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Basic Concept in Assessment

According to Linn and Miller (2005) define assessment as any of a variety of procedures used to obtain information about student performance. Assessment refers to the full range of information gathered and synthesized by teachers about their students and their classrooms (Arends, 1994) Assessment is a method for analyzing and evaluating student achievement or program success. 3. 3. Assessment for Learning Is practiced, students are encouraged to be more active in their learning and associated assessment. The ultimate purpose of assessment for learning is to create self-regulated learners who can leave school able and confident to continue learning throughout their lives. Teachers need to know at the outset of a unit of study where their students are in terms of their learning and then continually check on how they are progressing through strengthening the feedback they get from their learners.

Basic Concept in Assessment 1. JARRY FUENTES MARYDEN ANDALECIO BEVERLY DADIVAS BSEd 3D-TLE MARIA SHEILA D. SIMON, Ed. D. Course Facilitator 2. According to Linn and Miller (2005) define assessment as any of a variety of procedures used to obtain information about student performance. Assessment refers to the full range of information gathered and synthesized by teachers about their students and their classrooms (Arends, 1994) Assessment is a method for analyzing and evaluating student achievement or program success. 3. Assessment for Learning Is practiced, students are encouraged to be more active in their learning and associated assessment. The ultimate purpose of assessment for learning is to create self-regulated learners who can leave school able and confident to continue learning throughout their lives. Teachers need to know at the outset of a unit of study where their students are in terms of their learning and then continually check on how they are progressing through strengthening the feedback they get from their learners. 4. Measurement, Evaluation and Assessment Measurement as used in education refers to the process of quantifying an individual’s achievement, personality, and attitudes among others by means of appropriate measuring instruments. Educational Measurement The first step towards elevating a field of study into a science is to take measurements of the quantities and qualities of interest in the field. 5. Basic concepts in Assessment As teachers, we are continually faced with the challenge of assessing the progress of our students as well as our own effectiveness as teachers. Educational Measurement The first step towards elevating a field of study into a science is to take measurements of the quantities and qualities of interest in the field. Types of Measurement Objective measurements- are measurements that do not depend on the person or individual taking the measurements. Subjective measurements- often differ from one assessor to the next even if the same quantity or quality is being measured. 6. The underlying principle in educational measurement is summarized by the following formula: Measurement of quantity or quality of interest = true value plus random error. 7. Evaluation is the process of systematic collection and analysis of both qualitative and quantitative data for the purpose of making some decision and judgments. Assessment, Test, and Measurement Test: An instrument or systematic procedure for measuring a sample of behavior by posing a set of questions in a uniform manner. Measurement: The process of obtaining a numerical description of the degree to which an individual possesses a particular characteristic. Measurement answers the question “How much?” 8. Test, Non- test, Examination, Test item and Quiz A test in the educational setting is a question or a series of question which aims to determine how well a student learned from a subject or topic taught. A non- test is a question or activity which determines the interests, attitude and other student’s characteristics whose answer or answers is/are not judged wrong or incorrect. Examples: Personality inventory,” What is your favorite sports?”, “Why do you prefer green vegetables?” An examination is a long test which may or may be composed of one or more test formats. Examples: Mid- term examination, Licensure Examination for Teachers, comprehensive examination. A test item is any question included in a test or examination. Examples: Who was the President of the Philippines when World War 2 broke out? Is “Little Red Riding Hood” a short story? A quiz is a short test usually given at the beginning or at the end of a discussion period. 9. Indicators, variables and Factors An educational variable (denoted by an English alphabet, like X) is a measurable characteristic of a student. Variables may be directly measurable as in X= age or X= height of a student. An indicator, I, denotes the presence or absence of a measured characteristics. Thus: I= 1, if the characteristics is present = O, if the characteristic is absent 10. Various Roles of Assessment Assessment plays a number of roles in making instructional decisions. Summative Role- An assessment may be done for summative purposes as in the illustration given above for grade VI mathematics achievement. Diagnostic Role- Assessment may be done for diagnostic purposes. In the case, we are interested in determining the gaps in learning or learning processes, hopefully, to be able to bridge these gaps. Formative Assessment- Another purpose of assessment is formative. In this role, assessment guides the teachers on his/ her day- to- day teaching activity. Placement- The final role of assessment in curricular decisions concerns placement. Assessment plays a vital role in determining the appropriate placement of a student both in terms of achievements and aptitude. Aptitude- refers to the area or discipline where a student would most likely excel or do well. 11. A Systems Model for Evaluation Evaluation provides a tool for determining the extent to which an educational process or program is effective and all the same time indicates directions foe remediating processes of the curriculum that do not contribute to successful student performance.