Assessment of Learning

1. Assessment of Learning By: Tina, Meme, Dawn C., Dawn Z., Darcy and Justin

2. Assessment of Learning • Assessment and testing have a strong effect on the lives and careers of young people. Decisions taken within and by schools influence the prospects and opportunities of their pupils, and of even greater importance are their results of national tests and examinations. • When the results of the tests and examinations are used to pass judgments on teachers and schools, they also affect the ways in which pupils are taught. Given their importance, it is essential that results of summative assessment should reflect and influence school learning in the best possible way.

3. What is Assessment of Learning? • Assessment of learning refers to strategies designed to confirm what students know, demonstrate whether or not they have met the curriculum outcomes or the goals of their individual programs, proficiency and make decisions about students future programs or placements. It is designed to provide evidence of achievement to parents, other educators, the students themselves and sometimes outside groups. • It often contributes to pivotal decisions that will affect students futures. Assessment information provides students with directions for additional work, review and areas for growth. • It indicates what you are teaching effectively and what you might wish to change, emphasize or extend.

4. Assessment of Learning… • Also known as summative, is a ‘summary’ of what students have learned. • Assessment of learning is designed to be summative, and to produce defensible and accurate descriptions of student competence in relation to defined outcomes and, occasionally, in relation to other students’ assessment results. • Assessment of learning needs to be very carefully constructed so that the information upon which decisions are made is of the highest quality.

5. Four Qualities of Assessment • Validity • The assessment must cover all aspects, and only those aspects, of a student’s achievement relevant to a particular purpose. • Reliability • Results must be sufficiently accurate and consistent for their purpose.

6. Four Qualities of Assessment • Impact • The assessment should not only measure performance but have desirable consequences for teaching, learning and student’s motivation for learning. • Practicability • Resources required to provide assessment (teacher’s time, expertise and cost, and student’s learning time) should be commensurate with the value of the information for its users.

7. Formative to Summative • Assessment activities fall along a continuum from formative to summative depending on the purpose for the activity in relation to students’ learning . Formative and summative assessment are not mutually exclusive, nor is one “better” than the other. They serve related but different purposes.

10. Teachers Role in Assessment of Learning • Teachers have the responsibility of reporting student learning accurately and fairly. Effective assessment of learning requires that teachers provide: • A rationale for undertaking a particular assessment of learning at a particular point of time. • Clear descriptions of the intended learning • Processes that make it possible for students to demonstrate their competence and skill • A range of alternative mechanisms for assessing the same outcomes • Public and defensible reference points for making judgements • Transparent approaches to interpretation • Descriptions of the assessment process • Strategies for recourse in the vent of disagreement about the decisions

12. Why Assess? • The purpose of assessment of learning is to measure, certify and report the level of students learning, so that reasonable decisions can be made about students. There are many potential uses of the information: • Teachers (who can use the information to communicate with parents about their children proficiency and progress) • Parents and students (who can use the results for making educational and vocational decisions) • Potential employers and post secondary institutions (who can use the information to make decisions about hiring or acceptance)

13. The Purpose of Assessment • Summative assessment activities serve many of the same functions as formative assessments. They show students how well goals have been achieved and provide direction for further work and study even into the next grade or course. • The main purpose of summative assessments is to “sum up” progress to date in relation to particular learning outcomes, expectations, or goals.

14. Continued… • Assessments, regardless of their place in the continuum, are only “good” if they are appropriately and effectively designed to fulfill a specific purpose in furthering students’ learning. • The purpose of the assessment determines its place along the continuum. The quality of the assessment – the instructions, the wording of the task(s), the clarity, and the fairness and appropriateness of scoring- determines its value.

15. Ensuring Quality • Accuracy, consistency, and fairness of judgments based on high-quality information. • Clear, detailed learning expectations. • Fair and accurate summative reporting. • In Assessment of learning, the methods chosen need to address the intended curriculum outcomes and the continuum of learning that is required to reach the outcomes.

16. What Methods? • A range of methods in different modes that assess both product and process.

17. Types of Assessment of Learning

18. Conversations • Get a “window” into their thinking • Not all conversations need to involve direct discussion with students • Writing • Peer assessment • One student can teach another student about a concept or skill

19. Examples of “Conversations” • Explain Thinking • Informal Conversations • Journals • Learning Logs • One-on-one interviews • Peer Assessments • Reader Response • Self-Assessments • Teach a Friend

20. Observations • Provides evidence of their understanding of curriculum outcomes

21. Examples of Observations • Anecdotal Notes • General • Target Behaviour • Checklists

22. Products • Focuses on the final product • Offering students a choice of products to demonstrate their understanding will help meet the needs of all the students in the class • No matter what product your students choose, they should be provided with the criteria or a rubric of what is expected to demonstrate mastery.

