Activity 1.

7 Chapter 1 Portfolio Entry Cover Sheet

Dat
e:

10/30/16

Title of
Selection:

Classroom Assessment

Learning target(s) this selection addresses:

Know what the five keys to classroom assessment quality are.
Know why they are important to assessment accuracy and effective use
of assessment information.
What this selection illustrates about my learning/why I chose this selection:
I chose this section because I wanted to reflect on the things that I did well within the five
keys to classroom assessment quality and those things that I need to focus on improving
during this course. Beneath each of the keys is a bulleted list of my reflections.
The five keys to classroom assessment quality are:
1. Clear Purpose: They are designed to serve the specific information needs
of the intended user(s).
I am not sure I know what users can benefit from the
assessments I provide in my classroom. Other than myself and the
student, I never thought about anyone else using my assessment data.
Other than putting an objective at the top of my
assessments, Im not sure they clearly dictate their purpose.
I know the differences between formative and summative
assessments and I know when to use them. However, I need to use
formative assessments more frequently than I do.
2. Clear Targets: They are based on clearly articulated and appropriate
achievement targets.
Using clear learning targets when planning my curriculum
is something I definitely do. I love our AFNR standards and have used
them to develop and guide my entire curriculum.
Clearly articulating the target to my students is an area I
am working on. I provide my students with Skill Sheets at the beginning
of every unit. These Skill Sheets provide students with the objectives
they will be mastering during the unit. Now I just need to connect the
assessments to the objectives. On some assessments, I write the objective
at the top. I need to streamline this process.
I am not sure the information I am gathering on
assessments actually reflects student achievement as well as I want it to. I
am working on this by changing the types of assessments I give.
3. Sound Design: They accurately measure student achievement.

Classroom Assessment for Student Learning: Doing It RightUsing It Well, 2e

Learning Teams Facilitation Guide and Activities & Resources
Copyright 2012 by Pearson Education, Inc., All rights reserved.

The text identifies assessment methods as: selected

response, written response, performance assessment, or personal
communication. I am excited to get to this chapter because I am not
confident I am always selecting the appropriate assessment method for
the task.
I know my assessments can measure student achievement
better. Recently I have moved away from multiple choice questions to a
reflection answer. Reflections have allowed me to see some of the
miscommunications of my students more clearly. However, one of the
main issues with this technique is that they are not including broad
enough content in their reflections. I need to come up with a better way
to phrase the question so it prompts their responses to cover all I am
looking for.
Writing better rubrics that measure all qualities of work in
an assessment is a skill I also need to work on.
4. Effective Communication: They yield results that are effectively
communicated to their intended users.
Once I have formative assessment data, I need to do
something with it. In the past, it has been a way for me to see what
students can be aids to others, however that is not good enough. I need to
use assessment information to plan instruction.
I do provide feedback to students on their formative
assessments. Students are asked to respond to questions in their field
notebooks. These responses are check in points. Their reflections allow
me to see how they are understanding and applying the content and if
there are any misconceptions. Students receive a check or a mkup in
the grade book. The check doesnt count towards their end grade, but the
mkup will count against them, until they revise their reflection.
There is too much time between when I administer the
assessments, to when I grade them, to when I turn them back to the
students. I thought using Google Classroom to collect assignments would
make turning the assignments around quicker, but it hasnt. I need to
make a better plan and timeline goals for this area.
5. Student Involvement: They involve students in self-assessment, goal
setting, tracking, reflecting on, and sharing their learning.
This is an area that I would like to become better at. So
many of the assignments my students turn in are filled with errors that
should be addressed before they are turned in. I need to find a way to
teach them how to self assess their work before submitting it for a grade
to address small errors such as spelling and capitalization.
I have occasionally used the Skill Sheets as a way for
students to assess their own knowledge of the objectives, however found
it not useful for altering content. I did use it to use the students as
experts in the areas they rated themselves highly for.

I have added a question on the species/tool identification

pre-assessment that will help them set a goal for themselves regarding
identification.
All students in Ag Science create a portfolio. They are
encouraged to bring this portfolio to job and college interviews. We also
display them during our 8th Grade Open House and at other public events
for our program.
I would like to incorporate one of the ideas that came
from the New Jersey teacher in Chapter 1. She gave students the
objectives at the beginning of the unit, under each objective they would
record what assignments helped them meet that objective. I want to
modify my skill sheets so that students can see where we are in the
curriculum, understand why we are doing specific assignments and for
me to be able to tailor instruction for them based on their needs.
Formative Assessments

Summative Assessments

Definition

Formal or informal processes

teachers and students use to
gather evidence for the purpose
of improving learning.

Assessments that provide

evidence of student achievement
for the purpose of making a
judgement about student
competence or program
effectiveness.

When to use it:

Before a unit or before starting

in on a new objective.

At the end of unit or at the end of

mastering an objective.

When I use it:

Skill Sheets
Class discussion
Bell Ringers
Reflections in Field Notebooks
ID Pre-Assessments

Reflections on Work Samples

Tests
ID Post-Assessments