Assessing Learning – Chapters 3 & 4 Take notes on wkbk. pages 47 - 49

The Purposes of Assessment• A process that may take place at the start,

during, and after instruction to determine grades.• An accountability tool for evaluating teacher and

school effectiveness.• Assessment is an important and essential

ingredient of the instructional process. Evidence of success motivates learners to

continue working and creates an expectation for future success.

Assessment

• Purposeful collection of data from a variety of sources for the purpose of rendering a judgment.Measurement tools include tests, observations, projects, daily assignments, etc.

• The process of documentation.• Grades communicate the academic

achievement of the learners.• Helps communicate achievement to parents.

EvaluationEvaluation refers to making a judgment about the worth or value of something. Scores tell you little until you interpret them. You need criteria.

Norm-Referenced Evaluation – Criteria 1 You make judgments about individual learners’ levels of

performance by comparing an individual’s scores to the scores of others.

Standardization tends to form a normal distribution (Bell Curve) Most scores will be near the mean or average.

Raw scores (numbers student got right) should be pretty close to the Derived scores (representative sample) 80th percentile – 80% of the comparison population would have test results at or below this person’s score. 20% would be at or above this person’s score.

Evaluation

Criterion-Referenced Evaluation- criteria 2 Judgments are based on how well each

individual compares to a standard or set of criteria rather than how they compare to others.

Identifies an individual’s level of proficiency to pre-established standard of knowledge or skill.

Setting the criterion level in the class is a matter of professional judgment.

Grades• Grades communicate the results of evaluation. Teachers

must be able to explain their grading system because of other interested parties.

• Criterion-Referenced evaluations are used when a standard is set to qualify for each grade. If 90% of objectives are met = A. It’s possible for all students to receive any grade.

• Critics of letter grades say they do not provide enough detail.• Should the following variables be entered into a grade?

Aptitude/ability, effort, behavior/compliance, attitude, cheating, extra credit, or poor attendance, etc. as part of a child’s grade? (Poll our class – discuss) – R. Stiggens

Should we use grades as motivators? What about homework? *Teacher comments on Grading - Middleweb listserv

Discussion – Complete wkbk. Pg. 58

Placement Assessment Where do I begin? Use pretest at the beginning of a new unit

or course of study to establish a baseline. Allows teachers to make decisions about

the level of knowledge or skill prior to instruction.

Helps teachers know where to start and or which motivational strategy to use in the classroom.

Formative AssessmentOccurs throughout instruction.

A tool used to check for understanding and comprehension as knowledge builds.

Daily assignments, work samples, & short quizzes to help review learner progress and whether the teacher needs to modify instructional approaches; fine tune.

Diagnostic Assessment (specialist) may be used to probe for specific causes of failure.

Summative Assessment This assessment takes place at the

conclusion of an instructional unit. To assess the amount of knowledge or skill

retained by the learner. The teacher can use results to communicate with others what students have learned. (parents, admin.)

Teacher will use the Summative assessment as a basis for assigning grades.

* Commandments of testing in Middle Grades

Classifying Educational Outcomes• Taxonomy refers to a classification scheme.• Taxonomies emphasize three domains of

learning -A. affective: attitudes, feelings, interests, valuesB. cognitive: thinking associated with remembering and processing information.C. psychomotor: muscular coordination, motor skills

Bloom’s TaxonomyCognitive Domain

1. Knowledge – Recalling.2. Comprehension – Interpreting-translating3. Application – Completing a process.4. Analysis – Showing relationships.5. Synthesis – Creating – composing.6. Evaluation – Making a judgment.

Krathwohl’s Taxonomy Affective Domain

Schools seek to engender positive attitudes, interests, & values.

1. Receiving – Aware or willing to receive information.2. Responding – Make a response or participate.3. Valuing – Begin to internalize – interest in commitment

to activities.4. Organization – Integrate personal beliefs – make

choices between two or more values,etc.5. Characterization – Attitudes, beliefs, & values have

become internalized & a way of life.

No prominent psychomotor taxonomy is used extensively

Developing Criteria• Are the important outcomes assessed?• Validity – Are we measuring what we want?• Are there sufficient samples to allow for a fair

judgment?• Reliability – design is good so that various

evaluators will reach a similar conclusion.• Are assessments appropriate for the developmental

level of the learners?• Are assessments free of bias?• How are the results of the assessments interpreted

and used?How many of you have been trained in developing

effective & reliable assessments?

Testing• Testing consists of either Standardized or teacher-Made

tests.• Construction of tests:

– Selected response Tests – Where learners choose from responses provided (Two- response, multiple choice, & matching tests) Knowledge & comprehension categories

– Free-response Tests – Learner supplies the answer (short answer or essay tests).

