Assessments

Annotations:

• Diagnostic assessment is an essential device in a teacher’s “tool kit”. It can be used to diagnose strengths and areas of need in all students. Diagnostic assessment involves the gathering and careful evaluation of detailed data using students’ knowledge and skills in a given learning area. The data assist teachers to plan for appropriate pedagogy and targeted learning to more effectively scaffold the learning needs of their students. http://www.education.nt.gov.au/parents-community/assessment-reporting/diagnostic-assessments/diagnostic-assessments

Annotations:

• I give short surveys to students on their first day in my writing class. This is an example. 

Annotations:

• Pros: allows you to get an idea of where new students are in your discipline. Cons: can pigeonhole students if instructors think of them as only a certain level for the remiander of the time in their class. 

Annotations:

• Formative assessment refers to a wide variety of methods that teachers use to conduct in-process evaluations of student comprehension, learning needs, and academic progress during a lesson, unit, or course. Formative assessments help teachers identify concepts that students are struggling to understand, skills they are having difficulty acquiring, or learning standards they have not yet achieved so that adjustments can be made to lessons, instructional techniques, and academic support. The general goal of formative assessment is to collect detailed information that can be used to improve instruction and student learning while it’s happening. What makes an assessment “formative” is not the design of a test, technique, or self-evaluation, per se, but the way it is used—i.e., to inform in-process teaching and learning modifications. http://edglossary.org/formative-assessment/

Annotations:

• Exit quiz Thumbs up Conversation circles Conferencing individually Head nodding Mid-class survey Etc.

Annotations:

• Pros: effective ways to ensure students are all understanding the material Cons: may take up class time and/ or require more planning on the teachers' part. There really are no downsides to using formative asssessments. 

Annotations:

• Summative assessments are used to evaluate student learning, skill acquisition, and academic achievement at the conclusion of a defined instructional period—typically at the end of a project, unit, course, semester, program, or school year. http://edglossary.org/formative-assessment/

Annotations:

• In my desired area of teaching, the summative assessment would come from the IB Diploma Years curriculum and would require students to write an in-depth, research paper called the "extended essay" on a topic of their choice.  

Annotations:

• Pros: the extended essay prepares students for university classes, it teaches them to choose deep, complicated topics and to investigate them using critical thinking skills; and finally, it teaches them how to write academically.   Cons: NA

Annotations:

• A high-stakes test is any test used to make important decisions about students, educators, schools, or districts, most commonly for the purpose of accountability—i.e., the attempt by federal, state, or local government agencies and school administrators to ensure that students are enrolled in effective schools and being taught by effective teachers. http://edglossary.org/high-stakes-testing/

Annotations:

• The SAT test or for IB Diploma Years, the summative assessment at the end of the year (thesis paper). 

Annotations:

• Pros: can check for student IQ or for basic testing ability/ content knowledge. Cons:   - Cause unnecessary stress/ strain on test takers  - Don't test students for application of knowledge in a real-world environment  - Don't reveal the actual competence for students who are not good "test takers" 

Annotations:

•  Any assessment strategy designed to estimate a child's knowledge, understanding, ability, skill and/or attitudes in a consistent fashion across individuals emphasizing methods other than standardized achievement tests, particularly those using multiple choice formats.  http://www.p12.nysed.gov/technology/library/SLMPE_rubric/Glossary_SLMPE_rubric.html

Annotations:

• Exhibitions Investigations Demonstrations Written/ Oral reflections Journals 

Annotations:

• Pros: Students can demonstrate knowledge in a tangible, practical way. Good for kinesthetic learners. Good for collaboration.  Cons: The only downside I can think of is that the grading can be difficult/ subjective. 

Annotations:

• Portfolio assessment is an assessment form that learners do together with their teachers, and is an alternative to the classic classroom test. The portfolio contains samples of the learner's work and shows growth over time. https://files.itslearning.com/help/en-gb/content/courses/portfolio_assessment.htm?

Annotations:

• In my English Business Writing class, I assign a portfolio at the end of the term in place of a "final exam". I also assign something similar when teaching a graduate pedagogy class on "how to teach writing to ELL students". Both are effective and useful. 

Annotations:

• Pros: Gives real application to learning; allows students to take something with them out of the classroom and gives them a sense of accomplishment/ completion Cons: May not be appropriate for all students' learning styles and/or class subjects

Annotations:

• In education, the term authentic learning refers to a wide variety of educational and instructional techniques focused on connecting what students are taught in school to real-world issues, problems, and applications. http://edglossary.org/formative-assessment/

Annotations:

• Having students perform interviews in their homes with relatives or friends on some of the topics we've discussed in class. 

Annotations:

• II think the pros are that it encourages links between learned information and real life application, just as many of the other assessments we've talked about do. I also like that students are more engaged in these because they feel real.  Cons:  Can be costly and expensive

Annotations:

• A form of assessment that relies upon students assessing themselves.

Annotations:

• When we write essays, I'll have students "grade" their first drafts using my actual rubric. 

Annotations:

• Pros: It's really effective in getting them to see the end from the beginning and motivating them to edit thoroughly.  Cons: can induce stress, I have found, for students who are really "grade-centered" in their thinking. 

Annotations:

• A form of assessment that relies on student feedback and peer-work. 

Annotations:

• Peer review of essays on Google Docs using the "suggesting feature" and accompanies with a worksheet telling students what to look for in their partners' essay. 

Annotations:

• Pros: Great for differentiation; helps students get to know one another and feel safer in the space of the classroom; Can relieve workload for instructor.  Cons: students may not want to work with certain students; they may misunderstand a task and confuse a partner further. These must be really well managed and structured, from my experience.