Assessment and Rubrics From K. Purgason and J. Adelson-Goldstein

General Principles of Assessment  Base assessment on planned curricular outcomes  Base assessment on pre-­established criteria that Ss are aware of  Use assessment not just for a final grade but for on-­going learning  Use assessment to encourage Ss with a sense of progress  Use a variety of means of assessment

How can assessment improve accuracy? Make sure everyone is aiming at the same thing (including accuracy).

Grading criteria for an assignment  Content  Language  Task-­‐specific

Sample grading criteria  Assignment  Students do a PowerPoint presentation as if to a German commandant justifying the use of gas in the First World War Adapted from Dale & Tanner, CLIL Activities, Cambridge University Press

Sample grading criteria  Content  Clear introduction about gas  Correct information (dates, events)  Complete information on how gas was used and by whom  Reasons why the use of gas can be justified  Reasons why its use cannot be justified  Clear conclusion about gas

Sample grading criteria  Task specific (presentation and PowerPoint)  Attention-­‐grabbing start  Enthusiasm  Eye contact  Speaks clearly and with adequate volume  Audience involvement  Visual support on slides  Not too much text on slides  Stayed within time limit

Sample grading criteria  Language  Comprehensible pronunciation Correct use of conditionals (if…then) Accurate grammar in general  Fluent speech  Use of history vocabulary  Use of signpost words (e.g., on the other hand, in conclusion)  Use of persuasive language

Rubrics – how detailed?  Written assignment  General level: Writing is good/poor  Middle level:  Organization  Grammar  Word use  Mechanics (e.g., spelling, punctuation)  Detailed level:  Correct form and use of past tense  Good topic sentences in each paragraph

Creating Rubrics Step-by-Step REFLECT LIST GROUP AND LABEL APPLY Stevens and Levi (2013) Introduction to Rubrics

STEP 1: REFLECT  Why did you create or select this task?  What happened when you used it before?  How does it relate to the rest of the lesson?  What skills do learners need to do this well?  What exactly is the task?  What evidence can learners provide that they accomplished the task?  What are your highest/worst expectations for the outcome(s)?

STEP 2: LIST  What are the learning objectives for this task?  What content do learners need to master?  What language skills are they developing? listening reading speaking writing  What support skills are they developing? vocabulary grammar pronunciation _numeracy/computation  What cooperative or learning skills do they need to demonstrate?  What cognitive skills do they need to demonstrate? etc.

STEP 3: GROUP AND LABEL  How do the elements and objectives of the task as well as performance expectations relate to each other?

STEP 4: APPLY  Sort the lists and labels into the rubric.

Examples  Jayme Adelson-Goldstein Jayme Adelson-Goldstein

Rubrics  Defining the level of effort

Your turn  Excellent Good Not really up  Think of an assignment you usually give your students. List some criteria that characterize excellent work in terms of content, task, and language. Choose one language-­‐related criterion and list more details about it. Then develop a four-­ ‐point rubric for it.

Rubrics  Too overwhelming? Try a checklist at first?  Did you choose a current topic?  Did you have accurate information?  Was your poster easy to read?  Did you include some engaging visuals?  Was your English accurate?

Rubrics  Use rubrics at three steps in an assignment:  1. Beginning – what are we aiming for  2. Middle – student self-­‐assessment  3. End – teacher final assessment

Language vs Content Assessment  No definitive answer  Usually content > language  Ideally both at the same time, with two scores

More on self-­‐assessment  Project 4-­‐10 incorrect sentences on the board for the class to correct.  Prepare a handout with typical errors for students to correct.  Give students correction cards to work on in pairs or teams.

Editing as a class  A recession is the same a market in decline.  A recession is the same as a market…  A symptom of a depression is that unemployment rise.  …unemployment rises.  Recessions and depressions are relate.  …are related.

Editing as a class  Correction cards  Get in a group of 4-6. Put your cards in a pile in the middle. Take turns picking a card, reading it aloud, and correcting it, if necessary.  Some cards have content mistakes, some have language mistakes, and some are completely correct.

Assessment  During class pair or small-­‐group activities  Checklist  T tries to listen in on each student over the course of the week/month  Student self-­‐evaluations  “Today we used English ___ % of the time.  “I heard these new words being used today:,,.”

Assessment Summary  Relate assessment to clear learning objectives, related to cognition (thinking skills), content (your subject matter), and communication (language)  You can’t assess everything. Prioritize.  Mix informal (during class activities) and formal (specific test time) assessment.  Familiarize students with assessment types and formats, as well as goals.

Assessment Summary  Assess content knowledge using the simplest possible language which is appropriate for that purpose.  When possible specify language assessment goals: e.g., accuracy, fluency, complexity OR organization, grammar, vocabulary OR accurate grammar and comprehensible pronunciation, etc.  Self-assessment and peer assessment enhance learning potential.