Assessment literacy for effective classroom-based assessment

Eddy White, PhD

Effective classroom- based assessment

1 Eddy White, PhD (May, 2012)

Assessment literacy should be an issue of interest and professional

development for all educators.

  Eddy White, PhD   Assessment Coordinator   Center for English as a Second Language   University of Arizona Tucson, USA



Are you assessment literate?

How would you respond

to this question in a job interview?

In a discussion with colleagues?


• Focus= classroom–based assessment

•  Not large-scale, externally administered,

standardized testing

reminder


Consider   Research suggests that teachers spend from one-quarter to one-third of their professional time on assessment-related activities.

 Almost all do so without the benefit of having learned the principles of sound assessment.

(Stiggins, 2007) 6 Eddy White, PhD (May, 2012)

1. Assessment literacy explained

2. Some fundamental assessment ideas

3. Your assessment practices

4. Words of Wisdom: the importance of assessment

5. Conclusion

( + References)

Targets



 the kinds of assessment know-how and understanding that teachers need to assess their students effectively

 Assessment literate educators should have knowledge and skills related to the basic principles of quality assessment practices

(SERVE Center, University of North Carolina, 2004) 9 Eddy White, PhD (May, 2012)

Assessment skills educators need 1.How to define clear learning goals, which are the basis of developing or choosing ways to assess student learning

2. How to make use of a variety of assessment methods to gather evidence of student learning

3. How to analyze achievement data (both quantitative and qualitative) and make good inferences from the data gathered

4. How to provide appropriate feedback to students

5. How to make appropriate instructional modifications to help students improve

6. How to involve students in the assessment process (e.g. self and peer assessment), and effectively communicate results

7. Most importantly, how to engineer an effective classroom assessment environment that boosts student motivation to learn.

(SERVE Center, Univ. of North Carolina, 2004) 10 Eddy White, PhD (May, 2012)


A basic understanding of statistics may be useful to organize information, perform analyses, and display data.

But . . .


(McMillan, 2003)

 Generally, teachers do not calculate reliability estimates, standard error of measurement, validity co-efficients, etc.   These techniques are

based on principles for developing large scale objective tests, with limited relevance to the assessment context of classrooom teachers.


  Historically, educational leaders and teachers have not been given the opportunity to learn about sound classroom assessment practices.

  Further, over the years, the measurement community has narrowed its role to one of maximizing the efficiency and accuracy of high-stakes testing while playing virtually no attention to assessment as it plays out for teachers or learners day to day in the classroom.


 Assessment for student-learning

 Not assessment as measurement


Assessment Literacy

Know-how and understanding

teachers need to assess students effectively and

maximize learning



Characteristics of an assessment literate educator

•  superior knowledge about content and substance of what is to be learned

•  knowledge about learners and learning and a desire to help students develop, improve and do better

•  skills in selecting and creating assessment tasks

•  knowledge of criteria and standards appropriate to assessment tasks

•  evaluative skills and expertise in the analysis and use of assessment information

•  expertise in giving appropriate, targeted feedback

(Sadler, 1998) 18 Eddy White, PhD (May, 2012)

 understand the difference between sound and unsound assessment practices.


 Assessment-literate educators come to any assessment knowing what they are assessing, why they are doing so, how best to assess the achievement of interest, how to generate sound samples of performance, what can go wrong, and how to prevent these problems before they occur.


Assessment literate teachers understand how to use assessment as a teaching tool to promote learning.



3 Questions


 1.What are the ‘five cardinal criteria’ that can be used to design and evaluate all types of assessment?

Source: Language Assessment: Principles and Classroom Practices (Brown,2004) 24 Eddy White, PhD (May, 2012)

validity reliability

practicality authenticity

washback

Five key assessment principles


(Brown, 2004) 26 Eddy White, PhD (May, 2012)

 These questions provide an excellent criterion for a self-assessment of the assessment frameworks we design and implement.


 Three types, each serving a different purpose 3

Quiz question # 2

Q. What are they? 28 Eddy White, PhD (May, 2012)

1. Diagnostic

2. Summative

3. Formative 29 Eddy White, PhD (May, 2012)

  precedes instruction, pre-assessments

  used to check students prior knowledge and skill levels, identify student misconceptions, profile learners’ interests, etc.

  provide information to assist teacher planning and guide differentiated instruction

  normally not graded


  summarizes what students have learned at the conclusion of an instructional segment

  evaluative; reported as a score or grade   results typically ‘count’ and appear on report cards

and transcripts   used alone, insufficient tools for maximizing student

learning   waiting until the end of a teaching period to find out

how well students have learned - too late

Assessment of Learning 31 Eddy White, PhD (May, 2012)

  on-going, occurs concurrently with instruction   provides specific feedback to teachers and

students for the purpose of guiding teaching to improve learning

  formal and informal methods, such as ungraded quizzes, oral questioning, teacher observation, draft work, self- and peer-assessment, etc.

  results not factored into summative evaluation and grading

Assessment for Learning 32 Eddy White, PhD (May, 2012)

Formative assessment is at

the heart of effective teaching.

