Assessment for Learning: Creating

Effective Assessments

Herculaneum High SchoolOctober 28, 2009

THE BASICS

…A REVIEW

Goals of Assessment

Assessment of Learning• Main purpose = sorting

students; promotion & graduation; certify competence

• Done after learning

Assessment for Learning• Main purpose = promote

improvement; diagnose & support student needs; see progress over time

• Process during learning

• Assess accurately and use assessment to grade/sort students and to benefit them.

Components of Assessment for Learning

1. What do we assess? Learning Targets– Knowledge, reasoning, skills, product development

(based on CLEs/standards)

2. How do we assess? Design assessments to do what you want them to do. ** (today’s focus)

3. How do we communicate results of the assessment? Feedback to stakeholders.

HOW TO ASSESS?

…AND DO IT EFFECTIVELY.

Types of Assessments• Selected Response (SR)

– Ex. multiple choice, T/F, matching, fill-ins, short answer– Great for evaluating knowledge or reasoning (comparative, inferring)

• Extended Written Response (a.k.a. short answer/ constructed response) (CR)– respond to a question or task with several sentences; teacher uses a

scoring guide or list to judge correctness of response– Great to evaluate knowledge targets.

• Performance Event (PE)– Performance task + scoring guide = Performance Event– Great for assessing performance skills targets (creating a product)

• Personal Communication (PC)– Find out what students know by interacting with them– Good to evaluate small amounts of knowledge and reasoning.

Assessment Development Cycle

1. Plan2. Develop3. Critique4. Administer5. Revise

Plan

What you are assessing, how you are assessing it, and how important it is…

Test Plan (text p.111; blank copy on share drive)

SR CR PE PC

Learning Target (standard, CLE, crosswalk, etc.)

Type of Target/DOK

Assessment Method %

Importance

Instructional time = % of assessment

Knowledge, Reasoning, Skills,

or Ability to Create Products

Develop• Select, create, or modify test items or tasks/

exemplar/scoring guides while minimizing potential bias/distortion (text, p.115)

• Tests should take no more than 45 minutes (if too long, test only some of the learning targets/combine learning targets)

• Start with easier questions to build confidence• Label each question’s point value (& teach kids to

prioritize)• Put all parts of an item on the same page.

Develop

Turn a proposition into an SR question (text p. 137)

Multiple Choice:•only 1 correct/best answer•keep answer options brief, parallel, &

similar in length•Only use “all” or “none” if

appropriate to the content (not to fill in spaces)•use “always”/”never” rarely

(absolutes are almost always incorrect)•OK to vary # of answer options

True/False:•Make it entirely true or entirely false

(see p.144)Matching:•Give clear directions•Maximum items per grouping = 10;

groups are homogenous• Include more response options than

stems & permit students to use response options more than once (avoids process-of-elimination)

Fill-Ins:•provide enough space for an answer

(all the same length)•One blank for each item•Blank toward the end of the

sentence

Selected Response

Develop

Proposition:

In 2007, 45 percent of students in grades 9–12 reported having consumed at least one drink of alcohol anywhere, and 4 percent reported having consumed at least one drink on school property during the previous 30 days.

Develop

1. Set the context (tell them what knowledge they need to access from their memory to answer the question)

2. Specify reasoning needed to answer the question (DOK level)3. Point the way to an appropriate response (tell them the

criteria used to evaluate their response)

Don’t offer choices of prompts (we want them to hit all the targets, not some of them.)

OK to grade content, reasoning, &/or writing and let kids know what is being graded

IDEA: show students an example of a great answer and a bad answer…have them develop the criteria for grading (they will understand what you’re looking for much better)

Constructed Response

Develop

CR Topic:

Rights in the 1st amendment

C- In class we…_____________R- (DOK)___________________. - Be sure to include…________

Develop

1. Make it clear, feasible, fair, & representative of the breadth & depth of the target(s) being assessed.

2. Make sure students know the RAFTS of the task:– Role (perspective)– Audience (tone, vocabulary)– Format (letter, brochure, poster, PowerPoint, etc.)– Topic (narrowed by teacher or student?—depends

on timing)– Strong verb (purpose/DOK)

