1 Assessment for student success Presented by: Effie Russell Professor of English Atlantic Cape Community College Based on Classroom Assessment Techniques:

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Assessment forstudent success

Presented by: Effie Russell

Professor of English

Atlantic Cape Community College

Based on Classroom Assessment Techniques: A Handbook for Faculty

by Thomas Angelo and Patricia Cross

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What is assessment?

o Institutional Assessment

o Program Assessment

o Summative Assessment

o Formative Assessment

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“Learning can and often does take place without the benefit of teaching—and sometimes even in spite of it– but there is no such thing as effective teaching in the absence of learning. Teaching without learning is just talking” (Cross & Angelo 3).

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Classroom Assessment is:

Learner centered (help students change their study habits or develop their metacognitive thinking)

Teacher directed (respects the autonomy, academic freedom, and professional judgment of college faculty)

Mutually beneficial (to both students and faculty)

Formative (almost never graded and often anonymous)

Context-specific (“You need the right tool to do the job right.”)

Ongoing (“the communications loop connecting faculty to students”)

Rooted in good teaching practice (make good teaching more systematic, more flexible, and more effective)

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Seven Basic Assumptions of Classroom Assessment:

1. The quality of student learning is directly related to the quality of teaching.

2. Effective teachers set clear goals and objectives then require clear feedback on how well they are achieving those goals.

3. To improve learning, students need appropriate and focused feedback early and often.

4. Institutional and program assessment rarely ask the kinds of questions that are meaningful and useful to individual classroom teachers.

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5. Classroom assessment does not require specialized training. It does require dedicated teachers in all disciplines who are willing to take a few risks.

6. Faculty who collaborate with their colleagues and involve students enhance learning and personal satisfaction.

7. Systematic inquiry and intellectual challenge are powerful sources of motivation, growth, and renewal for college teachers.

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How Do I Start?

Remember: quizzes, tests, exams, lab reports, term papers, and homework are used for “summative” evaluation and assessment to assign individual grades usually after the subject has been taught.

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Formative classroom assessment is used to find out how students are learning while the subject is being taught (formative assessment).

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Does that mean I have to do both? YES. But the second part is so rewarding that you won’t want to stop.

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Start Small

1. Planning: choose one or two types of assessment in one or two sections.

the Minute Paper (CAT 6)

the Muddiest Point (CAT 7)

the One-Sentence Summary (CAT 13)

Begin with a course that you feel comfortable and confident in teaching. Don’t start with something brand-new.

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2. Implementing: let students know beforehand what you are going to do.

Let students know how much time; allow enough time.

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3. Responding: at the beginning of the next class, let students know what you have learned and what adjustments you are going to make to your teaching. The feedback (immediately) is critical to classroom assessment.

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Each CAT in the book follows a format:

1. An estimate of the ease of use.

2. A concise description

3. A definition of the purpose

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4. Suggestions for use

5. Actual examples of how faculty in a variety of disciplines have used the CAT

6. A short list of teaching goals that might be assessed

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7. Step-by-step procedures for designing and implementing

8. Practical advice on how to analyze the data

9. Pros, Cons, Caveats

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My Experience:

I began using this book about 1992. I xeroxed all the CAT’s that had relevance in my area.

I kept those on my desk as a Bible.

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I was tentative and afraid, but brave. (And I really believed what Cross and Angelo had written.)

I started with one course. I used the Minute Paper.

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Then I used the Chain Notes idea with my developmental students in the computer lab.

With each “baby step” I found that I really looked forward to going to class more and more. Instead of getting “burned out,” I was learning more about the process of learning…what a thrill.

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Each Sunday night, instead of planning what “I” was going to be doing in class each day, I began to plan what the students were going to be doing in class each day. HINT: listening, staring off into space, sleeping, doodling on the desks do not count as activity. And then I anticipated what I would learn from them about my teaching and their learning.

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I learned a lot about voice, and student readiness, and the value of student collaboration, and clear specific instructions for group work, and the importance of student feedback on group work.

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Time?: At this point I spend approximately 15 – 20 minutes evaluating and responding per 30 student class. We have 10 assessments per semester. Every class (from ENGL 070 to ENGL 205) participates in assessment. It has become as common as breathing for me.

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Sometimes I don’t open the Cross/Angelo book during the entire semester. As I drive in my car, I keep a notepad handy because now I create CAT’s of my own…to fit the particular class, to assess prior learning, to assess cultural differences. The ideas are endless.

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Each week we participate in an exercise (I don’t call this assessment). Each one is worth 10 points. If a student is absent, he/she may not make up the 10 points. They do get the assignment. Many do the assignment even though they will get no credit for it. At the end of the semester, these points become the “class participation” grade. There are no correct/incorrect answers to the assessment (well… let me explain).

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I ALWAYS participate with students. I write when they are writing. I am a part of the “community of learners”; therefore, I participate too. I share and trade papers with my classmates.

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The classroom climate should become cooperative and collaborative, not competitive.

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When I do lecture, I throw in a few “quick quizzes” to find out if they are daydreaming, paying attention, “getting it.”

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I use them in my online class.

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What are my conclusions?

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Retention has improved: students have an investment in their learning.They appreciate being listened to and taken seriously.

Grades have improved: mostly A’s and B’s in my classes.

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We become a “community of learners” with responsibilities to one another.

The extrinsic rewards become less important than the intrinsic rewards as the semester progresses.

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Plagiarism is not a huge problem. (Students develop a “voice.”)Students develop both metacognitive and critical thinking skills. Classes are much more interesting for me and, I am sure, for my students.

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Getting started involves courage and an ability to take some risks.

Peer support is important. If you want to “try out” some ideas, just stop by and talk. I am a huge proponent of this approach.

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The Book Please…pp. 109-114

p.116 Bloom’s Taxonomy

p.126 ff. #2 Focused Listing

p.148 ff. #6 The Minute Paper

p.154 ff. #7 The Muddiest Point

p.188 ff. #14 The Word Journal

p.236 ff. #24 Application Cards

p.322 ff. #41 Chain Notes

p.348 ff. #47 Group Work Evaluations