Lecturette 2: Classroom-based Assessments of Student Learning

Large-scale Assessments State-wide Federally Funded Commercially Developed College Admission

Classroom-based Assessments Teachers carry out every day to assess student learning

Melding Approach No one form of assessment can address all of our questions about student learning.

Assessment Categories

1) Selected Response 2) Essay 3) Performance Assessments 4) Personal Communication These assessments can be grouped in various ways. Richard Stiggins (2003), for example, proposes to categorize assessments in the following way:

Selected Response Examples Of Selected Response Multiple Choice True/FalseMatching Short Answer Fill-in

Essay Examples of Essay assessments include questions that require students to: Describe Compare and contrast Persuade Take a particular point-of-view

Performance Assessments Demonstrate a skill –Perform an experiment –Interpret a piece of literature through dance Prepare a product –Create a sculpture –Create a map of your local watershed

Personal Communication Desk-side conversations Interviews Conferences Listening during class discussions

Strengths and Weaknesses Each of these assessment approaches has strengths as well as weaknesses. Each is more or less effective depending upon the learning outcomes that are being assessed.

Assessment Approach and Outcome Type Outcome Type Assessment Approach Selected Response Essay Performance Assessment Personal Communication Knowledge Can measure knowledge broadly Can tap some areas Not a good choice Can inquire about knowledge but time- consuming Reasoning Can assess some patterns of reasoning Can provide a good view of reasoning Can be used to infer reasoning Allows for follow-up questions Skills Cannot assess skill itself Can observe and evaluate skills Good match to oral proficiency Products Cannot assess product itself Can assess process and product Can probe knowledge but not assess product Dispositions Questionnaires can assess dispositions Open-ended essays can probe dispositions Can infer but not directly assess dispositions Can talk with students about feelings and attitudes