Assessments

Assessments

1. Diagnostic: form of pre-assessment that allows a teacher to determine students' individual strengths, weaknesses, knowledge, and skills prior to instruction (Brummitt, 2017)

   • Goal: Assessment is OF learning, used to diagnose student difficulties and to guide lesson and curriculum planning (Brummitt, 2017)
     • PROS: (1) allows teachers to plan meaningful and efficient instruction. (2) provides information to individualize, differentiated instruction (3) creates a baseline for assessing future learning (Brummitt, 2017
     • CONS: (1) May cause teacher to make incorrect judgements about student ability, low expectations(2) create focus on pre and post test scores, see high stakes testing.
     • Examples: Background knowledge survey, initial writing prompt, or pre-quiz
     • References
       • Brummitt-Yale, J. (2017). What is Diagnostic Assessment? - Definition & Examples. Retrieved February 10, 2018, from https://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-diagnostic-assessment-definition-examples.html

2. Formative: Formal and informal assessments that are used throughout a unit or course of study to monitor student progress

   • Goal: Measure FOR student learning, purpose is to monitor student progress, and use that data to adjust instruction to maximize student achievement (What, 2016)
     • PROS: (1) help students identify their strengths and weaknesses and target areas that need work (2) help faculty recognize where students are struggling and address problems immediately (What, 2016) (3) promotes the learning aspects of a subject, rather than performance, i.e., it provides students with intrinsic motivation for improvement (Zenith, 2018)
     • CONS: (1) Loses effectiveness when students are not involved (2) May not be taken seriously by students (3) Individual students have complex needs (Zenith, 2018)
     • Examples: exit tickets, thumbs up, think-pair-share
     • References
       • What is the difference between formative and summative assessment? (2016). Retrieved February 10, 2018, from https://www.cmu.edu/teaching/assessment/basics/formative-summative.html

3. Summative: Formal assessments used to measure what students have learned at the end of a defined period of instruction

   • Goal: Measure OF student achievement that can Determine learning priorities for the students  Evaluation of group instruction or curriculum effectiveness
     • PROS: (1) provide motivation for students to study and pay attention in class (2) provides insight for teachers on the effectiveness of the unit lessons (What, 2017) (3)provides students with extrinsic motivation for improvement, i.e., improvement with an aim of achieving a good performance in a test. (Zenith, 2018)
     • CONS: (1) Instructors focus on "teaching to the test" (What, 2017) (2) Assessment may occur too late in the curriculum to help rectify instruction (3) based on quantitative, rather than qualitative feedback, as students are assigned grades or numeric marking, and individual students do not realize where they need improvement (Zenith, 2018)
     • Examples: Unit exam, final project, research paper
     • References
       • What are Summative Assessments? Pros, Cons, Examples. (2017, November 08). Retrieved February 10, 2018, from https://education.cu-portland.edu/blog/classroom-resources/summative-assessment-what-teachers-need-to-know/
       • Zenith. (2018). A Detailed Comparison Between Formative and Summative Assessment. Retrieved February 10, 2018, from https://eduzenith.com/comparison-between-formative-summative-assessment

4. Performance Based: Measures students' ability to apply the skills and knowledge learned from a unit. Students create a product or complete a process (Hilliard, 2015).

   • Goal: The purpose of performance-based learning is to engage students in higher-order thinking to perform, create or produce something with transferable real-world application. Performance assessment can be OF learning for the teacher to make a judgment about students’ understandings and skills. It is also FOR learning if the teacher provides students with opportunities to revise their work. Performance assessment can be used to build students’ skills and also to inform teachers’ instructional decisions (Chung Wei, 2008)
     • PROS: (1) It may be a more valid indicator of students' knowledge and abilities because it requires students to actively demonstrate what they know. (2) Can provide impetus for improving instruction, and increase students' understanding of what they need to know and be able to do. (3) Students exhibit greater interest and levels of learning when they are required to organize facts around major concepts and actively construct their own understanding of the concepts (Sweet, 1993)
     • CONS: (1) Requires a large amount of time, planning and thought from students and teachers. (2) The teacher should pay close attention to technical and equity issues to ensure that the assessments are fair to all students. (Sweet, 1993)
     • Examples: (1) Open-ended or extended response exercises are questions or other prompts that require students to explore a topic orally or in writing. Students might be asked to describe their observations from a science experiment (2) Extended tasks are assignments that require sustained attention in a single work area and are carried out over several hours or longer. Such tasks could be conducting and explaining the results of a science experiment (Sweet, 1993)
   • References
     • Hilliard, P. (2015, December 7). Performance-Based Assessment: Reviewing the Basics. Retrieved February 10, 2018, from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/performance-based-assessment-reviewing-basics-patricia-hilliard
     • Chung Wei, R. (2008). What is Performance Based Assessment? [PDF]. Stanford: Stanford School Redesign Network.
     • Sweet, D. (1993, September). Performance Assessment. Retrieved February 10, 2018, from https://www2.ed.gov/pubs/OR/ConsumerGuides/perfasse.html

