Evaluating Student Achievement

1. Evaluating Student Achievement How do you measure if your students are learning?

2. Agenda • Explore methods of formative evaluation. • Explore methods of summative evaluation.

3. Formative and Summative Assessment • Formative Assessment is intertwined with your teaching, it happens all the time. • Summative Assessment happens at the end of a unit, chapter, class and measures the students level of learning at that specific moment in time.

4. Bloom’s Taxonomy

5. Your Evaluation Has to Match Your Objectives What do your students need to learn?

6. Formative Assessment • Formative Assessment lets the student know how well they are grasping the material • Formative Assessment lets YOU identify the gaps between what is being taught and what is being learned.

7. Examples of Formative Assessment • Just ask • One minute paper • Toughest point • One sentence summary • Application cards • Mind Map • Stop/Start/Continue

8. Just Ask • This by far the most common formative assessment we use because it is fast and easy. • “does this make sense?” • “did you all get that?” • “is this clear?” • It works, but we can dig a little deeper.

9. The One Minute Paper • Sixty seconds to answer a question • Most important thing today? • Most important question unanswered? • Why is this important?

10. The Toughest Point • What was the “toughest” point about the lesson? • What are you having trouble with?

11. One Sentence Summary • How well can learners summarize the important points? • One long sentence

12. Application Cards • Write one real-world application of the major concept • Index cards, threaded discussion

13. Mind Map for Evaluation • Have the students try to draw a conceptual outline. Evaluating Students Formative Summative Just ask One minute paper Muddiest point One sentence summary Application cards Mind Map

14. Start/Stop/Continue • Let students conduct a formative evaluation on your teaching. • On index cards and ask them to list three things: • What should I start doing? • What should I stop doing? • What should I continue doing? Do this early and often

15. Wrapping Up Formative Assessment • Try an Application Card • Take a index card or sheet of paper and write down how you can use three of these formative assessments in your upcoming class.

16. Summative Assessment • How do we conduct most of our summative assessment?

17. Examples of Summative Assessment • Here a few of my favorite summative evaluation techniques. • Test – we will save for another day • Portfolios • Product-Based • Performance-Based • Journals & Learning Logs • Quiz and Test

18. Advantages for the student • Allows for a broad range of demonstration of knowledge • Allows for legitimate self assessment. • Individual strengths and abilities are recognized. • Goals (objectives) are clearly stated in the beginning of a unit of study.

19. Advantages for the Teacher • Learning goals (objectives) are shared with students before material is introduced. Students know exactly what you want them to learn. • Tests all 6 levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy. • Gives a clearer and broader picture of each students abilities, strengths and knowledge.

20. Challenges • Will you accurately evaluate students? • Will your assessment tool provide you with information that is useful for improving instruction? • How do you know the student did all of their own work? • How do you develop new assessment tools?

21. Alternative Assessment Let’s Begin with Portfolio Assessment.

22. Portfolios • Focuses on students ability to produce a quality product • Integrates and produces knowledge • Provides meaningful tasks • Provides framework for learning • Provides evidence of conceptual understanding

23. Portfolio Time Frame • The time frame depends on your purpose. • Semester? • Unit? • Labs only? • Research? • Reflections?

24. Reflective Thinking • Portfolios should include a reflection component. • Being a reflective thinker is a learned process. Students must actively engage in the thought process to become proficient at it. • This encourages self evaluation, the highest cognitive process.

25. Reflective Thinking Continued • Reflective Starters • I can demonstrate that I understand _______________ by evaluating it on _______________ • I am most proud that I know ____________. • The section I most need to improve is __________________.

26. Investigate a controversial issue using a debate format Multimedia presentation Oral report with visuals Poster Board Collections Slide show or Photo essay Video production What are some more… Product Based Assessments

27. Product Based Assessments • As with all evaluation you need to let the students know what you expect of them. • Share your objectives.

28. Performance Based Assessment This is where and when your student can show you their “stuff’.

29. Performance Based Assessment • Demonstrate lab techniques • Demonstrate observation skills in the field • Oral explanations of processes • Debates • Defend a scientific investigation procedure, demonstrating techniques and equipment

30. Journals & Learning Logs • Lab notes • Research notes • Reflective thinking • Field observations • Reference material • Syllabus

31. How do I grade all this? • The best way I have found to grade these assessment tools is with the use of a rubric. • The rubric will give clear instructions on what you expect of the students and how the work will be graded. • Valid because it includes objectives and reliable because it uses a scoring rubric.

32. Steps in Rubric Development • Determine learning objectives. • Each rubric item should focus on a different skill. • Evaluate only measurable criteria. • Ideally, the entire rubric should fit on one sheet of paper. • Reevaluate the rubric. (Did it work?)

33. Terms for measuring range Needs Improvement….Satisfactory….Good…Exemplary Beginning..Developing..Accomplished..Examplary Needs work…. Good…. Excellent Novice…. Apprentice…. Proficient…. Distinguished Basic…. Proficient…. Advanced Numeric Scale ranging from 1 to 5, for example

34. Steps in Rubric Development • After you write your first paragraph of the highest level, circle the words in that paragraph that can vary. These words will be the ones that you will change as you write the less than top level performances.

35. Steps in Rubric Development • Concept words that convey various degrees of performance • Depth…Breadth…Quality…Scope… Extent…complexity…Degree • Presence to absence • Complete to incomplete • Many to some to none • Major to minor

36. Steps in Rubric Development Remember: • Adapt your rubric to the task at hand. • Apply the scoring system that best suits you. • Start small and keep adding and changing when necessary. • Give the students the rubric before, or when you give the assignment.

37. Quiz and Test • True/False • Multiple Choice • Fill in the blank • Short answer • Essay

38. Wrapping Up Summative Assessment • Let’s try a quick formative assessment technique. • We will try to expand our Mind Map we made earlier to include Formative Assessment.

39. Mind Map Evaluating Students Formative Summative Portfolios Project-Based Product-Based Journals & Learning Logs Test & Quiz Just ask One minute paper Muddiest point One sentence summary Application cards Mind Map Stop/Start/Continue Measure these using a rubric

40. And After All That Work… • Evaluate your evaluation techniques? • Do you use a variety of evaluation techniques? • Do they measure student learning? • Revise, and try it again.

41. Wrapping Up Evaluation • Two major points on evaluation • Use Formative and Summative Assessment to evaluate student learning. • Keep objectives, teaching, and evaluation in line with each other.

42. Wrapping Up Today • The three major points for today • Develop clear objectives. • Align teaching with objectives. • Build evaluation around objectives.