Short History of Assessment By Jeanne Pfeifer

Major Changes in Assessment Norm Referenced Tests Criterion Referenced Tests Authentic Assessment

Norm Referenced 1920 World War I—IQ Screening

Norm Referenced Based on “the Bell Curve” Use standardized tests Comparing students to students Want to create a spread Item analysis Distinguish items: High achievers get correct and low achievers get wrong Used for screening people in and out

Criterion Referenced 1970 1920 Criterion Referenced Testing Began

Criterion Referenced Specific standards established Certain information/learning is necessary to continue the next steps of learning. Students learning is compared to the criteria or standards (NOT to each other) Assumption: If students do not reach standards, find other means of teaching students Banks of testing items created to match different types of curriculum (mostly multiple items)

Authentic Assessment 1970 1980s 1920 Authentic Assessment

Authentic Assessment Not all of what we teach can be assessed by paper and pencil tests nor by multiple choice items Students need to demonstrate what they learned: performance based (based on constructivist learning theory) Assessment is different than testing or grading (closer to diagnosis) Multiple means of assessment

Examples of Authentic Assessment Rubrics (specific criteria—teaching is planned around criteria) Includes attention to non-academic or difficult to assess Cooperative learning Critical thinking skills Social learning Differentiates summative vs. formative assessment Portfolios

Rubrics Have “layers” May be based on developmental levels May be “weighted” for different categories at different times of the years Need to be sensitive to the time to present to learners Too early=overwhelming (haven’t taught it yet) Too late=not useful for modifying or developing products Eventually students can develop rubrics (they have internalized the criteria)