The Assessment Toolbox Linda Suskie Middle States Commission on Higher Education AB Tech February 2005

Today... What is assessment? The assessment toolbox Rubrics (scoring guides) Prompts (assignments) Multiple-choice tests Reflective writing Using assessment results to improve teaching

What is Assessment? Deciding what we want our students to learn Making sure they learn it! --Jane Wolfson, Director, Environmental Science & Studies Program, Towson University

The Teaching-Learning- Assessment Cycle Learning Goals Using Results Learning Opportunities Assessment

1. Learning Goals What is a good learning goal? Outcomes – what students should be able to do AFTER they pass the course Observable – action words Clear – no fuzzy terms Skills – thinking, performance Important - meet student/employer needs

2. Aligning Assignments with Goals

3. The Assessment Toolbox

Rubrics A list of things youre looking for when youre grading tests, papers, or projects Often with guidelines or standards for evaluating them

A scale showing the degree to which the things youre looking for are present. Rating Scale Rubrics

More detailed descriptions of each possible rating. Descriptive Rubrics

Holistic Scoring Guides A single score that reflects an overall impression of performance Scores are defined by descriptions or model answers

Write a Rubric!

Prompts: Creating Effective Assignments

Creating Effective Multiple Choice Tests Start with a test blueprint.

Definitions Objective test Stem Alternatives/ responses/ options

Multiple Choice Advantages Efficient Fast and easy to score Options can diagnose difficulties Disadvantages Hard to write Often requires reading skills Guessing Cant measure some thinking skills

Use Multiple Choice Items for... Conceptual understanding Application Identify correct application or example Analysis Identify correct cause, effect, or element Identify why something occurs or is best

Interpretive Exercise = context-dependent item = enhanced multiple choice item One new stimulus (paragraph, chart) that students must read or examine to be able to answer all the objective items that follow

Examples of Interpretive Material Reading passage they havent seen Description of lab experiment Material from historical period (letter, document) Description of patients symptoms Chart, diagram, drawing Any scenario (You are...)

Use Interpretive Exercises to... Apply knowledge and understanding to new material or novel situations. Identify correct generalization, inference, or conclusion. Use problem-solving and analysis skills. Prepare for standardized tests.

Writing Good Multiple Choice Items

More Ways to Make Multiple Choice Tests Effective Open-book, open-note Throw out items that half your students get wrong. Review only items that many students got wrong. Ask them WHY they got them wrong.

Reflective Writing

4. Using Assessment Results to Improve Teaching Goals Curriculum Pedagogy Assessments

Look at your learning goals. Do you have too many goals? Do your goals need to be clarified? Are your goals inappropriate or overly ambitious?

Look at your curriculum. Including placement and developmental education. Does the curriculum adequately address each learning goal?

Look at your teaching methods. How do students learn best?

Look at your assessments. Are they poorly written and misinterpreted? Do they match your key learning goals? Are they too difficult for most responsible students?

Isnt Poor Performance the Students Fault? Sometimes, but usually a minority Suskies 50% rule

Time to Reflect!