Assessment & Evaluation Presented by: Chantelle, Erin, Jen, Victoria & Kim February 11 th, 2010

How do students perceive assessment and how does their perception affect their academic success? How effective is assessment to students’ learning? How to help students value formative assessment, not just evaluation? Should students who “get it” be exempt from process work and formative assessment if they have no problem with the material? Key Questions

Agenda Intro – Debrief Case Study – Connections to SOP and PT Student Perspectives Discussion Activity Effectiveness Value of it all Students who just “get it” Discussion Conclusion

Varying Perspectives

We asked students: 1.Do you know what the difference is between assessment and evaluation? 2.Does your teacher indicate which assignments are assessments? 3.What is your opinion of assessments? 4.What percentage of assessments do you complete? 5.Roughly what would you estimate your average grade to be? Student Perspectives

1. “I couldn’t tell you, I would have to say there isn’t one.” 1. “I thought they were the same.” 1. “Evaluation is long term and assessment is short term.” 1. “Not quite sure.”

2. “Nope” 2. “Definitely not” 2. “Not really told” 2. “Sometimes”

3. “Assessments make students accountable” 3. “Assessments are irrelevant/unfair” 3. “Assessments improves the quality of learning. It is useful to show you where you are.” 3. “Assessments are enjoyable, because I do well on them”

4. “All of ‘em” 4. “70% of the assessments” 4. “100%” 4. “Everything”

5. “87%” 5. “65%” 5. “80%” 5. “60%”

1. “I couldn’t tell you, I would have to say there isn’t one.” 2. “Nope” 3. “Assessments make students accountable” 4. “All of ‘em” 5. “60%”

1. “I thought they were the same.” 2. “Definitely not” 3. “Assessments are irrelevant/unfair” 4. “70% of the assessments” 5. “65%”

1. “Evaluation is long term and assessment is short term.” 2. “Not really told” 3. “Assessments improves the quality of learning. It is useful to show you where you are.” 4. “100%” 5. “80%”

1. “Not quite sure.” 2. “Sometimes” 3. “Assessments are enjoyable, because I do well on them” 4. “Everything” 5. “87%”

Findings: “Assessment makes students accountable” positively affected achievement “Assessment is fun” and “assessment is ignored” negatively affected achievement Self-regulating students generally achieve more on most educational measures Students who place responsibility elsewhere (e.g., assessment makes schools accountable) tend to achieve less on educational outcomes Students who lack confidence to achieve (assessment is ignored) tend to achieve less Brown & Hirschfeld, (2008)

Recap: Key Tips for Positive Student Perception Keep students informed of the assessment process Present assessments as measures of individual student learning Create assessments that are formative, constructive and require students to be personally responsible Create alternative assessments (such as portfolios, projects, self-assessment, peer-assessment) that are authentic and make learning more realistic

Opinion Poll As a high school student, what was your attitude towards assessment?

Four Corners Assessment and Evaluation…

Effectiveness of A & E

Summative assessment - Summarize student attainment at a particular time - Is an evaluation Formative assessment - Promotes further improvement of student attainment - Is constructive feedback - Is not evaluation Assessment OF learning versus assessment FOR learning. Summative vs. Formative Assessment

Rakoczy, K., Klieme, E., Bürgermeister, A., Harks, B. (2008). The Interplay Between Student Evaluation and Instruction. Grading and Feedback in Mathematics Classrooms. Journal of Psychology, 216(2), 111–124. The Purpose of Feedback To reduce discrepancies between current understanding and performance, on the one hand, and the learning goal, on the other. Must provide the student with answers to three major questions: 1.Where am I going? 2.How am I going? 3.Where to next?

Self determination theory “embedded formative performance assessment in terms of feedback during classroom interaction has the potential to positively influence subsequent student motivation”. Rakoczy et al (2008) Rakoczy, K., Klieme, E., Bürgermeister, A., Harks, B. (2008). The Interplay Between Student Evaluation and Instruction. Grading and Feedback in Mathematics Classrooms. Journal of Psychology, 216(2), 111–124.

