1. ASSESSMENT IN EDUCATION ASSESSMENT IN EDUCATION

2. Copyright Keith Morrison, 2004 PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT... Concerns direct reality rather than disconnected items of knowledge. Models the real learning that students undertake rather than contrives artificial tests; it does not distort teaching. Requires students to demonstrate what they can do rather than simply completing test items which address fragments of what they can do. Integrates many areas of knowledge and understanding in a particular activity or task. Uses real-world activities and learning.

3. Copyright Keith Morrison, 2004 PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT... Uses activities which relate to the world outside school. Is focused on processes as well as products and outcomes. Can replace contrived test situation with everyday teaching, though specific tasks can be set for assessment purposes. Typically uses teacher assessment. Requires opportunities to be created for students to demonstrate and apply their learning.

4. Copyright Keith Morrison, 2004 CONSIDERING PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT How much freedom does the student have to plan and decide the task? How to take account of teacher intervention? What are the introduction, activity and response (product or outcome) modes? Is the marking going to involve grading, written feedback, oral feedback? Is the marking going to be formative/summative? How is a group project going to be assessed? How is account to be given for differential individual effort and input into a group project?

5. Copyright Keith Morrison, 2004 CONSIDERING PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT How much does the outcome reflect the processes that went into the production of the outcome? How should assessment of processes be undertaken? How are reliability and consistency going to be addressed across different activities, outcomes and students? What are the performance criteria? What is the performance evidence and how is it going to be gathered? What is going to be assessed? (Products, processes, knowledge, understanding, initiative, higher order thinking, problem-solving, attitudes to learning, skills, reasoning?)

6. Copyright Keith Morrison, 2004 PLANNING PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT Stage One: Decide a specific subject area. Stage Two: Define cognitive processes and social skills to be assessed. Stage Three: Design a task and task context, considering: goal relevance for the learner, level of difficulty, multiple goals, multiple solutions, clarity of directions, self-determined learning.

7. Copyright Keith Morrison, 2004 PLANNING PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT Stage Four: Specify the scoring rubrics. Stage Five: Identify implementation considerations: time, reference materials, other people’s inputs, equipment, scoring criteria, introducing and structuring the task, motivation, coaching, independent work, debriefing.

8. Copyright Keith Morrison, 2004 PORTFOLIOS A portfolio is a collection of pieces of students’ work, which indicate accomplishments over time and context, which can contain samples of the student’s best work.

9. Copyright Keith Morrison, 2004 VALUE OF PORTFOLIOS (1) Indicate best accomplishments. Help students to evaluate themselves. Indicate improvement and development over time. Comprise ongoing assessment. Integrate teaching and assessment. Promote worthwhile, meaningful learning. Provide a richer picture of a student’s accomplishments that than provided by tests, grades, report forms and single ‘one-shot’ assessments. Connect to real life and real-world learning, tasks and activities. Involve higher order thinking and reflection as well as lower order skills.

10. Copyright Keith Morrison, 2004 VALUE OF PORTFOLIOS (2) Provide feedback to interested parties about rates of progress, suitability of the curriculum and a student’s development. Emphasise processes of learning as well as outcomes. Encourage students to reflect on what constitutes good performance. Can provide diagnostic information for students and teachers. Encourage the all-round development of the student, including attitudes, likes, hopes, and feelings. Develop student motivation and involvement. Are targeted towards individual development and take account of individual needs and abilities.

11. Copyright Keith Morrison, 2004 PURPOSES OF PORTFOLIOS To act as a showcase of a student’s best work, as selected by the student. To act as a showcase of a student’s best work, as selected by the teacher. To reflect the student’s interests. To chart development, improvement and rates of progress. To reflect the student’s growing self-reflection and self-evaluation. To provide evidence of knowledge, skills, competencies, understandings, and application. To report on real-world learning and application. To act as a document of record.

12. Copyright Keith Morrison, 2004 PLANNING PORTFOLIOS (1) The purpose of the portfolio. The cognitive, affective and psychomotor skills, social skills, competencies, attitudes to be addressed in the portfolio. Who will plan the portfolio. The contents of the portfolio and the sample of work to be chosen. The marking and scoring rubrics and processes, together with their communication and transparency.

13. Copyright Keith Morrison, 2004 PLANNING PORTFOLIOS (2) The weighting of the scores to be aggregated into a composite single mark or grade. The administrative procedures for the portfolios: time frames for the sampling; deadlines for submission of items; procedures for the submission, grading and return of work; criteria for selection of work; storage of the portfolio; access to the contents of the portfolio. Conferencing during, and as follow-up to, the preparation and final submission of the portfolio.

14. Copyright Keith Morrison, 2004 MARKING PORTFOLIOS (1) Select the performance to be taught. State the performance criteria: what constitutes effective learning, what are the learning outcomes, the required performance, the required activities and the required targets to be met. Identify how students and teachers will be involved in the selection of the items for inclusion in the portfolio, the review of, and reflection on, the selection, and the opportunities to be provided for students to: (a) select in and out samples of work; (b) rework a particular activity or piece of work.

15. Copyright Keith Morrison, 2004 MARKING PORTFOLIOS (2) State the number of performance levels (e.g. poor, average, above average). Describe in detail the criteria for each of the performance levels. Select the scoring level which most closely represents the student’s performance and then award the grade. Consider how best to communicate the feedback and marking criteria to students, and how to involve students in the assessment of the portfolio.

16. Copyright Keith Morrison, 2004 CONSIDERATIONS IN MARKING PORTFOLIOS Decisions on whether to include the best work or typical work (which may not be the best work); Honesty (students may download materials from the internet, and pass them off as their own); Time (portfolios take a long time to score and mark); Storage and access (ensuring security and privacy); Subjectivity (how to allow for subjectivity in the students and in the markers); Reliability (there is a need to score in sections and parts, i.e. analytically rather than, or as well as, holistically): how to allow for different choices in assignments and samples; how to allow for different formats of the portfolio.