23. Examples of Products • Acting • Chapter Tests or Final Exams • Comic Books • Compare and Contrast Charts • Demonstrations • Dioramas • Games • “How to” Books • Mind Maps • Presentations • Newspaper Articles • Models • Photo Journals • Portfolios • Posters

24. Examples of Products • Projects • Puzzles • Response Journals • Role Plays • Song Writing • Speeches • Surveys • Timelines • Web Pages

25. Creating Quality Assessment of Learning • Be Creative • Break Down Assessments • Reduce Pressure on Students • Prepare Student at the Beginning • Don’t Rely on Just the Textbook! • Get them talking • Make it fun! • Use real-life tasks and problems • Move away from Multiple-Choice

26. Rubrics • Davies, who has a Ph. D in this stuff claims that closing in on a goal triggers a part of the brain linked to motivation. • With what we already know from Davies’ “Making Classroom Management Work”, we know that internalizing the work is also important… • Defining the criteria WITH the student is a big help too – it will give them ownership of the criteria and help them set goals…!

27. Rubrics • Rubrics provide the opportunity for assessment to be both DESCRIPTIVE and EVALUATIVE. They allow you to clearly outline all of the aspects of a task to be assessed, and describe proficiency in each aspect at different levels of achievement. • Descriptive: is specific information in the form of written comments or conversations that help the learner understand what he or she needs to do in order to improve. • Evaluative: is a summary for the learner of how well he or she has performed on a particular task. This feedback is often in the form of letter grades, numbers, check marks, symbols and/or general comments such as “good,” “excellent,” or “needs help.”

29. Rubrics • According to the ESL Literacy Network , there are ten steps in the rubric creation cycle: • Consider the Purpose for the assessment. (end in mind) • Determine the general learning outcome and specific learning outcome that you will measure. (relate to curriculum) • State the task. (what is expected?) • Outline the conditions for the task. (how do I get there?) • Determine the holistic criteria for the task. (Kenanow? Cross curricular?) • Determine the analytic criteria that you want to assess in the task. • Provide descriptors of potential achievement of the analytic criteria at four levels. (Differentiated assessment) • Determine the overall score for the assessment task. (Mark) • List the determiners to calculate a passing grade for the task. • Provide a place to indicate the level achieved for the task. (Grade)

30. Rubrics • Consider the Purpose for the assessment? • Why am I using this assessment with my learners? As an assessment for learning? To inform my teaching by determining the areas in which learners are strong or need more practice? • Or an assessment OF learning? Do I want to determine learners’ levels by assessing the degree to which they have achieved the learning outcomes?

31. Rubrics 2. Determine the GLO’s and the SLO’s you want to measure. What am I assessing with this task? Start digging out those curriculum docs! RUBRICS ARE MOST EFFECTIVE WHEN TIED TO A LEARNING OUTCOMES.

33. Rubrics • State the task. • What will the learners do to demonstrate their ability to achieve the SLO? Make sure the task relates directly to the outcome. 4. Outline the conditions for the task: What will be pre-taught? What supports, exemplars, and models will be provided? Is there a time limit? In what setting will the task be completed? Groups? Pairs? Independently? This can all be stated in an assignment handout that goes with the rubric!

34. Rubrics 5. Determine the wholistic criteria for the task – eh? Eh? What will show me that the learner understands the task? Include a yes or no statement as to whether or not the task has been achieved.

37. Rubrics • Determine the analytic criteria that you want to assess in the task. • What specific components am I looking for in this task? • List 3-5 specifics pertaining to the task you will evaluate when assessing… • Spelling? Grammar? Sentence structure? Story structure? Character development? Descriptive writing? Most long winded? • Provide descriptors of potential achievement of the analytic criteria at four levels. • We need a variety of exemplars to show what success can look like.

39. Rubrics • Determine the overall score for the assessment task! /20? /40? • What is the total score that can be achieved if all of the criteria are beyond Benchmark level? • List the determiners to calculate a passing grade for the task. • What do the learners need to achieve to be at level? • The responses to the holistic criteria must be YES! • The score in the analytic criteria should be at least 70% • Provide a place to indicate the level achieved for the task. • How does the score for this task relate to the Benchmark level?

41. The Report Card • The Manitoba government has introduced a new provincial report card to enhance the quality of education in Manitoba and to build stronger partnerships among students, their teachers and parents. • The new report card will make sure that parents get consistent, clear information about how well their children are learning, what steps will help improve learning and what they can do to help.

42. How is a student assessed on the report card? • Criterion-referenced grading – academic achievement grades show how well students achieve curriculum learning goals. • Are NOT based on how the student performs compared to other students. • Grades generally reflect the students most recent and consistent academic achievement.

43. Were you paying attention?...... It’s time to play

44. When is Assessment of Learning performed?

45. What is another name for Assessment of Learning?

46. What are the 4 qualities of Assessment of Learning?

47. Assessment of Learning is designed to provide evidence of achievement to whom? (give 3)

48. What does Assessment of Learning compare a students’ learning to?

49. Give 5 examples of products that can be used as Assessment of Learning.

50. An essay can be both formative or summative assessment. At what point is the essay summative assessment?