Assessment Primer

Tools for Assessment Approaches

Basic Principles for Alternative & Deeper Assessment

1.   Is  the  assessment  built  around  central  problems  in  an  academic  domain  or  profession?2.   Does  the  assessment  assess  what  learners  can  do  in  contexts  of  applica;on  of  their  skills  and  knowledge?3.   Does  the  assessment  measure  mul;ple  variables  and  relate  them  in  clear  and  ac;onable  ways?4.   Is  the  assessment  developmental  in  the  sense  that  it  provides  informa;on  relevant  to  students’  learning  

cross  ;me?5.   Does  the  assessment  provide  ac;onable  informa;on?6.   Does  the  assessment  examine  students’  prepara;on  for  future  learning?7.   Does  the  assessment  engage  learners  with  tasks  that  require  them  to  engage  with  tools  and  technologies  in  

real  situa;ons  and  in  collabora;on  with  other  people?8.   Does  the  assessment  assess  learners’  ability  to  create,  innovate,  and  produce?9.   Does  the  assessment  assess  21st  Century  Skills?10.  Is  the  assessment  clear  about  what  forms  of  instruc;on  and  learning  it  will  encourage,  support,  or  lead  to?11.  Does  the  assessment  and  not  undermine  the  learning  process?12.  Is  the  assessment  equitable,  that  is,  does  the  assessment  take  into  considera;on  the  resources  students  

must  have  had  to  perform  well?13.  How  closely  does  the  assessment  integrate  learning  and  assessment?

Source: MacArthur 21st Century Learning & Assessment Project

Jennifer Groff 2012

Principles of Assessment Practice

1. Assessment  of  any  kind  should  ul;mately  improve  learning.

2. Assessment  methods  should  enable  progress  in  all  important  learning  goals  to  be  facilitated  and  reported.

3. Assessment  procedures  should  include  explicit  processes  to  ensure  that  informa;on  is  valid  and  is  reliable  as  necessary  for  its  purpose.

4. Assessment  should  promote  public  understanding  of  learning  goals  relevant  to  students’  current  and  future  lives.

5. Assessment  of  learning  outcomes  should  be  treated  as  approxima;ons,  subject  to  unavoidable  errors.

6. Assessment  should  be  part  of  the  process  of  teaching  that  enables  students  to  understand  the  aims  of  their  learning  and  how  the  quality  of  their  achievement  will  be  judged.

7. Assessment  methods  should  promote  the  ac;ve  engagement  of  students  in  their  learning  and  its  assessment.

8. Assessment  should  enable  and  mo;vate  students  to  show  what  they  can  do.

9. Assessment  should  combine  informa;on  of  different  kinds,  including  students’  self-­‐assessments,  to  inform  decisions  about  students’  learning  and  achievements.

10. Assessment  methods  should  meet  standards  that  reflect  a  broad  consensus  on  quality  at  all  levels  from  classroom  prac;ce  to  na;onal  policy.

Source: Changing Assessment Practice: Process, Principles and Standards by John Gardner, Wynne Harlen, Louise Hayward & Gordon Stobart, Assessment Reform Group, 2008

“A major !rst step in establishing a common language to use in the context of assessment by teachers is the identi!cation of principles that are widely held.”

Jennifer Groff 2012

ComplexityTeacher Oriented

Requires Interdisciplinary

Collaboration

Curricu

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Jennifer Groff 2012

Bloom

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Taxo

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Form

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Ass

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Perfo

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Asses

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Evid

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Desig

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Note: This is not meant to be a true depiction of how these approaches and their relation, but rather a general display of what we’re exploring. In reality, there is a lot of overlap and

integration between the approaches.

BLOOM’S REVISED TAXONOMY

BLOOM’S REVISED TAXONOMYKnowledge Dimension

Cognitive Process DimensionCognitive Process DimensionCognitive Process DimensionCognitive Process DimensionCognitive Process DimensionCognitive Process DimensionKnowledge Dimension Remember Understand Apply Analyze Evaluate Create

Factual

Conceptual

Procedural

Metacognitive

1. De!ne the Learning Objective(s) of the Game:

2. Describe activities that serve as evidence:

3. Place these on the chart.

Jennifer Groff 2012

CONSTRUCT-CENTERED DESIGN

Identify the construct.