5. High Stakes: An assessment with important consequences for the test taker, such as; high school diploma, scholarship, licensure, etc.

   • Goal: This assessment is OF learning. high-stakes tests may be used for a wide variety of purposes. All high stakes tests is used to draw a clear line between pass and fail, in a single defined assessment (High-Stakes, 2014)
     • PROS: (1) scores can be used to hold schools and teachers accountable for providing a high-quality education to all students - establishing high expectations. (2) Reveals areas of educational need that can be targeted for reform and improvement(3) Help ensure that students are not simply moved on from one grade level to the next without acquiring the skills they will need to succeed academically (High-Stakes, 2014)
     • CONS: (1) Limits educators, Only have time to "teach to the test" (2) Exacerbates negative stereotypes about the intelligence and academic ability (3) May contribute to higher rates of cheating among educators and students (4) May narrow offered academic programs (High-stakes, 2014)
     • Examples: Test results may be used to determine whether students advance to the next grade level or whether they receive a diploma (High-stakes, 2014)
     • References
       • High-Stakes Test Definition. (2014, August 18). Retrieved February 10, 2018, from https://www.edglossary.org/high-stakes-testing/

6. Portfolio: A Collection of student work and related material that depicts a student's activities, accomplishments, and achievements (Scherba, 2002)

   • Goal: Portfolio can be an assessment OF learning, taking a cumulative look at what students have achieved. It can also be FOR learning, to help students assemble portfolios that illustrate their talents, represent their writing capabilities, and tell their stories of school achievement (Scherba, 2002).
     • PROS: (1) Promotes student self-evaluation, reflection, and critical thinking. (2) Gives students the opportunity to have extensive input into the learning process. (3) Provides a process for structuring learning in stages.(Scherba, 2002).
     • CONS: (1) Requires extra time to plan an assessment system and conduct the assessment. (2) Gathering all of the necessary work samples can make portfolios bulky and difficult to manage. (3) Scheduling individual portfolio conferences may interfere with other instructional activities (Scherba, 2002).
     • Examples: Students can organize paper documents including papers, lab work, written assessments, teacher-written feedback, peer reviews, and other learning evidence in a notebook. These paper documents can be scanned; students can record interviews and create videos for digital portfolios (Nash, 2017).
   • References
     • Scherba de Valenzuela, J. (2002, July 30). Defining Portfolio Assessment. Retrieved February 10, 2018, from http://www.unm.edu/~devalenz/handouts/portfolio.html
     • Nash, S. (2017). What is a Student Portfolio? Retrieved February 10, 2018, from https://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-a-student-portfolio-ideas-examples.html

7. Authentic: Students are asked to perform real-world tasks that demonstrate meaningful application of essential knowledge and skill (Mueller, 2016)