Performance Event

Develop

PE Topic:Genetic cloning

R-_______________________A- _______________________F- _______________________T- _______________________S- _______________________

Develop

3. Scoring Guide– Include standards-referenced descriptions of

student learning– Holistic: single rating of an entire

product/performance based on the overall impression of a student’s work (good for simple tasks)

– Analytical: divides a product/performance into essential dimensions so they can be judged separately (good for complex tasks & for giving descriptive feedback to students)• Great resource: http://rubistar

.4teachers.org/index.php

Performance Event

Develop

Ideas for Scoring Guide Labels:4 pt scale (EOC/MAP)

5 pt scale

Analytical Scoring Guide

4 3 2 1

Wow Got it Getting there Not Yet

Superior Adequate Minimal Inadequate

Exemplary Competent Developing Emerging

Advanced Proficient Basic Below Basic

5 4 3 2 1Exceeds

ExpectationsMeets

ExpectationsProgressing

toward Expectations

Needs Improvement

No attempt/ unscorable

Develop

Do NOT add up the points from each trait to get a % or letter grade (grades will almost always be too low this way.)

Develop a logic rule! Example follows…

Analytical Scoring Guide

Letter Grade Descriptors from 4-pt Scoring Guide

A At least 50% of scores at 4 No more than 15% of scores at 3 or lower

B At least 10% of scores at 4No more than 30% of scores at 2 or lower

C At least 25% of scores at 3 or betterNo more than 15% of scores at 1

D At least 25% of scores at 2 or betterNo more than 30% of scores at 1

F Anything lower

Traits 4 3 2 1Content/Ideas X

Organization X

Word Choice X

Sentence Fluency X

Voice X

Conventions X

17/24 = 71%

Critique

Evaluate for Quality:Does it match your test plan?Ensure item quality:

a. Does it test what you intended? have someone else read the questions and tell you what he/she thinks you are askingb. Is it clearly written? (text p.150)

Administer

Give the test or task to the students.

ReviseEvaluate test quality based on results & change

ineffective parts.Use the Formative Assessment Analysis available on

the share drive:

Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4 Step 5 Step 6 Step 7 Step 8

Item # on Assessment

Standard/Learning

Target Assessed

Format (SR-Selected

Response, CR-

Constructed Response,

PE-Performanc

e Event)

Intended Learning

Level (Introduction, Review, Mastery)

Concept Learned?

Yes or No? (70%+ of students

answered question

correctly.)

If #5 is yes, stop.

If #5 is no, was the question

valid?Yes or No?

(See checklist)

If #6 is yes, go to #8.

If #6 is no, rewrite the question.

Assuming the question is

valid, how will you re-teach

the concept so the students can answer

the question/ address the

concept proficiently?

(context, reassessment)

THANK YOU.

…HAVE A GREAT EVENING.

Develop

HolisticTopic

3 : description of all traits

2: description of all traits

1: description of all traits

ExampleWriting/Idea Development

3

Paper is clear & focused, holds the reader’s attention, included relevant anecdotes, & details enrich the central theme.

2The writer is beginning to define the topic, even though development is still basic or general.

1The paper has no clear sense of purpose or central theme.

DevelopAnalytical

Topic 4 3 2 1Trait 1 Description Description Description DescriptionTrait 2 Description Description Description Description

ExampleWriting 4 3 2 1

Conventions Writer makes no errors in grammar or spelling that distract the reader from the content.

Writer makes 1-2 errors in grammar or spelling that distract the reader from the content.

Writer makes 3-4 errors in grammar or spelling that distract the reader from the content.

Writer makes more than 4 errors in grammar or spelling that distract the reader from the content.

Voice The writer seems to be writing from knowledge or experience. The author has taken the ideas and made them "his own."

The writer seems to be drawing on knowledge or experience, but there is some lack of ownership of the topic.

The writer relates some of his own knowledge or experience, but it adds nothing to the discussion of the topic.

The writer has not tried to transform the information in a personal way. The ideas and the way they are expressed seem to belong to someone else.