Michigan Assessment Consortium Common Assessment Development Series Module 2 – Determining the Parameters of the Common Assessment

Developed and Narrated by Edward Roeber Professor Michigan State University

Support The Michigan Assessment Consortium professional development series in common assessment development is funded in part by the Michigan Association of Intermediate School Administrators in cooperation with …

In Module 2 you will learn about What are the components of a typical common assessment? What are the components of a typical common assessment? How should the school make decisions about which components to use? How should the school make decisions about which components to use?

Typical Common Assessment Components The typical types of assessments used in common assessments include: Multiple-choice items Short written response items Long written response (essay) items Performance assessments Existing student work collected in a portfolio

Selected-Response Items These items are most useful for: Coverage of a content area broadly, since many questions can be asked in a short period of time Learning what students know about a topic These items are less useful for: In-depth assessments, since writing items based on challenging content is difficult

Short Written Response Items These items are most useful for: Determining if students can solve problems Students can provide the answer rather than select it These items are less useful for: Inexpensive, quick assessments, since the responses will need to be scored by a teacher or aide

Long Written Response (Essay) Items These items are most useful for: Learning what students know about a subject area Seeing if students can apply their learning These items are less useful for: Broad content area coverage Factual (right-wrong) types of questions

Performance Assessments These items are most useful for: Determining if students can actually use the skills they have been taught Learning what students actually know Probing learning at some depth These items are less useful for: Broad content area coverage

Portfolios of Student Work These items are most useful for: Documenting the work students have done in class Demonstrating the growth in learning over time These items are less useful for: Standardized assessments of the same skills using the same assessment techniques

Making Decisions About Assessment Components There are several things to keep in mind when deciding on which components to use: Purpose(s) of the assessment Use(s) of the assessment information Resources (money, staff and time) available to support the assessment

Making Decisions About Assessment Components See Module 1 on determining the purpose of the assessment Use(s) of the assessment information Determine what consequences the assessment will have for students or educators - this determines the “stakes” for the assessment If students have to pass the assessment to get a grade, pass a course, get promoted or graduate, then it is “high stakes”

Making Decisions About Assessment Components High stakes assessments have specific policy, technical and legal requirements for them, many of which are described in subsequent modules Make sure that the types of assessments chosen, the manner in which these are developed, and how they are implemented matches the purposes and uses of the assessment

Making Decisions About Assessment Components Follow the advice given in this series of modules to make sure that the common assessments created by your school or district are technically sound and legally defensible