Assessment Specifications Gronlund, Chapter 4 Gronlund, Chapter 5

Ask Yourself 1. What do I expect the students to learn? 2. What types of student performance am I willing to accept as evidence of learning? 3. What assessment methods will best evaluate students’ performance?

Bloom’s Taxonomy (revised) The Knowledge Dimension The Cognitive Process Dimension RememberUnderstandApplyAnalyzeEvaluateCreate A. Factual Knowledge B. Conceptual Knowledge C. Procedural Knowledge D. Meta-cognitive Knowledge

Instructional Objectives Describe student performance to be demonstrated at the end of the learning experience to show what they have learned.

ABCD Objective Audience – who is performing the task Behavior – what is being done Condition – how the task is done Degree – to what criteria

Examples Given a map of Qatar (condition), the students (audience) will label the major cities (behavior) with 100% accuracy (degree). The students (audience) will read aloud (behavior) a passage from the text book (conditions) with fewer than 4 errors (degree).

Resources for Writing Objectives Qatar content standards Revised taxonomy of educational objectives Publications of educational organizations Instructor’s guide accompanying student textbooks

Evaluating Unit Objectives Have all important learning outcomes been included? Are the objectives in harmony with the goals of the curriculum? Are the objectives appropriate for the achievement level of the students? Are the objectives appropriate for the instructional time, materials, and facilities available? Do the objectives include meaningful learning that is useful in the real world?

Preparing for Assessment Is there a need for pre-testing? What type of assessment is needed during instruction? What type of assessment is needed at the end of instruction?

Types of Assessment Procedures Informal observation during instruction Classroom achievement tests Performance assessment Product assessment Portfolio assessment

Assessing Achievement Specify the instructional objectives Prepare the test specifications Construct relevant test items Arrange the items in the test Prepare clear directions Review and evaluate the assembled test Administer the test and make an item analysis.

Specify Instructional Objectives At the end of this unit on Poetry, the student will demonstrate that he or she  Can independently compose sentences of four or more words.  Can talk about the poems to others in English using simple present tense  Can read simple poems aloud in English  Can understand a series of teacher’s questions about the poems

Prepare Test Specifications Select the learning outcomes Outline the subject matter Make a two-way chart

Two-Way Chart Outcomes/ Content Knows Terms Knows Facts Knows Procedures Understands principles Applies principles Total number of items Identify main idea1135 Define vocabulary325 Write complete sentences235 Follow two- step directions235 Total number of items

Construct Relevant Test Items Select types of items to use  Which type provides the most direct measure? Match items to specific learning outcomes  Does performance required match intended outcome? Eliminate barriers to answering questions  Difficult vocabulary, complex sentence structure, ambiguous statements, unclear pictorial material, vague instructions, biased material

Determine Number of Items to Use Consider the following  Age of students tested  Time available for testing  Type of test items used  Type of interpretation to be made

Arrange Items in the Test Group together items that measure the same outcome Group together all the items of the same type Arrange in order of difficulty

Prepare Directions Describe the purpose of the test State the time allowed to complete the test Describe how to record the answers State whether or not to guess when in doubt about an answer

Administer and Score the Test Ensure students have enough space and materials are organized Give directions orally as well as written Analyze items for effectiveness after the exam  Orally review the test with students after scoring  Conduct simple item analysis