Handout: Assessment Systems & Electronic Portfolios

Overlap of Assessment Types Assessment Management Systems: that support Assessment OF Learning Electronic Portfolios: that support Assessment FOR Learning H - Positivist checklist of skills - Constructivist story of deep learning Institution-centered Learner-centered “Checklist of Competencies” • Balance • “Students’ Story of Learning”

Forms of Assessment Formative Assessments Provides insights for the teacher Assessment FOR Learning Provides insights for the learner Summative Assessments (Assessment OF Learning or Evaluation) Provides insights (and data) for the institution Nick Rate (2008) Assessment for Learning & ePortfolios, NZ Ministry of Ed

Overview Assessment OF Learning Assessment FOR Learning Reason Check Status Improve Learning To Inform Others about students Students about themselves Focus Standards Enabling targets Rick Stiggins Assessment Training Institute

Rick Stiggins Assessment Training Institute Assessment OF Learning Assessment FOR Learning Example High stakes external assessments, Classroom tests used for grading Assessments that diagnose needs or help students see themselves improve Place in time An event after learning A process during learning

Purposes for Assessment Assessment FOR Learning = Formative (Classroom-based) Assessment Assessment OF Learning = Summative Assessment

Crucial Distinction Assessment OF Learning How much have students learned as of a particular point in time? Assessment FOR Learning How can we use assessment to help students learn more? Rick Stiggins Assessment Training Institute

www.qca.org.uk ages3-14

Principles of Assessment FOR Learning Definition: Assessment for Learning is the process of seeking and interpreting evidence for use by learners and their teachers to decide where the learners are in their learning, where they need to go and how best to get there.

What is your portfolio philosophy? A standardized checklist of skills? (Positivist) or A reflective story of deep learning? (Constructivist)

Which approach should you take? Are you looking for an electronic portfolio… Or an assessment management system? What’s the difference? Along a Continuum

How do we find a balance between these two purposes for assessment?

Overlap of Assessment Types Portfolios that support Assessment OF Learning Portfolios that support Assessment FOR Learning H - Positivist checklist of skills - Constructivist story of deep learning Institution-centered Learner-centered “Checklist of Competencies” • Balance • “Students’ Story of Learning”

A Resource on K-12 Portfolios By Evangeline Harris Stefanakis Published by Heinemann Includes a CD-ROM with examples of student portfolios

Assessment for Learning Continuum - Enhanced Stefanakis, Evangeline (2002) Multiple Intelligences and Portfolios. Portsmouth: Heinemann, p. 136

Portfolio Differences Assessment OF Learning Purpose prescribed Artifacts mandated - scoring for external use Organized by teacher Summative (Past to present) Institution-centered Requires extrinsic motivation Assessment FOR Learning Purpose negotiated Artifacts chosen - feedback to learner Organized by learner Formative (Present to future) Student-centered Intrinsically motivating

Opportunity Cost The alternative you give up when you make a decision… The cost of an alternative that must be forgone in order to pursue a certain action What is the opportunity cost of emphasizing accountability in portfolios over reflection and deep learning?

Quote from Hartnell-Young & Morriss (2007) Digital Portfolios many issues that arise from the multiple purposes for developing electronic portfolios. “While these are legitimate uses for portfolios, when teachers perceive that accountability is viewed as more important than their knowledge and expertise, they can become cynical, and their portfolios tend to be heavy with documentation but light on passion.” (p.8)

Which approach should you take? Are you looking for an electronic portfolio… Or an assessment management system? What’s the difference? Along a Continuum

Electronic Portfolio or Assessment Management System?

How can we address both types of portfolios? Use three different systems that are digitally linked: A digital archive of a learner’s work An institution-centered database to collect faculty-generated assessment data based on tasks and rubrics A student-centered electronic portfolio

Handout

Begin Here

I

Interactive Process

Interactive Process Assessor Learner

Positivist Paradigm (Evaluation and Making Inferences) Portfolio as Test

Assessor EVALUATES required artifacts

Perf tasks

Data collected for certification/ licensure (high stakes) and for accreditation

II

Resulting in… Institution-centered aggregated data leading to certification/licensure and accreditation

Focus on Limited-Term Evaluation

External Locus of Control Includes prescribed artifacts and rubrics Requires database to manage information Focuses on faculty's formative and summative evaluations

I

Constructivist Paradigm (Making Meaning and Assessment as Learning) Portfolio as Story

Learner COLLECTS artifacts from learning experiences

Reflection

Learner SELECTS artifacts and reflections to meet self-determined purpose(s)

III

Resulting in… Student-centered documentation of deep learning, for developing self-concept and presentation to multiple audiences (peers, employers, etc.)

Focus on Lifelong Self-Directed Learning

Internal Locus of Control Includes choice of artifacts Results in personalized e-portfolio Focuses on learner's celebration of uniqueness

Both approaches result in a:

Universities who have kept Assessment Management & E-Portfolios Separate Baylor University University of Washington Catalyst Portfolio Builder Student Learning Objectives (SLO) system MNSCU (Minnesota eFolio) New Blackboard (WebCT) System Ball State University (rGrade)