The Role of Assessment in Teaching

Discussion: What do you associate with the word assessment?? What do you think this class is all about? Good teachers continually assess their students relative to learning targets Assessment both enhances learning and documents learning When planning instruction it is necessary to plan assessment Effective teaching is impossible without effective assessment Assessment: The collection, synthesis, interpretation, and use of information to aid the teachers in decision making done before, during and after instruction. Before instruction: Assessment is needed to help teachers make decisions about learning goals, appropriate teaching materials, and learning activities. During instruction: Assessment is needed to help teachers make decisions about the delivery and pace of instruction, control behavior, keep students attention, and adjust the scope and sequence of learning activities. (See Chapters 4 & 5) After instruction: Assessment is needed to help teachers evaluate student learning, as well as learning materials. Assessment at this stage helps teachers to know what to teach next and helps to improve instruction. Assessment at the end of an instructional unit provides information for grading students, evaluating teaching, and evaluating curriculum and school programs. When planning instruction plan assessment! Upon determining learning goals and objectives it is important to determine the evidence that will be needed to determine student learning. Note that this is done before determining instructional plans because the assessment should influence the nature of instruction. This is sometimes referred to as a "backward design" because conventional lesson planning typically considers assessment as an activity that is done after instruction, but it is very helpful to think like an assessor before planning learning activities. It helps to integrate learning and assessment.

Classroom assessments define what is important! The nature of classroom assessment defines what is valued and what students are learning Clearly, what is assessed and how it is assessed delivers strong messages about what is valued

Assessment is NOT an add-on activity that occurs after instruction is completed: Assessment is integrally related to all aspects of teacher decision making and instruction

Four Components of Classroom Assessment: Purpose: A clear vision of what the assessment will accomplish. Why are you doing it? What will be gained by it? What decision making will be enhanced by the information collected? Most importantly, how will it enhance student learning? Measurement: The process of quantifying (i.e. assigning a number to) or differentiating traits, characteristics, or performance. A variety of techniques can be used to measure a defined trait or learning target such as tests, rating scales, observations, and interviews. Evaluation: The process of making a judgment about the quality of performance. This is where an interpretation of what have been gathered through measurement is done. Is 80% correct good, average, or poor? Professional judgment plays a large role here. What is "good" work to one teacher may be only "adequate" to another. In other words, assessment is about what you value as a teacher. Performance standards are used to determine whether a performance is "good" or "bad", while criteria are the specific behaviors that provide evidence that students have met the performance standard. Criteria may be in the form of scoring criteria, scoring guidelines, or rubrics. Standards and criteria communicate to students the teacher's expectations. Use: Will the assessment be used for diagnosis? This type of assessment allows teachers to diagnose the specific areas that need further attention or where progress is made and includes information as to why a student may be having difficulty. Will the assessment be used for grading? Grading decisions must be based on information derived through measurement. Will the assessment be used for instruction? It is important to remember that assessment can be used as instructions to educate and improve student performance, as opposed to merely auditing it.

Effective assessment promotes good instruction in an environment that engages students in active learning and connects new information with existing knowledge! Research on motivation suggests that teachers must continually assess and provide informative feedback. This encourages students to regulate their own learning, enhance their sense of self-efficacy, and self-determination. Motivation is highly dependent on the nature of feedback from assessment! Recent Trends in Classroom Assessment: Alternative assessment: This includes performance assessments, portfolios, demonstrations, journals, and other forms of assessment that require the active construction of meaning rather than the passive regurgitation of isolated facts. These types of assessments place more emphasis on thinking skills, collaborative skills, and provide opportunities for multiple "correct" answers.

Authentic assessment: This type of assessment focuses on knowledge, thinking, and skills exhibited in real-life settings. The focus is on solving problems and accomplishing tasks like those done by professionals in the field. Involve students in all aspects of assessment: This includes designing tasks and questions to evaluating their own and others work to creating scoring criteria. Greater emphasis on formative assessment, as opposed to summative assessment

The key to good assessment is BALANCE! Assessment techniques must be matched to purpose and must be conducted using established quality standards. Teachers should be skilled in: 1. choosing assessment methods appropriate for instructional decisions 2. developing assessment methods appropriate for instructional decisions 3. administering, scoring, and interpreting the results of both externally produced and teacher produced assessment methods 4. using assessment results when making decisions about individual students, planning teaching, developing curriculum, and making recommendations for school improvement 5. developing valid grading procedures 6. communicating assessment results to students, parents, other lay audiences, and other educators 7. recognizing unethical, illegal, and otherwise inappropriate assessment methods and uses of assessment information (See Appendices A and B)