Evaluating Student Achievement How do you measure if your students are learning?

Agenda Explore methods of formative evaluation. Explore methods of summative evaluation. These are our objectives for the next hour.

Formative and Summative Assessment Formative Assessment is intertwined with your teaching, it happens all the time. Summative Assessment happens at the end of a unit, chapter, class and measures the students level of learning at that specific moment in time. The two major categories of student assessment. Each serve their purpose well. But they require us to change how we look at teaching and evaluation.

Bloom’s Taxonomy

Your Evaluation Has to Match Your Objectives What do your students need to learn? Evaluation Make judgments Synthesis Creates meaning Analysis Break it down Application Use a concept Comprehension Understand meaning Knowledge Recall or recite This goes back to your objectives; it always does. Objectives, teaching, and evaluation are intimately tied together. HANDOUT What keywords are showing up in your objectives There has to be a clear line between your objectives – teaching – and evaluation

Formative Assessment Formative Assessment lets the student know how well they are grasping the material Formative Assessment lets YOU identify the gaps between what is being taught and what is being learned. These are done early and often. Mixed in with your teaching all semester long.

Examples of Formative Assessment Just ask One minute paper Toughest point One sentence summary Application cards Mind Map Stop/Start/Continue

Just Ask This by far the most common formative assessment we use because it is fast and easy. “does this make sense?” “did you all get that?” “is this clear?” It works, but we can dig a little deeper. What are the pros and cons Pros: Very fast, easy Cons: Not everyone will speak up, afraid of looking dumb.

The One Minute Paper Sixty seconds to answer a question Most important thing today? Most important question unanswered? Why is this important?

The Toughest Point What was the “toughest” point about the lesson? What are you having trouble with? Notice that we are moving to student centered assessment. Not what do you want to tell them, but what they need to hear.

One Sentence Summary How well can learners summarize the important points? One long sentence

Application Cards Write one real-world application of the major concept Index cards, threaded discussion

Mind Map for Evaluation Have the students try to draw a conceptual outline. Evaluating Students Formative Summative Just ask One minute paper Muddiest point One sentence summary Application cards Mind Map

Start/Stop/Continue Let students conduct a formative evaluation on your teaching. On index cards and ask them to list three things: What should I start doing? What should I stop doing? What should I continue doing? Do this early and often You know you are going to have a summative evaluation at the end of the semester. Conduct your own formative evaluation; we do them formally and informally in Tifton.

Wrapping Up Formative Assessment Try an Application Card Take a index card or sheet of paper and write down how you can use three of these formative assessments in your upcoming class.

Summative Assessment How do we conduct most of our summative assessment?

Examples of Summative Assessment Here a few of my favorite summative evaluation techniques. Test – we will save for another day Portfolios Product-Based Performance-Based Journals & Learning Logs Quiz and Test We are going to discuss several different types of assessment strategies. Jeannie suggested we focus on Rubrics. You probably use some of these tools already. Please add to our discussion with your experiences.

Advantages for the student Allows for a broad range of demonstration of knowledge Allows for legitimate self assessment. Individual strengths and abilities are recognized. Goals (objectives) are clearly stated in the beginning of a unit of study. Students are able to assess themselves as they move through material. They often find problem areas and deficiencies before being formally assessed by the teacher. Students will learn to gage their own learning as well as develop time manage skills.

Advantages for the Teacher Learning goals (objectives) are shared with students before material is introduced. Students know exactly what you want them to learn. Tests all 6 levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy. Gives a clearer and broader picture of each students abilities, strengths and knowledge. There are several methods we will talk about that easily allow the teacher to address all levels of learning. Knowledge-observe and recall Comprehension-understand, interpret, compare, contrast Application- Use information, solve problems Analysis- organization of parts Synthesis- Draw conclusions, generalize Evaluation- Compare ideas, assess value of information

Challenges Will you accurately evaluate students? Will your assessment tool provide you with information that is useful for improving instruction? How do you know the student did all of their own work? How do you develop new assessment tools? If tools are not well developed and matched directly to your learning goals and instruction, can you be assured your tools is valid and reliable? I suggest you begin with the one type of assessment tool that you feel the most comfortable with and just jump in.

Alternative Assessment Let’s Begin with Portfolio Assessment.

Portfolios Focuses on students ability to produce a quality product Integrates and produces knowledge Provides meaningful tasks Provides framework for learning Provides evidence of conceptual understanding Here are a few of the pros of portfolios.

Portfolio Time Frame The time frame depends on your purpose. Semester? Unit? Labs only? Research? Reflections? If you have never used a portfolio assessment, you might want to start small. You probably have required students to keep a lab notebook or a journal of observations for research. If so, you have used a portfolio. You might want to try adding a reflection segment in which the students evaluates what they have learned in keeping the journal.

