Classroom Assessment A Practical Guide for Educators by Craig A. Mertler

1. Classroom AssessmentA Practical Guide for Educatorsby Craig A. Mertler Chapter 5 Informal Assessments

2. Introduction • The main types of informal assessments include teacher observations, teacher questions, and student reflections. • The majority of assessments used in classrooms are informal. • Assessments occur in an ongoing, continuous manner.

3. Teacher Observations • Teacher Observations: watching and/or listening to students as they perform an activity, or judging a product they have produced. • purpose is to record and describe student behavior as it naturally occurs • can provide information with respect to: • the quality of student performances • the processes and procedures students use to complete assignments • the processes and procedures teachers use in providing instruction

4. Teacher Observations • Teacher Observations (continued) • characteristics • many events are observed simultaneously or in quick succession • classroom observations often focus on one event • teachers should depend on the observations of students • most events that occur in the classroom go unnoticed • observations are quickly forgotten or distorted when recalled • observations often require inferences

5. Teacher Observations • Teacher Observations (continued) • guidelines for use • know what to observe • know when to place limits on how much is being observed • be familiar with what is being observed • avoid extended inferences; look for substantiating evidence • recognize that observations may overestimate achievement • document observations that must be recalled later

6. Teacher Observations • Teacher Observations (continued) • record keeping • Anecdotal records: short narratives that describe behavior and context. • used to document behaviors for later reference by teachers and others • interpretation may also be included • bias must be avoided in any interpretations • only record observations that have special importance and cannot be obtained through more formal methods of classroom assessment

7. Teacher Observations • Teacher Observations (continued) • record keeping (continued) • Checklist: list of behaviors or outcomes, where teacher simply indicates whether each has been observed. • limited to situations where presence or absence of a condition is to be determined • more structured than anecdotal records • only two possible options for observations— observed or not observed

8. Teacher Observations • Teacher Observations (continued) • record keeping (continued) • Rating scales: similar to checklists; offer more specific feedback (along a continuum). • can indicate frequency or degree to which student exhibits a characteristic • can be used formatively and summatively • also referred to as rubrics (holistic and analytic)

9. Teacher Questions • Teacher Questions: informal, unplanned, spontaneous oral inquiries posed by teachers to students. • useful as a means of monitoring student understanding during instruction • both lower- and higher-order questions can be posed • can also be used as a form of student self-reflection

10. Teacher Questions • Teacher Questions (continued) • characteristics • can be obtrusive • must be interpreted by others; must be clear • can be directed to individuals, small groups, or an entire class • details of questions asked and their subsequent responses are quickly forgotten

11. Teacher Questions • Teacher Questions (continued) • guidelines for use • develop questions from instructional objectives • provide a clear problem for students to address • allow sufficient time for students to respond • avoid student embarrassment • exhibit caution when reacting to student responses

12. Teacher Questions • Teacher Questions (continued) • record keeping • few structured techniques exist • teachers may customize a variation of a checklist in order to document participation and responses

13. Student Reflections • Student Reflections: brief narratives or self-reports written by students concerning the subject matter being studied. • variations of journals or learning logs • completed periodically throughout a unit • may consist of summaries of material, questions raised during class, characteristics of a project, etc. • provide opportunities for teacher and students to discuss comments and questions

14. Student Reflections • Student Reflections (continued) • widely used variation is the one-minute paper • students are given last few minutes of class to respond (in writing and anonymously) to one or two questions specified by the teacher • What was the most important thing you learned from today’s class? • What question do you still have following today’s class? • I would like to know more about… • I am still unsure about… • student responses are collected and synthesized by the teacher • teacher begins the next class with commentary • emphasize student responsibility to listen and process

15. Validity and Reliability of Informal Assessments • Often suffer to reduced validity and reliability due to subjective nature • Can be improved by avoiding some common problems • Validity • can be adversely affected by prejudging or anticipating student behaviors • inappropriate indicators of student characteristics are sometimes selected • Reliability • affected by lack of adequate sampling of behaviors • inferences drawn in one setting may not extend to others

16. Advantages and Limitations of Informal Assessments • Advantages • are efficient and adaptable • can be built into flow of lesson (no interruption) • can be used to monitor instruction and learning • Limitations • observations are limited only to those behaviors that occur naturally • teachers observe only a fraction of student behaviors • many informal observations go undocumented and, therefore, are likely forgotten