EDU 385 Education Assessment in the Classroom Session 2: Nature of Student Assessment Natur

Bell Work List three things you learned about assessment from the last class session.

Robert Marzano - The Art of Teaching

Content Objectives Better understand the nature and components of student assessments Know the major types of assessment methods and the strengths and weaknesses of each

Language Objectives Describe when both testing and performance assessment are needed. Indicate why Describe major types of assessment methods and examples of each Distinguish between tests and performance assessments (realism, complexity, time required, and judgement in scoring List guidelines for effective student assessment Distinguish between norm-referenced & Criterion-referenced assessments

Vocabulary Realism of Tasks Complexity of Tasks Assessment Time Needed Judgement in Scoring Norm Referenced Criterion Referenced

Group Work Relationship between good instruction and good assessment Well balanced assessment includes both testing and performance assessment Purposes of Placement, Formative, Diagnostic, and Summative Assessments How can achievement testing contribute to student motivation, retention, and transfer of learning?

Formative and Summative Assessments - James Popham

Review Objective test is used to measure knowledge (e.g., Written drivers license test: rules of the road, knowledge of local laws) Performance Assessment is used to determine skills (e.g., taking the behind the wheel driving test) The Knowledge Test tells how well the student know what to do and the Performance Assessment tells how skillful the student can do it

Teacher Preferences Teachers tend to favor selection-type tests (i.e., multiple choice, true-false, matching) because many questions can be asked in a short time Easy to administer and score Results expressed in numbers - easy to record, compare, and report to others Concern these tests focus only on remembering facts and terms and do not assess more complex learning outcomes in realistic settings

Assessment Methods Selected-Response - Correct or best response (e.g., multiple- choice, true-false, matching) Supply-Response - Respond to a word, short phrase, or complete essay answer Restricted-Performance - Performance of a limited task that is highly structured (i.e., write paragraph on given topic, select laboratory experiment) Extended-Performance - More comprehensive & less structured performance task (e.g., write short story, conduct lab experiment). Requires student to integrate & apply knowledge in a realistic setting

Realism of Tasks Extent to which they stimulate performance in the real world Traditional Selection-Response is limited to the listed alternatives (such problems seldom occur in real world Extended-Performance is high in realism Supply-Response and Restricted- Performance provide a limited amount of structure and some freedom Moderate in realism

Complexity of Tasks Selection-Response are low in complexity and problems presented Supply-Response and Restricted-Performance are moderate in complexity Extended-Performance involve multiple learning issues, integration of ideas and skills from a variety of sources and include several available solutions

Assessment Time Needed Large number of Selected-Response items administered in relatively short time. Results quickly scored by hand or machine Performance-Assessments extremely time consuming. Tasks may require days or even weeks to complete Evaluating performance is difficult and time consuming Greater time required may result in loss of content coverage Justify only if problems are unique to context of course and transfer of learning is key consideration

Judgement in Scoring Selective-Response is very Objective Essay Test has more freedom of response and is more subjective Performance-Assessment is very subjective and Criteria for judging involve Scoring Rubrics and Rating Scale

Characteristics of Different Assessments Testing Performance Assessment Selected Supply Restricted Extended Response Response Performance Performance LOW REALISM OF TASKS HIGH LOW COMPLEXITY OF TASKS HIGH LOW ASSESSMENT TIME NEEDED HIGH LOW JUDGEMENT IN SCORING HIGH

Assessment Categories Each assessment method has strengths and weaknesses “Rule of Thumb” use the most efficient method as long as it is appropriate for assessing the intended learning outcomes

Guidelines for Effective Assessment Main purpose of assessment is to improve student learning More likely effective when assessment is integrated with instruction

Clear Concept of Learning Outcomes Ask, “What are the intended learning outcomes”? During both instructional and assessment planning What types of knowledge, understanding, application, and performance skills are acceptable that learning has been successful Specify all learning outcomes in terms of student performance and make plans to assess them all

Variety of Assessment Procedures Multiple learning outcomes requires in planning consideration of a variety of assessment procedures Evaluating student performance skills may require multiple assessments

Instructional Relevance of Procedures Used Instruction & Assessment should be in close agreement Will classroom tests diagnose learning deficiencies so remediation can occur? Can assessment of a complex task be designed to contribute to the instructional process? Well designed assessment program, assessment activities may be barely distinguishable from instructional activities

