Copyright © 2002 The George Lucas Educational Foundation Assessment Assessment is an integral part of instruction determining whether or not the goals of education are being met. It is used to get a greater understanding of the current knowledge that a student has. Copyright © 2002 The George Lucas Educational Foundation

Technology & Assessment “Putting the power of technology to work for all students requires a broadly conceived approach to educational change that integrates new technologies and curricula with new ideas about learning, teaching, and assessment.” Assessment meets many needs for many individuals. It continually asks the questions: "Are we teaching what we think we are teaching?" "Are students learning what they are supposed to be learning?" "Is there a way to teach the subject better, therefore promoting better learning?" With project-based learning and the integration of technology, assessment needs to reflect the learning process as well as what is being learned. -- Danielle Bolduc Technology Integration Facilitator (2000)

Assessment At the completion of a lesson, assessment of students is usually done in the form of a written test. This test is either created by the teacher or came with the textbook and are usually true/false, multiple choice, or fill-in-the-blanks. They are supposed to indicate whether or not the student has learned the material or skill being taught. But do these tests truly demonstrate the acquisition of knowledge or new skills by the students? Are they testing for short term memory skills or for life-long learning?

Teaching to the Test “Superficial forms of assessment tend to lead to teaching and learning.” Today's students need to know not only the basic reading and arithmetic skills, but also skills that will allow them to face a world that is continually changing. They must be able to think critically, to analyze, and to make inferences. Changes in the skills base and knowledge our students need require new learning goals. These new learning goals change the relationship between assessment and instruction. Teachers need to take an active role in making decisions about the purpose of assessment and the content that is being assessed. -- Edutopia: Success Stories for Learning in the Digital Age

Why Assess? Provide diagnosis Set standards Evaluate progress Communicate results Motivate performance Assessment meets many needs. It provides diagnostic feedback. It helps educators set standards. It allows one to evaluate progress and to relate that progress to others. The primary goal of assessment is to foster learning of academic content that will be worthwhile for all students. Assessments give students feedback on how well they understand the information and on what they need to improve. They help teachers better design instruction to teach more effectively. Assessment becomes even more relevant when students become involved in the development of the assessment to be used. Students eagerly take an active role in developing the scoring criteria, self-evaluation, and goal setting. They accept that the assessment is adequately measuring their learning because they have had a role in the assessment's creation. Read Assessment for Understanding by Roberta Furger on the GLEF Web site.

Types of Assessment Standardized Tests Alternative Assessment In the early theories of learning, complex higher-order thinking skills were thought to be acquired in small pieces, breaking down learning into a series of prerequisite skills. It was thought that after these pieces were memorized, the learner would be able to assemble them into complex understanding and insight. The puzzle could be put together to form a coherent picture. Today we know that learning requires the learner to engage in problem-solving and to actively build mental models. Knowledge is not attained by just receiving information, but by interpreting the information and relating it to the knowledge base the learner already has. What is important, and therefore should be assessed, is the learner's ability to organize, structure, and use information in context to solve complex problems.

Standardized Tests Are not prescriptive Give capsulated view of a student’s learning Used in conjunction with performance-based assessment Almost every school district now administers state-mandated standardized tests. Every student at a particular grade level is required to take the same test. Everything about the test is standard -- from the questions themselves to the length of time students have to complete it (although some exceptions may be made for students with learning or physical disabilities) to the time of year in which the test is taken. Throughout the country, and with the passage of the "No Child Left Behind" Act (which requires research-based assessment), student performance on these tests has become the basis for such critical decisions as student promotion from one grade to the next, or compensation for teachers and administrators. Standardized tests, if not closely connected to the curriculum being taught, are not prescriptive. They do not tell the teacher what to teach. They do not tell the teacher what the true understanding of the students’ needs and abilities are. Standardized testing only gives a simplistic view of a student’s learning. The testing asks for capsulated knowledge and proficiency of an individual student. It can be an essential part of the assessment process, but it doesn’t tell the whole picture. Standardized tests should not be confused with the standards movement, which advocates specific grade-level content and performance standards in key subject areas. Often, in fact, standardized tests are not aligned with state and district content standards, causing considerable disconnect between what is being taught and what is being tested. Standardized testing needs to be used in conjunction with performance-based assessment to give a holistic and accurate measure of the student’s learning. The questions then become: What is evidence-based assessment? Is it standardized tests? Is it portfolios? If portfolios are a part of evidence-based assessment, what else is necessary? Reflections? Work samples? Best work?

Types of Authentic Assessment Observation Teacher-made tests, quizzes, exams Written compositions Oral presentations Projects, experiments, performance tasks Portfolios Alternative assessment, often called authentic or performance assessment, is usually designed by the teacher to gauge students' understanding of the lessons taught. Examples of these measurements are open-ended questions, written compositions, oral presentations, projects, experiments, and portfolios of student work over time. Alternative assessments are designed so that the content of the assessment being used matches the content of what is being taught. Effective assessments give students feedback on how well they understand the information and on what they need to improve. They help teachers better design instruction to teach more effectively. Assessment becomes even more relevant when students become involved in the development of the assessment to be used. Students eagerly take an active role in developing the scoring criteria, self-evaluation, and goal setting. They accept that the assessment is adequately measuring their learning because they have had a role in the assessment's creation.

Why Use Rubrics? Set goals Define expectations Demystify grades Rubrics are multidimensional sets of scoring guidelines that can be used to provide consistency in evaluating student work. They spell out scoring criteria so that multiple teachers, using the same rubric for a student's essay, for example, would arrive at the same score or grade. Rubrics are used from the initiation to the completion of a student project. They provide a specific measurement system for specific tasks and are tailored for each project. As the projects become more complex, so do the rubrics. Rubrics help students understand what is expected from them. They demystify grades by clearly stating, in age-appropriate vocabulary, the expectations for a project. Rubrics help students see that learning is about gaining specific skills (both in academic subjects and in problem-solving and life skills). They also give students the opportunity to do self-assessment -- to reflect on the learning process. Rubrics allow the students to participate in setting the goals for the project and define for the students what is expected for each member of a team or outcome of a project.

How to Create a Rubric List all the possible dimensions that you could look at. Narrow your choices to a reasonable number. Decide on the number of performance levels. Label them. (For example, “Not Yet”, “Sometimes” and “Always” OR “Fair”, “Average” and “Excellent”) Write statements that clearly describe the expected performance at each level of each dimension. Try out your rubric BEFORE using it!!!

Now, create your own rubric Review the objectives you have developed for your unit plan. Choose one of the objectives that you feel would be best assessed through the use of a rubric. Use a Word Table to create your rubric.

Discuss Discuss with your classmates the rubric you created. Will it meet the students needs? Will it accurately reflect the learning process? Will it accurately reflect what is being learned?

Using a Template RubiStar http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php

Discuss Discuss with your classmates whether or not you could use this site. What are the template limitations? What are the template benefits?

References Edutopia: Success Stories for Learning in the Digital Age. The George Lucas Educational Foundation. Jossey-Bass, 2002 The George Lucas Educational Foundation Web site. Rubistar’s “Create Rubrics for your Project-Based Learning Activities” Web site Kathy Schrock’s Guide for Educators “Assessment & Rubric Information” Web site. A Practical Guide to Alternative Assessment. Herman, Joan L., Aschbacher, Pamela R., & Winters, Lynn. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 1992