– Authentic Assessment – Learner turns in a product, performs a skill, presentations, etc.Application, analysis, synthesis, & evaluation categories

* What are some of your questions????? (From your Notebook) Selected & free - response

Performance Assessment In recent years, there has been a growing interest in

assessing tasks in more realistic and relevant ways. This type of assessment is called performance, authentic, or product assessment.

Students can be evaluated by - working with others, giving oral presentations,

participating in discussions, demonstrations, conducting experiments, etc.

Rubrics, checklists, or rating scales are used to develop criteria to judge the learner’s performance.

Learner Portfolio Assessment is now a popular approach to evaluating learners’ progress. It’s a purposeful collection of products and performances that tells a story about a learner’s effort, progress, or achievement.

Chapter 4

Designing Instruction

• Instruction is the daily bread of classroom life, composed of the tools, strategies, lessons, & activities teachers & students use to learn.

1. What should students know & be able to do?2. Develop a curriculum based on standards3. Decide on assessments to show

achievement.4. Design instruction to prepare students to do

well, to learn, and to apply their skills.

Effectiveness of Instruction

Three key ingredients…• The curriculum must be based on the

standards, and how students learn best.• The assessments• The needs, interests, and concerns of the

students themselves.

Heterogeneous vs. Homogeneous Grouping

• Tracking, or placing students in distinct classes or groups based on actual or perceived evidence of capacity to learn, by research, is wrong. However, flexible grouping to differentiate instruction, is ok.

• Students from all ability levels can prosper in heterogeneous classes. Even the top 3 % or bottom 3 % of learners perform better when the curriculum & instruction are engaging.

3 Models for Organizing Instruction• After ten years of formal & informal

observations, Turning Points could not identify a single existing model that pulls together everything that they believe to be important in making decisions about instruction. They did discuss 3 models that attempt to organize instruction systematically, based on knowledge about how people learn. They include Authentic Instruction, WHERE, and Differentiated Instruction.

Authentic Instruction emphasis on curriculum

Criteria - to be authentic, achievement must reflect three overreaching criteria …

1. Students should construct, produce, and evaluate their own knowledge – not use or accept just what others have created.

2. Engage in cognitive work, search for understanding, and communicate their own ideas & findings.

3. Accomplishments should have value – aesthetic, utilitarian (useful), or personal.

WHERE Design Tool - instruction connected to assessment

• W = Where are we headed? (teacher & student)

• H = Hook the students (build motivation & excitement)

• E = Explore the subject & equip the students (debates, role playing, discussions, etc.)

• R = Rethink our work & ideas (spiral curriculum to rethink, rehearse & revise work) E = Evaluate results (exhibit what was learned through authentic assessment & evaluate their own learning – self assessment

Differentiated Instruction – attending to student’s ability

• Teacher focuses on concepts & principals• Ongoing assessment to give feedback• Teacher modifies content to fit student needs• Students participate in work at their level• Teacher & student collaborate in learning –

Both plan & set goals• Teacher must balance group & individual

norms by using a wide range of instructional strategies for individual & small group activities. (Chart on text pg. 81)

T.P. RECOMMENDATIONS• Meet students where they are• Center classrooms on the students• Provide rich learning environments• Organize content around concepts• Engage students in challenging work• Connect the classroom to the world• Differentiate the instruction• Students must do, not just hear• Students should work collaboratively, then reflect on what

they have learned• Assess students’ understanding using authentic & on-going

means. • Collaborate with colleagues & specialists in designing

instructional activities.

• Most reading instruction stops entirely after fifth grade. Students read 25% fewer books now than they did 20 years ago. (T.V.)

• Reading is not mastered by the end of elementary school. 30 % of students entering Middle School do not have basic reading skills. People never stop learning to read.

• M.S. teachers are not prepared to teach reading.• Research shows that teaching reading across the

curriculum improves students ability to become better readers, writers, & critical thinkers. Use reading specialists & intensive supports for those students who are behind in reading skills.

Reading across the curriculum• Weave reading strategies into content areas.• Find materials for your subject area that are

suitable for different reading levels.• Build your own library (magazines,

brochures, newsletters, print materials)• Devote 40 to 60 minutes a day to reading.

Focus on phonetic, comprehension, study, vocabulary, & metacognitive skills.

• Be able to “norm books” to find the reading level.

* ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENT• As a team, develop an alternative assessment

for something that your team wants to teach.• Develop criteria, using a rubric or checklist,

to define mastery of the skill. • Show your rubric on the overhead to the class

Explain why this is a fair measurement tool.• Would your criteria be used mainly in

placement, formative, or summative assessment?

• Would it be used more in the affective, cognitive or psychomotor domain?