Assessing Student Learning

TSS Participants:

Dana Bradley

Cheryl Hitchcock

Arlecia Sewell

The primary purpose of any student assessment should to be improve student learning.

Reference: Packing a Parachute p. 1

Davies, 2000. Making Classroom Assessment Work

Assessment vs. Evaluation

¨ When we assess, we gather information about student learning that informs our teaching and helps students learn more.

¨ When we evaluate, we decide whether or not students have learned what they need to learn and how well they have learned it.

¨ From Making Classroom Assessment Work (A. Davies, 2000)

Assessment should confirm, reinforce, and support ideas of what students should be learning.

Students should always know how they are going to be assessed, before learning takes place.

Assessment drives instruction!

Can we have some feedback?

¨ Descriptive feedback- gives information that enables the learner to adjust what the learner is doing in order to get better.

¨ Evaluative feedback- tells the learner how he or she has performed to others or to some standard.

Who’s Involved in Assessment?¨ Students

“Test Talks”¨ Peers¨ Teachers¨ Mentors¨ Administrators

“Test Talks”¨ Parents (Involvement is critical in the partnership of

students in elementary grades)

(Pre- K students are assessed through anecdotal notes and work samples. Work samples are organized in portfolios.)

3 Stages of Assessing Student Achievement

1. Diagnostic Assessment

2. Formative Assessment

3. Summative Assessment

Diagnostic Assessment

Sometimes called pre-assessment.

The assessment of the student’s knowledge and skills before the new instruction.

Formative Assessment

The assessment FOR learning during the instruction.

Examples of Formative Assessment

Triangulation MethodWritten

Observation

• Projects

• Oral presentation

• Debates

Oral

• Reports

• Projects

• Essays

• Tests

• Presentations

• Debates

Summative Assessment

The assessment OF learning after the instruction.

Represented by the student’s final term, semester, or year’s achievement grade.

Summative IF…….

The end of a chapter or unit test represents the absolute end of the student’s learning of materials for that instructional unit.

Sample Assessments

¨ Portfolios¨ Pretests/ Posttests¨ Self- Assessments¨ Rubrics¨ Mini- Assessments¨ Benchmarks

For any type of assessment used to assign student grades, it is recommended that

scoring rubrics are used!

State-Mandated Assessments

¨ Criterion Referenced Competency Test ¨ Georgia High School Graduation Test¨ Georgia Writing Test¨ Iowa Test of Basic Skills¨ GKAP-R¨ High School End of Course Test

Resources¨ Marzano R., et.al, 2001. Classroom Instruction That Works ¨ Davies, A., 2000. Making Classroom Assessment Work ¨ Kellough, R. Secondary Methods