   • Goal: An assessment OF students’ learning and simultaneous FOR learning. The purpose is to enhance the learning process and help students gain knowledge while completing tasks that are beneficial to their “real-world” experiences. (Wiggens, 1998) Authentic assessments let students show what they are really capable of without the pressure of having to perform well on a traditional test
     • PROS: (1) More valid than conventional tests, particularly for learning outcomes that require higher-order thinking skills. (2) Real life component means it is likely to be more interesting for students, and thus more motivating. (3) Can provide more specific and usable information about what students have succeeded in learning as well as what they have not learned (Wiggens, 1993)
     • CONS: (1) May require more time and effort on an instructor’s part to develop (2) May be more difficult to grade. Useful to create a specific grading rubric (Wiggens, 1993).
     • Examples: (1) Summarize the contributions of scientists leading up to the field of modern genetics. (2) Analyze and construct a pedigree that illustrates the inheritance of a human trait. further examples http://jfmueller.faculty.noctrl.edu/toolbox/examples/grojean10/standards.pdf
   • References
     • Mueller, J. (2016). What is Authentic Assessment? Retrieved February 10, 2018, from http://jfmueller.faculty.noctrl.edu/toolbox/whatisit.htm
     • Wiggins, Grant. (1998). Ensuring authentic performance. Chapter 2 in Educative Assessment: Designing Assessments to Inform and Improve Student Performance. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, pp. 21 – 42.

8. Self Assessment: Student reflects on their work and makes a judgment of their own performance (Engage, 2016)

   • Goal: Assessment FOR learning. Through self-assessment, students will identify their own skill gaps, where their knowledge is weak, see where to focus their attention, set realistic goals, revise their work, and track their own progress (Andrade, 2009)
     • PROS: (1) Provides opportunities for the student to be able to identify what constitutes a good, or poor, piece of work. (2) Developing reflective skills in order to identify their strengths, weaknesses is a core lifelong learning skill (Engage, 2016). (3) Incorporating self-assessment can motivate students to engage with the material more deeply (Self, 2012).
     • CONS: (1) Self-assessment assignments can take more time. (2) Research shows that students can be more stringent in their self-assessment than the instructor. (3) Students are used to a system where they have little or no input in how they are assessed and are often unaware of assessment criteria. The process will require sufficient time for instruction (Self, 2012).
     • Example: Require students to submit a cover sheet with their assignment. On the cover sheet, students should respond self-assessment prompts What is strong, or what went well with this assignment? Provide examples. What do you think is weak about this assignment? (Self, 2012)
   • References
     • Andrade, H. & Valtcheva, A. (2009). Promoting learning and achievement through self-assessment. Theory Into Practice, 48, 12-19.
     • Engage in Assessment: Self-assessment. (2016). Retrieved February 10, 2018, from https://www.reading.ac.uk/engageinassessment/peer-and-self-assessment/self-assessment/eia-self-assessment.aspx
     • Self-Assessment. (2012). Retrieved February 10, 2018, from https://www.cte.cornell.edu/teaching-ideas/assessing-student-learning/self-assessment.html

9. Peer Assessment: A collaborative learning technique, students evaluate their peers’ work and have their work evaluated by peers (Peer, 2017)

   • Goal: Assessment FOR learning, peer assessment is useful in aiding your students to develop judgment skills, critiquing abilities and self-awareness. Students will also gain a better understanding of the assessment criteria (Engage, 2016).
     • PROS: (1) Empower students to take responsibility for, and manage, their own learning. (2) Enable students to learn to assess and to develop life-long assessment skills. (3) Enhance students' learning through knowledge diffusion and exchange of ideas. (4) Motivate students to engage with course material more deeply (Peer, 2012).
     • CONS: (1) There may be concerns about the validity and reliability of peer-assessment (2) Students usually have no experience with assessing or evaluating the work of peers. Provide clearly defined tasks for the reviewer. (3) Students may not be objective, consider making the process anonymous (Engage, 2016)
     • Examples: Use computer program that allows students to submit written assignments, and then review work of peers. Calibrated Peer Review (CPR™) ™ is a program for networked computers that enables peers to anonymously evaluate frequent writing assignments. http://cpr.molsci.ucla.edu/
   • References
     • Engage in Assessment: Peer-assessment. (2016). Retrieved February 10, 2018, from https://www.reading.ac.uk/engageinassessment/peer-and-self-assessment/peer-assessment/eia-peer-assessment.aspx
     • Peer-Assessment. (2012). Retrieved February 10, 2018, from https://www.cte.cornell.edu/teaching-ideas/assessing-student-learning/peer-assessment.html
     • Peer Assessment. (2017). Retrieved February 10, 2018, from https://teachingcommons.stanford.edu/resources/teaching/evaluating-students/assessing-student-learning/peer-assessment