary

sources;• use the strategy of “reading-on” to comprehend words and

ideas in complex text; • use the text animation feature of Power Point, including

“effects,” and “order and timing.” EVIDENCE: student produces slides using these featuresASSESSMENT: performance assessment

Target => Evidence => Assessment

Learning Targets: DispositionsStudents will value, enjoy, appreciate, etc….

• value divergent scientific thinking;• enjoy speaking Spanish;• appreciate the use of history as a tool to understand the

present;• value perseverance in mathematical problem solving. EVIDENCE: students persist with their own problem solving

efforts before consulting the teacher or their peers. ASSESSMENT: personal communication

Target => Evidence => Assessment

Target => Evidence => Assessment

• Facts• ”Students will know that …”

• Concepts/Generalizations• “Students will understand that …”

• Skills/Processes• “Students will be able to …”

• Dispositions• “Students will enjoy / appreciate / value, etc. …”

What does it look like when students are achieving the following kinds of targets?

Write a learning target of your own and then write a statement of evidence for that target.

• M.C. / Selected Response / Short Answer• Essay• Performance Assessment• Personal Communication

How do we give students a chance to give us the evidence we require of them?

Target => Evidence => Assessment

A Quiz….Please select one of the following descriptors to characterize the quality of the match between each target type and assessment method. Excellent - Good - Fair - Poor

Selected Response/ MC/ Short Answer

Essay Performance Assessment

Personal Communication

Fact

Concept/Generalization

Skill / Process

Disposition

We need a way to keep track of all the evidence we get from these assessment and to provide consistent and directed feedback to learners.

Target => Evidence => AssessmentNow what?

Scoring Guides

• Answer Keys • Checklists √• Rating Scales ____|____|____|____|____• Rubrics

1 2 3 4

In order to assess we must elicit, observe, and interpret external indicators of an internal state.

INFERENCES

The Valentine Creation Workshop

• What are the important outcomes for your graduates? Pick two. (Learning Targets)

• How will you know that graduates have achieved these outcomes? (Evidence)

• How will you give them a chance to demonstrate their achievement? (Assessment)

Create a rubric.

The Valentine Creation Workshop

The Pumpkin Carving Workshop

• What are the important outcomes for your graduates? (Learning Targets)

• How will you know that graduates have achieved these outcomes? (Evidence)

• How will you give them a chance to demonstrate their achievement? (Assessment)

The Pumpkin Carving Workshop

Create a learning target, evidence, and a scoring guide

Scoring Guides:Answer Keys, Checklists, Rating Scales & Rubrics

Checklists

• “A checklist is a set of specific key behaviors that represent the competency or activity of interest”

• The behaviors should be concrete and observable. • The behaviors are either present or absent. • Checklists may be scored (yes: +1, no: -1)

Gredler, M. (1999). Classroom Assessment and Learning. Longman

Item Present AbsentOutline of paragraph ____

____Topic Sentence ____

____Paragraph single topic ____

____Content in logical order ____ ____Conclusion supported ____

____

• Identify your target (e.g., effective paragraph construction)

• Construct a list of observable component behaviors• Arrange the components in a logical order• Devise a simple (e.g., present / absent) marking system

Checklists

Rating Scales

• “Rating scales are used when characteristics or dimensions of performance or product can be identified and exist to a greater or lesser degree.”

• Include only those behaviors that you will teach;• Limit each item to a single dimension of the

performance or product;• Avoid judgmental terms.

Gredler, M. (1999). Classroom Assessment and Learning. New York: Longman.

Chase, C. (1999). Contemporary Assessment for Educators. New York: Longman.

Rating scales for essays of literary criticism

5 4 3 2 1 0 Exceptional Adequate Limited huh? Achievement Achievement Evidence

5 4 3 2 1 0 Exceptional Adequate Limited huh? Achievement Achievement Evidence

Gives reasons and specific evidence to support the argument

Identifies and discusses alternatives points of view

Rubrics

• A rubric is simply “a hierarchy of standards used to score students’ work.*”

• Rubrics generally have 3 - 6 levels of achievement.• Rubrics can be holistic or analytic, general or specific.

– Holistic: describes the qualities of the performance as a whole. One score stands for a constellation of descriptors.

– Analytic: assigns separate scores to the task’s essential traits.– General: one rubric applies to various instances of the phenomenon. – Specific: the rubric applies to one specific task

*Bush & Leinwand. (2000). “Mathematics Assessment:…” Reston, VA. NCTM.

McGatha & Darcy. (2010). “Rubrics at Play.” Teaching Mathematics in the Middle School. v. 15 n.6

RubricsHOLISTIC

RubricsANALYTIC

Which Ball is the Best Bouncer?

Plan a controlled experiment, using the materials in the container, that would allow you to answer this question.

WHY MIGHT I DO THIS WITH A 5TH GRADE CLASS?

Which Ball is the Best Bouncer?

Washington Science Standards for Grades 4-5–EALR 2: Inquiry

–Big Idea: Inquiry (INQ)–Core Content: Planning Investigation

–4-5 INQB Investigate

Content Standard:Scientists plan and conduct different kinds of investigations, depending on the questions they are trying to answer. Types of investigations include systematic observations and descriptions, field studies, models, and open-ended explorations as well as controlled experiments.

Performance expectation:Work collaboratively with other students to carry out a controlled experiment, selecting appropriate tools and demonstrating safe and careful use of equipment. http://www.k12.wa.us/Science/pubdocs/WAScienceStandards.pdf

Learning Target: Student will be able to control variables in an experiment or “fair test.” (Skill/Process)

Evidence: Student devises an experiment in which one variable is manipulated while all others are held constant. Assessment: Performance assessmentScoring Guide - Rubric

Which Ball is the Best Bouncer?