Reflective Thinking Portfolios should include a reflection component. Being a reflective thinker is a learned process. Students must actively engage in the thought process to become proficient at it. This encourages self evaluation, the highest cognitive process. Reflection is a self assessment tool. Your students should become reflective learners understanding that this skill should be taught to their future students.

Reflective Thinking Continued Reflective Starters I can demonstrate that I understand _______________ by evaluating it on _______________ I am most proud that I know ____________. The section I most need to improve is __________________. A Portfolio without reflection is a collection of stuff that may or may not be used again. Make your requirements relevant to your students learning process and needs, both present and in the future.

Product Based Assessments Investigate a controversial issue using a debate format Multimedia presentation Oral report with visuals Poster Board Collections Slide show or Photo essay Video production What are some more… Product based assessments are usually used for single objectives or a limited number of objectives. They allow a student to create something they should be able to use some day. The depth the topic goes into depends on your requirement. Share some ideas

Product Based Assessments As with all evaluation you need to let the students know what you expect of them. Share your objectives. As you might have already guessed, we are going to suggest using rubrics on all of the alternative assessment strategies we discuss. Students perform at the highest levels of achievement when they know what is expected. They want to give you what you want, so don’t keep it a secret. Allow them to develop and expand their thinking skills and classroom performance by creating a product. (Hand out and discuss rubric)

Performance Based Assessment This is where and when your student can show you their “stuff’.

Performance Based Assessment Demonstrate lab techniques Demonstrate observation skills in the field Oral explanations of processes Debates Defend a scientific investigation procedure, demonstrating techniques and equipment This is one area that I would guess many of you are already using. Any time you are discussing a topic with a student you are assessing them. It may be informally, which is important, but it is assessment. You can use these discussions as formal assessment also if you plan ahead.

Journals & Learning Logs Lab notes Research notes Reflective thinking Field observations Reference material Syllabus All of you are probably more familiar with this type of assessment than we are. But have you used a journal for student assessment? Journals can be assigned grades weekly, monthly, or once a semester. They can include any of the listed components plus any other information that is specific to your class. You should include Journal requirements in your syllabus. And of course (new slide)

How do I grade all this? The best way I have found to grade these assessment tools is with the use of a rubric. The rubric will give clear instructions on what you expect of the students and how the work will be graded. Valid because it includes objectives and reliable because it uses a scoring rubric.

Steps in Rubric Development Determine learning objectives. Each rubric item should focus on a different skill. Evaluate only measurable criteria. Ideally, the entire rubric should fit on one sheet of paper. Reevaluate the rubric. (Did it work?)

Terms for measuring range Needs Improvement….Satisfactory….Good…Exemplary Beginning..Developing..Accomplished..Examplary Needs work…. Good…. Excellent Novice…. Apprentice…. Proficient…. Distinguished Basic…. Proficient…. Advanced Numeric Scale ranging from 1 to 5, for example These are general terms you can use the determine a scoring level. Remember each of these terms must be defined in detail to be effective. You can apply any value to each range and interpret as a grade to fit your grading scale. (Refer to rubric samples) For example, your total points can equal 100 or you can assign a GPA equivalent.

Steps in Rubric Development After you write your first paragraph of the highest level, circle the words in that paragraph that can vary. These words will be the ones that you will change as you write the less than top level performances.

Steps in Rubric Development Concept words that convey various degrees of performance Depth…Breadth…Quality…Scope… Extent…complexity…Degree Presence to absence Complete to incomplete Many to some to none Major to minor These will be used in your description of each level of achievement.

Steps in Rubric Development Remember: Adapt your rubric to the task at hand. Apply the scoring system that best suits you. Start small and keep adding and changing when necessary. Give the students the rubric before, or when you give the assignment. Be sure to go over the rubric with them. Bring examples of the best and the worse.

Quiz and Test True/False Multiple Choice Fill in the blank Short answer Essay Bloom’s cognitive domain

Wrapping Up Summative Assessment Let’s try a quick formative assessment technique. We will try to expand our Mind Map we made earlier to include Formative Assessment.

Mind Map Evaluating Students Formative Summative Portfolios Just ask Project-Based Product-Based Journals & Learning Logs Test & Quiz Just ask One minute paper Muddiest point One sentence summary Application cards Mind Map Stop/Start/Continue Measure these using a rubric

And After All That Work… Evaluate your evaluation techniques? Do you use a variety of evaluation techniques? Do they measure student learning? Revise, and try it again.

Wrapping Up Evaluation Two major points on evaluation Use Formative and Summative Assessment to evaluate student learning. Keep objectives, teaching, and evaluation in line with each other.

Wrapping Up Today The three major points for today Develop clear objectives. Align teaching with objectives. Build evaluation around objectives.