Formative and Summative Assessment Julie Sanchez, Ph.D December 1, 2016

What is classroom assessment? All processes involved in making decisions about students’ learning progress Reasons for assessment Promote learning Increase motivation Accountability

THE BIG VISION TO PONDER What is the purpose of the assessment? Think clearly about what the student will learn by completing their work. Then we design assignments and select content that will promote that learning. Think clearly about what you will learn by having students completing their work.

Student & Teacher Gains What does it show you about the student’s thinking? What does it NOT show you? What does it show you about the student’s metacognitive skills? Where would you place more emphasis when teaching this concept? Are there any misconceptions apparent that you need to address? Are there interesting relationships to explore further? What ideas does it provide you for your teaching of this subject in the future?

A classification of classroom assessments FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT Formal assessment Informal assessment Teacher made assessments Commercially made assessments Formal assessment Informal assessment Teacher made assessments Commercially made assessments

When do we use formative vs. summative? Directly following concept learning/skills based learning To practice new knowledge/elaborate on new knowledge When we jump Bloom’s levels Directly following the end of a unit, chapter or series of lessons When students need to evidence learning on sequential lessons that have continual building of knowledge Mid-semester/End of semester

Formative Assessment Activity HOMEWORK/IN-CLASS WORK What is my homework or low stakes class work philosophy? a. How does this work fit into my class? How is it valued? b. Why do I assign? 2. What are my policies? a. Late? b. Incomplete or below standard work? 3. How is this work graded? a. How do my students know how they did?

Traditional Assessments

Selected-Response Assessments Multiple choice items Matching items True-False items

Constructed response assessments Short answer/open-ended Essay Completion items Problem solving items

How effective are selected response assessments? ADVANTAGES Efficient Quick to score Good measure of discrete knowledge Assess many topics in a short time DISADVANTAGES Students may guess Cannot measure creative or elaborative skills

How effective are constructed response assessments? ADVANTAGES Easier to construct Measures knowledge, organization, and communication skills Assesses Bloom’s higher levels DISADVANTAGES Time consuming to grade Cover less material More likely to be unreliable Rubrics may help improve reliability

Alternative assessments Main goal is to “gather evidence about how students are approaching, processing, and completing real-life tasks in a particular domain” Authentic assessments Portfolios Performances Exhibitions Journals

Summative assessment activity: Assignment analysis Rubric analysis

Understanding the Assessment Cycle

Administering assessments Create a comfortable and organized environment. Keep the assessment environment as similar as possible to the learning environment. Monitor your students as they are being assessed. Give precise directions before and during your assessments (dual-modality). Promote metacognition.

Evaluating and Revising LANGUAGE: Ambiguous wording? Clear directions? Language align with instruction? INSTRUCTION: Strong vs.? Insufficient? LEVEL OF DIFFICULTY (Blooms taxonomy)? Does level of curriculum match the level of assessment? AMOUNT of formative assessment? Used for INTENDED PURPOSE(S)/align with objectives? Learning behaviors?