Assessment

Assessment

1. Types of Assessment Explained by Gallavan (2009)

   • Diagnostic
     • It usually ocuurs at the beginning. It is more teacher-centered. It compares and contrasts the starting point with the ending point.
       • Examples: Checklists Questionnaires Quizzes Anecdotal records Cooperative group activities
   • Formative
     • Mostly carried out during the process. It boosts more learners’ autonomy and agency. It can be from the teacher, self, or peer. It is not linear = ongoing process. It is positive, flexible. It could be formal or informal (quantitative or qualitative data)
       • Examples: Tests Rating scales Portfolios Dairies Presentations
   • Summative
     • It usually occurs after an outcome. It confirms if learners’ achieved the goal. It is formal (quantitative data).
       • Examples: Note taking Mind maps Personal videos Journals Summarizing

2. Three Goals

   • AS learning
     • To exchange feedback and provide corrections to the learning for the whole class as well as for individual learners.
   • FOR learning
     • To plan how to modify and adjust the teaching.
   • OF learning
     • To amass continuous data to inform and support knowledge, skills, and dispositions so you can note the progress you and your students achieve both during and after the learning and teaching.

3. The Six Components

   • 1. Each learner's individuality and background.
     • 2. Each learner's prior knowledge and experiences as part of the group of learners with constructed knowledge and shared experiences.
       • 3. The teacher's expertise and expectations.
         • 4. The teacher's organization and readiness.
           • 5. The curricular content and academic standards.
             • 6. The learning community context.

4. 12 Basic Concepts about Performance-Based Assessments

   • 1. Assessment means much more than just a test.
     • 2. Almost all assessments are performance-based assessments.
       • 3. Assessment involves the learning, the teaching, and the schooling.
         • 4. Assessment drives the learning, teaching, and shooling.
           • 5. Assessments need to be appropriate and authentic.
             • 6. Leaners should be given (and should help develop) alternative assessments to ensure learner voice, choice, and ownership (agency).
               • 7. Assessments must include salience -they are important and relevant.
                 • 8. Assessments must include validity -they are suitable and applicable.
                   • 9. Assessments must include reliability -they are dependable and consistent.
                     • 10. Assessment must include fidelity -they are understandable and objective.
                       • 11. Assessments must include robustness -they are deliberate and mindful of depth, breath, and opportunity.
                         • 12. Assessments must include expectations that are prepared in advance to determine multiple levels of proficiency for each objective.

5. Clarifying Concepts

   • Assessment
     • Collecting evidence for meassuring understanding of and progress toward learning short-term or immediate objectives.
   • Evaluation
     • Analyzing and deciding the degree to which learners have achieved understanding and have mastered proficiency of long-term outcomes toward learning goals.
   • Accountability
     • Documenting results and communicating accomplishments; recording and reporting findings to others.

6. 10 Questions to Guide Your Approaches to Assessments

   • How well does your assessment...
     • 1. fulfill the national, state, and school district standards and expectations?
       • 2. align with your curriculum and instruction?
         • 3. build on learners' prior learning and personal experience?
           • 4. motivate learners to engage in the learning?
             • 5. encourage learners to construct new understanding?
               • 6. allow learners to learn together?
                 • 7. connect across the curriculum and into the community?
                   • 8. offer voice, choice, and agency?
                     • 9. generate multiple froms of expression with authetic processes and products?
                       • 10. showcase shared and exchanged outcomes?

7. PERSONAL

   • My Experience:
     • At the beginning of the term I usually administer a questionnaire to know about the learners' background. I also administer a learning styles questionnaire for me to know what type of activities to include, but most importantly for learners to know how to self-direct their learning. I also include formative self-assessment and peer-assessment, but not as often as I would like to or as I should. I am often assessing my students, and usually provide them with immediate feedback: positive and things to improve. I do not like to give my students feedback in a negative way that may hinder their performance and their learning. Lastly, summative evaluation is part of the curriculum, so I cannot omit it. We usually have tests, projects, quizzes, oral presentations, portfolios, and the like.
   • Final Reflection
     • We have learned that assessment is an essential component of curriculum design, development, and evaluation. We have to keep in mind that assessing as learning, for learning, and of learning entail an ongoing process that seeks improvement of the learning process. We also need to remember that assessment, as any other part of the curriculum, must be learner-centered. Finally, assessment should be varied and contextualized to our learner's needs.

8. References

   • Mind Map by Verónica Brenes Sánchez
   • Gallavan, N.(2009) Developing Performance-Based Assessments. Corwin Press.
   • Jones, N & Saville, N. (2016) Learning Oriented-Assessment: A systemic approach. Cambridge University Press.
   • Macalister, J., & Nation, I.S.P. (2020). Language Curriculum Design (2nd ed.). New York: Routledge.

9. Learning Oriented Assessment

   • Assessment is a natural process, and it is intimately connected with learning.
   • Two Key Purposes
     • To promote learning and to measure and interpret what has been learned.

10. Types of Monitoring and Assessment Proposed by Macalister and Nation (2020)

    • Placement Test
      • Observation of Learning
        • Short-term Achievement Test
          • Diagnostic Assessment
            • Achievement Assessment
              • Proficiency Assessment