Black, Paul and Dylan Wiliam. (1998). Inside the Black Box: Raising Standards through Classroom Assessment. The Phi Delta Kappan, 80, No. 2, , Is there evidence that improving formative assessment raises standards? Is there evidence that there is room for improvement? Is there evidence about how to improve formative assessment? Black, Dylan & Dylan, (1998)

Short Term Effects: Focuses student attention on important aspects of the subject Gives students opportunities to practice skills and consolidate learning Guides further instructional or learning activities within the course The Validity of Formative Assessments

Medium and Longer Term Effects: Builds students’ “learning to learn” skills Improves equity of student outcomes Invaluable skills for lifelong learning The Validity of Formative Assessments…cont’d

Valuing Formative Assessment

Helping Students Value Formative Assessment Research shows that when formative assessment is used in certain ways it can result in greater student motivation. Cauley, Kathleen, and James H. MacMillan. "Formative Assessment Techniques to Support Student Motivation and Achievement." 83.1 (2010): 1-6. The Clearing House. Web..

The Foundational Piece for Formative Assessment Teachers need to work with students to set clear and attainable goals “Hard goals [which are specific and clear rather than general and vague] act to focus attention, mobilize effort, and increase persistence at a task. By contrast, do-one's-best goals often turn out to be not much more effective than no goals at all.”—Sadler and Royce, (2004) Sadler, Royce. "Formative assessment and the design of instructional systems." Instructional Science 18 (1989): Kluwer Academic Publishers, 4 Nov Web. 5 Feb

When Assigning a Formative Task: Provide clear targets for your students Use models and exemplars Use “student friendly language” when outlining curriculum expectations you are asking them to meet Sadler, Royce. "Formative assessment and the design of instructional systems." Instructional Science 18 (1989): Kluwer Academic Publishers, 4 Nov Web. 5 Feb

When Offering Feedback: “Few physical, intellectual or social skills can be acquired satisfactorily simply through being told about them. Most require practice in a supportive environment which incorporates feedback loops.”— Sadler & Royce, (2004) Be sure to acknowledge student efforts Feedback should be more than a checklist Remember that grades can be counterproductive Cauley, Kathleen, and James H. MacMillan. "Formative Assessment Techniques to Support Student Motivation and Achievement." 83.1 (2010): 1-6. The Clearing House. Web.. Sadler, Royce. "Formative assessment and the design of instructional systems." Instructional Science 18 (1989): Kluwer Academic Publishers, 4 Nov Web. 5 Feb

Let’s Recap Three crucial components must be met in order for students to value formative assessment: 1.Students have clear and attainable goals in the course 2.Students have clear targets 3.Students receive constructive feedback

What about the kids who just “get it”?

Students who have no problem understanding the concepts being taught will often balk at doing process work for assessment because they see it as useless Our group has stated that one of the main ways to motivate students to do the work is to make it valuable…so, how can we do that? Should kids who “get it” be forced to do process work for assessment?

Create a peer-evaluating system; pair students who “get it” with those who don’t Provide detailed, written feedback on process work that points students who “get it” to ways of expanding the concept Encourage students to monitor their own progress and develop skills of self-evaluation (this relates to metacognition) What the research says…

Show the students a breakdown of the process and inform them that they will be marked on the steps during the final exam/project, not just the correct answer Have kids who get it partner up with weaker kids When taking up answers, have kids who get it write the whole process on the board to make sure that they can actually do it -Jacelyn Lambert, Halton Board of Education secondary teacher Teacher’s Perspective

Give the students who “get it” a harder assignment that forces them to use the process Have the students teach/help other students who don’t get it Show them how the process work will help them with an upcoming, larger assignment (design the culminating assignment so that any process work you do in the unit will relate to it) Don’t teach them process; let them discover it on their own (this would obviously not be possible on all assignments or for all students) Strategies

Discussion Can you think of an incident from your past related to the theme of A & E? Was there a strategy that worked for you?

Conclusion