De"ne the cognitive activity.

De"ne the claim.

Outline the evidence.

De"ne the learning task

and the assessment

task.

Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4 Step 5

Step 6Review & Revise

Jennifer Groff 2012

PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT

Writing Performance Objectives1. State each general objective so that it clearly describes the skill or

product to be assessed.

2. List speci!c performance outcomes for each objective that are most relevant to a successful performance or a satisfactory product.

3. List enough speci!c performance outcomes to clarify what is meant by an effective performance.

4. State the speci!c performance outcomes in terms of observable dimensions of the skill or product.

5. State the speci!c performance outcomes so that they are clear to students.

Jennifer Groff 2012

Scoring Ideas1. Systematic observation and anecdotal records

2. Checklists

3. Rating Scales

4. Scoring Rubrics

Jennifer Groff 2012

ChecklistsA list of measurable dimensions of a performance or a product

Rating ScalesSimilar to a checklist and serves somewhat the same purpose in judging procedures and products--the main difference is that the rating scale provides and opportunity to mark the degree to which an element is present.

Rating Scales

RubricsSimilar to a checklist and serves somewhat the same purpose in judging procedures and products--the main difference is that the rating scale provides and opportunity to mark the degree to which an element is present.

Steps to Constructing a Performance Assessment1.   Define  the  purpose  of  your  assessment.   What do you plan to use the results for? What aspects of student performance do you want to know about?

2.   Set  the  primary  instruc7onal  goals.   What do you want your students to be able to accomplish in a unit? What should they be able to do at the completion of a unit?

3.   Determine  priority  outcomes.   What outcomes are you trying to achieve?

4.   Select/construct  the  task. Does the task match the specific instructional intentions? (in other words, does the task force the

learner to engage in the cognitive dynamics of the instructional goals?)

Does the task adequately represent the content and skills you expect students to attain?

Does the task enable students to demonstrate their progress and capabilities?

Does the assessment use authentic, real-world tasks?

Does the task lend itself to an interdisciplinary approach?

Can the task be structured to provide measures of several goals?

Jennifer Groff 2012

Task Description

Outcomes / Learning Goals

DescriptionDiscussion of game dynamics supporting this

Assessment Administration

Process

InstructionsGroups? Individuals?Materials? Equipment?Help allowed?Time allowed?

Task Description

FormatAudienceOptions availableStudent Directions

ScoringScoring ProceduresRubric/Criteria?Use of scoresInterpreting the Evidence

Jennifer Groff 2012

CONSTRUCT-CENTERED DESIGN1 Identify the

constructThe construct might be a concept (evolution or plate tectonics), theme (e.g. size and scale or consistency and change), or a scienti!c practice (learning about the natural world in a scienti"c way).

2 De!ne the construct

Basing it on expert knowledge of the discipline and related learning research, this means explicitly identifying concepts that are critical for developing understanding of a particular construct and de"ning the successive targets students would reach in the course of their schooling, as they progress toward full understanding of the construct.

3 Create claimsDevelop the claims about the construct—claims identify the reasoning or cognitive actions students would do to demonstrate their understanding of the construct. Specify the way students will be expected to use the understanding that has been identi"ed and articulated.

4 Specify Evidence

What sorts of evidence will constitute proof that students have gained the knowledge and skills described? A claim might be used at more than one level because understanding is expected to develop sequentially across grades. Thus, it is the speci"cation of the evidence that makes clear the degree and depth of understanding that are expected at each level. For example, the evidence appropriate at a less advanced level, say for middle school students, would be less sophisticated.

5 Design Learning Assessment

Specify the learning and assessment tasks that students need to demonstrate, based on the elaborated description of the knowledge and skills students need. Examples of tasks are given in the "gure below.

6 Review & ReviseSuch a review might include internal quality checks conducted by the developers, as well as feedback from teachers or from content or assessment experts. Pilot tests and "eld trials provide essential information, and review is critical to success.

Jennifer Groff 2012

CONSTRUCT-CENTERED DESIGN

1 Critical Idea

2 Cognitive Activity

2 Claim

3 Evidence

4 Task/Assessment

Jennifer Groff 2012