Achievement Domain Achievement Assessment Instruction Indicates the learning outcomes to be attained by students Is There Close Agreement? Achievement Domain Specifies the particular set of learning tasks to be assessed Achievement Assessment Provides a procedure designed to measure a representative sample of the instructionally relevant learning tasks specified in the achievement domain

Adequate Sample of Student Performance Assessment is always a matter of Sampling Time restraints require representative sampling of student work Adequacy of sampling is an important concern in planning assessment

Procedures Fair to Every one Efforts to eliminate irrelevant sources of difficulty and bias is important Directions must be clear and not ambiguous Reading level appropriate Avoid gender and racial stereotypes Results should be used to improve learning

Specific Criteria for Judging Successful Performance Need criteria that describes what students can do when they perform successfully (e.g., type 40 words per minute with no more than 2 errors) Specify success in performance terms, describes what students are achieving and how well Scoring Rubrics, Degrees of Effectiveness, and Rating Scales are some of the measures used Students should clearly know what is expected of them and the criteria to judge success.

Feedback to Students on Strengths and Weaknesses Immediate feedback after test Feedback detailed and understandable by students Focus on successes and errors to be corrected Provide remedial suggestions for correcting errors Positive and provides guide for improving both performance and self-assessment

Text Performance Assessment By Teacher Feedback to Student (provides timely, clear guides) Student performance is modified Student assessment skill is improved Text Student practice new performance skills Student practices new assessment skills Improved student performance, self-assessment and independent learning

Comprehensive Grading and Reporting System Reporting and grading should reflect the types of assessment used and weighted appropriately Reporting and grading criteria should be made clear to students at beginning of course Should provide periodic feedback on students learning progress

Norm-Referenced Assessment How an individuals performance compares to others Typically used to survey achievement over a broad range of learning outcomes Most useful when concerned about the relative ranking of students (e.g., college entry)

Criterion-Reference Assessment Specific skills and knowledge each student can demonstrate Typically used for mastery testing to determine what specific tasks students can and cannot perform

Principal Use Survey Testing Mastery Testing Norm-Referenced Testing Criterion-Referenced Testing Principal Use Survey Testing Mastery Testing Major Emphasis Measures individual differences in achievement Describes tasks students can perform Interpretation of Results Compares performance to that of other individuals Compares performance to a clearly specified achievement domain Content Coverage Typically covers a broad area of achievement Typically focuses on a limited set of learning tasks Nature of Test Plan Table of specifications is commonly used Detailed domain specifications are favored Item Selection Procedures Items are selected that provided maximum discrimination among individuals (to obtain a reliable ranking) Easy items are typically eliminated from the test Includes all items needed to adequately describe performance. No attempt is made to alter item difficulty or to eliminate easy items to increase the spread of scores Performance Standards Level of performance is determined by relative position of some known group (e.g., ranks fifth in a group of 20) Level of performance is commonly determined by absolute standards (e.g., demonstrate mastery by defining 90 percent of the technical terms)

Summary of Points Need to expand student assessment to include more complex learning outcomes Assessment can be classified as: a) Selected-Response, b) supply-Response, c) Restricted-Performance, and d) Extended-Performance Simple-Response (Multiple-choice) are lowest in realism and complexity but can be scored quickly and objectively Supply-Response (essay) higher in realism & complexity of tasks measured; but take more time and difficulty to score

Summary of Points Performance assessment, both restricted and extended response have high degree of realism and focus on highly complex tasks but require large amounts of time and judgement and highly subjective Normally use the most efficient method to assess if appropriate, but don’t neglect more complex learning outcomes because of more time and difficulty Clearly defined learning outcomes, variety of assessment procedures to sample student work, must be fair, clear criteria for judging success, timely feedback, grading and reporting in harmony w/ assessment program

Summary of Points Norm-Referenced - comparing student performance to others. Criterion-Referenced - describing students performance on a clearly defined set of tasks Criterion-Referenced important for instructional uses of results. Norm-Referenced may be needed for selection and classification decisions In some cases both criterion and norm referenced interpretation may be used with the same assessment

Now Go Forth and Do Good Things

Formative and Summative Assessments - James Popham