Fair AssessmentFair Assessment

Mike MusilLincoln, Nebraska mmusil@lps.org

Today’s Objectives:◦ Writing rubrics◦ Formative and

summative assessment◦ A student’s final mark

Grapefruit Peeling ExerciseGrapefruit Peeling Exercise

First markFirst mark

Writing a rubricWriting a rubricShould NOT be a checklist of work◦ Not simply more work involved to get a

higher gradeShould be specific to important skillsShould be done in advanceShould give specific skill-based feedbackShould be revised as needed

Grapefruit RubricGrapefruit Rubric

Formative Vs. SummativeFormative Vs. Summative

To guide the teachingGrade “written” in pencilTo guide the learning

To assess the learnerTo assess the teachingGrade “written” in pen

SummativeFormative

Do you know…Do you know…How many times a rodeo rider rides

before predictions are made about howwell she will do?

6 times!

But first…But first…If we don’t predict until 6 times for a rodeo rider,

after years of practice, why do we expect students to master skills after only 1 lesson?

Remember the Rule of 27! More likely students won’t master skills after just

one lesson and one practiceWhen do students master difficult concepts the first

time? What then?

Assessment FOR LearningAssessment FOR LearningAll can and must succeed at some level

(confidence creator)Continuous classroom assessment, providing

students with credible evidence of their achievement

Students get critical skill-based feedbackTeacher re-teaches as needed Motivation increases because students feel

more confident about learningAttitude and achievement improves

Assessment OF LearningAssessment OF Learning

No re-teachingTeacher makes changes for “next time”Assessment of learning is to rankTraditional assessments were summative

onlyStandardized tests, unit tests, etc.

ReviewReviewWhat is formative assessment?How does formative assessment

encourage learning?When should summative assessment be

used?Is it reasonable that students should

master a skill after having been taught the skill once?

AveragingAveraging

How does averaging work?

Let’s take a look at the Parachute Let’s take a look at the Parachute Packing Class…Packing Class…

This is a one-year classA test the last day of each monthImagine the last day of class and test is

today, and you’re going to jump with your student’s parachute.

Which will you choose?

Student 1Student 1

Student 2Student 2

Student 3Student 3

Three students…Three students…

But when we averageBut when we averageStudent 1

Student 2

Student 3

59%

56%

55%

Who was penalized the most?Who was penalized the most?

The stu

dent who lea

rned

the most!

Your grade will come from most Your grade will come from most recent observationsrecent observations

ReviewReviewWhy is it important to develop a rubric for

specific tasks?How is a rubric used to formatively assess

students?When should summative marks be used?How is averaging damaging to a student’s true

academic ability?Will students know how to “pack a

parachute” when leaving your class in June?