This seminal Black and Wiliam (1998) source is easily accessed online.



  Students are expected to guess the nature of assessment requirements

 Assessment requirements are often separate to what happens in classes

 Assessment often covers only a part of the course material

 Assessment is often unclear to students

 Assessment is often summative rather than formative


“Assessment is often shrouded in mystique, governed by tradition and has the tendency to be notoriously inadequate”(Beaumont-Kings,1994, p.1)


For many students, assessment is not an educational experience in itself, but a process of ‘guessing what the teacher wants’.

(McLaughlin & Simpson, 2004)





  Inventories  Checklists  Peer Rating  Self Rating   Journals  Portfolios  Observations  Discussions   Interviews

 True–False Item  Multiple Choice  Completion  Short Answer  Essay  Practical Exam  Papers/Reports  Projects  Questionnaires  Presentations


Self-assess your assessment

practices


1.   Key learning outcomes have been identified and assessments based on them

2.   Assessment practice helps students to understand what they can do and where they need to improve

3.   Sharing of learning intentions is routine practice during classes

4.   Assessment practice enhances the learning process

5.   Students are involved in assessing their own work and that of their peers

classroom-based assessment

How do your current practices match these statements?

True Partly true

Not true



More food for thought

Words of wisdom: Assessment 45 Eddy White, PhD (May, 2012)

Assessment is the engine that drives learning.

(Cowan, 1998)


  Assessment is a central element in the overall quality of teaching and learning in higher education.

  Well-designed assessment sets clear expectations, establishes a reasonable workload (one that does not push students into rote reproductive approaches to study), and provides opportunities for students to self-monitor, rehearse, practice and receive feedback.

  Assessment is an integral component of a coherent educational experience.

(James, McInnis, & Devlin, 2002, p.7)


(Rowntree, 1987)

 The spirit and style of student assessment defines the de facto curriculum.


  Improving student learning implies improving the assessment system.

  Teachers often assume that it is their teaching that directs student learning.

  In practice, assessment directs student learning, because it is the assessment system that defines what is worth learning.

(Havnes, 2004, p.1) 49 Eddy White, PhD (May, 2012)

  For most students, assessment requirements literally define the curriculum.

 Assessment is a potent strategic tool for educators with which to spell out the learning that will be rewarded and to guide students into effective approaches to study.

  Equally, however, poorly designed assessment has the potential to hinder learning.


  Students can, with difficulty, escape from the effects of poor teaching.

 They cannot (by definition if they want to graduate) escape the effects of poor assessment.

(Boud,1995) 51 Eddy White, PhD (May, 2012)

 There is no getting away from the fact that most of the things that go wrong with assessment are our fault, the result of poor assessment design- and not the fault of our students.

(Race et al., 2005) 52 Eddy White, PhD (May, 2012)

The single most effective way of enhancing learning within higher

education is through the improvement of assessment

procedures. Assessment is at the core of the academic role of

educators.

(Holroyd, 2000, p. 43)



Assessment Literacy

Know-how and understanding

teachers need to assess students effectively and

maximize learning


  The teachers’ degree of assessment competence has a huge influence on the course being taught

  The degree of student learning and success in a course is also significantly impacted by the instructors’ assessment literacy

  It is an overlooked and undervalued aspect of professional development.



Improving assessment literacy and becoming more competent assessors means a personal commitment of time, effort and energy.


Dr. David Boud, University of Technology, Sydney

  “We owe it to ourselves and our students to devote at least as much energy to ensuring that our assessment practices are worthwhile as we do to ensuring that we teach well”.

(Boud, 1998, p. 2) 59 Eddy White, PhD (May, 2012)

A solid understanding of assessment issues should be part of every teachers’ knowledge base, and teachers should be encouraged to equip themselves with this knowledge as part of their ongoing professional development. (2007, p. 207)

Dr. Sara Cushing Weigle Georgia State University


Are you assessment

literate?






Education

Assessment literacy for effective classroom-based assessment