Assessment for Learning: Creating Effective Assessments

Assessment for Learning: Creating Effective Assessments Herculaneum High School October 28, 2009

The Basics …a Review

Goals of Assessment • Assess accuratelyand use assessment to grade/sort students and to benefit them. Assessment of Learning Assessment for Learning Main purpose = promote improvement; diagnose & support student needs; see progress over time Process during learning • Main purpose = sorting students; promotion & graduation; certify competence • Done after learning

Components of Assessment for Learning 1. What do we assess? Learning Targets • Knowledge, reasoning, skills, product development (based on CLEs/standards) 2. How do we assess?Design assessments to do what you want them to do. ** (today’s focus) 3. How do we communicate results of the assessment? Feedback to stakeholders.

How to Assess? …and Do It Effectively.

Types of Assessments • SelectedResponse (SR) • Ex. multiple choice, T/F, matching, fill-ins, short answer • Great for evaluating knowledgeor reasoning(comparative, inferring) • Extended Written Response (a.k.a. short answer/ constructedresponse) (CR) • respond to a question or task with several sentences; teacher uses a scoring guide or list to judge correctness of response • Great to evaluate knowledge targets. • PerformanceEvent (PE) • Performance task + scoring guide = Performance Event • Great for assessing performance skills targets (creating a product) • Personal Communication (PC) • Find out what students know by interacting with them • Good to evaluate small amounts of knowledge and reasoning.

Assessment Development Cycle • Plan • Develop • Critique • Administer • Revise

Plan What you are assessing, how you are assessing it, and how important it is… Test Plan (text p.111; blank copy on share drive) Knowledge, Reasoning, Skills, or Ability to Create Products Instructional time = % of assessment

Develop • Select, create, or modify test items or tasks/ exemplar/scoring guides while minimizing potential bias/distortion(text, p.115) • Tests should take no more than 45 minutes (if too long, test only some of the learning targets/combine learning targets) • Start with easier questions to build confidence • Label each question’s point value (& teach kids to prioritize) • Put all parts of an item on the same page.

Selected Response Develop Turn a proposition into an SR question (text p. 137) Multiple Choice: • only 1 correct/best answer • keep answer options brief, parallel, & similar in length • Only use “all” or “none” if appropriate to the content (not to fill in spaces) • use “always”/”never” rarely(absolutes are almost always incorrect) • OK to vary # of answer options True/False: • Make it entirely true or entirely false (see p.144) Matching: • Give clear directions • Maximum items per grouping = 10; groups are homogenous • Include more response options than stems & permit students to use response options more than once (avoids process-of-elimination) Fill-Ins: • provide enough space for an answer (all the same length) • One blank for each item • Blank toward the end of the sentence

Develop Proposition: In 2007, 45 percent of students in grades 9–12 reported having consumed at least one drink of alcohol anywhere, and 4 percent reported having consumed at least one drink on school property during the previous 30 days.

Constructed Response Develop • Set the context (tell them what knowledge they need to access from their memory to answer the question) • Specify reasoning needed to answer the question (DOK level) • Point the way to an appropriate response (tell them the criteria used to evaluate their response) Don’t offer choicesof prompts (we want them to hit all the targets, not some of them.) OK to grade content, reasoning, &/or writing and let kids know what is being graded IDEA: show students an example of a great answer and a bad answer…have themdevelop the criteria for grading (they will understand what you’re looking for much better)

Develop CR Topic: Rights in the 1st amendment C-In class we…_____________ R-(DOK)___________________ . - Be sure to include…________

Performance Event Develop • Make it clear, feasible, fair, & representative of the breadth & depthof the target(s) being assessed. • Make sure students know the RAFTS of the task: • Role (perspective) • Audience (tone, vocabulary) • Format (letter, brochure, poster, PowerPoint, etc.) • Topic (narrowed by teacher or student?—depends on timing) • Strong verb(purpose/DOK)

Develop PE Topic: Genetic cloning R-_______________________ A- _______________________ F- _______________________ T- _______________________ S- _______________________

Performance Event Develop 3. Scoring Guide • Include standards-referenced descriptions of student learning • Holistic: single rating of an entire product/performance based on the overall impressionof a student’s work (good for simple tasks) • Analytical: divides a product/performance into essential dimensions so they can be judged separately (good for complex tasks & for giving descriptive feedback to students) • Great resource: http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php

Analytical Scoring Guide Develop Ideas for Scoring Guide Labels: 4 pt scale (EOC/MAP) 5 pt scale

Analytical Scoring Guide Develop Do NOT add up the points from each trait to get a % or letter grade (grades will almost always be too low this way.) Develop a logic rule! Example follows… 17/24 = 71%

Critique Evaluate for Quality: Does it match your testplan? Ensure item quality: a. Does it test what you intended? have someone else read the questions and tell you what he/she thinks you are asking b. Is it clearly written? (text p.150)

Administer Give the test or task to the students.

Revise Evaluate test quality based on results & changeineffective parts. Use the Formative Assessment Analysis available on the share drive:

Thank You. …Have A Great Evening.

Develop Holistic Example

Develop Analytical Example

Assessment for Learning: Creating Effective Assessments