( Jason , 2003) CONTEX INPUTS PROCESS OUTPUT OUTCOME 12. Evaluation Is the process of gathering and interpreting evidence regarding the problems and progress of individuals in achieving desirable educational goals. Chief Purposes of Evaluation The improvement of the individual learner Other Purposes of Evaluation To maintain standard To select students To motivate learning To guide learning To furnish instruction To appraise educational instrumentalities 13. Function of Evaluation Prediction Diagnosis Research Areas of Educational Evaluation Achievement Aptitude Interest Personality A well defined system of evaluation: Enable one to clarify goals Check upon each phase of development Diagnose learning difficulties Plan carefully for remediation 14. Principles of Educational Evaluation • Evaluation must be based on previously accepted educational objectives. • Evaluation should be continuous comprehensive and cumulative process. • Evaluation should recognize that the total individual personality is involved in learning. • Evaluation should be democratic and cooperative. • Evaluation should be positive and action-directed • Evaluation should give opportunity to the pupil to become increasingly independent in self- appraisal and self- direction. • Evaluation should include all significant evidence from every possible source. • Evaluation should take into consideration the limitations of the particular educational situations. 15. Measurements Is the part of the educational evaluation process whereby some tools or instruments are use to provide a quantitative description of the progress of students towards desirable educational goals. Test or Testing Is a systematic procedure to determine the presence or absence of certain characteristics of qualities in a learner. Types of Evaluation • Placement • Formative • Diagnostic • Summative 16. Educational Assessment serves three important functions (Bernardo, 2003): 1. Student selection and certification -To make decisions, about which students get admitted, retained, promoted, and certified for graduation. 2. Instructional monitoring - To provide information about student learning and teaching performance to help teachers monitor manage, and make decisions about the instructional system. 3. For - Public accountability and program evaluation - Making decisions about the different aspects of the educational process - Helping make GOOD decisions, if they provide accurate, authentic, reliable and valid information about educational: LEARNING GOALS. 17. Principles of Educational Assessment • Educational assessment always begins with educational values and standards. • Assessment is not an end in itself but a vehicle for attaining educational goals and for improving on these educational goals. • These educational goals (values and standards) should be made explicit to all concerned from the very beginning. • Desired learning competencies (skills, knowledge, values, ways of thinking and learning) determine what we choose to assess. • Educational values and standards should also characterize how we assess. • Assessment systems should lead educators to help students attain the educational goals, values, and standards. 18. Characteristics of Assessment • Assessment is not a single event but a continue cycle. • Assessment must be an open process. • Assessment must promote valid inferences. • Assessment that matters should always employ multiple measures of performance. • Assessment should measures what is worth learning, not just what is easy to measure. • Assessment should support every student’s opportunity to learn important mathematics. 19. Elements of the Assessment Process -assessment should center on the learner and the learning process. Huba and Freed (2000) explained the four elements of learner centered assessment. 1. Formulating statements of intended learning outcomes 2. Developing or Selecting Assessment Measures 3. Creating Experiences Leading to Outcomes 4. Discussing and Using Assessment Results to Improve Learning 20. The Three Types of Learning Believing that there were more than one (1) type of learning, Benjamin Bloom and a committee of colleagues in 1956, identified three domains of educational activities: the cognitive, referring to mental skills; affective referring to growth in feeling or emotion; and psychomotor, referring to manual or physical skills. 21. The Three Types of Learning Believing that there were more than one (1) type of learning, Benjamin Bloom and a committee of colleagues in 1956, identified three domains of educational activities: the cognitive, referring to mental skills; affective referring to growth in feeling or emotion; and psychomotor, referring to manual or physical skills. 22. DOMAIN II: Psychomotor (Skills) In the early seventies, E Simpson, Dave and A, S, Harrow recommended categories for the psychomotor domain which included physical coordination, movement and use of the skills body parts. DOMAIN III: Affective (Attitude) -the affective domain refers to the way in which in which we deal with the situation emotionally such as feelings, appreciation, enthusiasm, motivation, value, and attitude. The taxonomy is ordered into 5 levels as the person progresses towards internalization in which the attitude or feeling consistently guides or controls a person’s behavior. 23. Principles of Good Practice in Assessing Learning Outcomes 1. The assessment of student learning starts with the institutions mission and core values. 2. Assessment works best when the program has clear statement of objectives aligned with the institutional missions and core values. 3. Outcomes- based assessment focuses on the student activities that will be relevant after schooling concludes. 4. Assessment requires attention not only to outcomes but also and equally to the activities and experiences that lead to the attainment of learning outcomes. 6. Assessment works best when it is continuous, ongoing and not episodic. 7. Assessment should be cumulative because improvement is best achieved through a linked series of activities done over time in 24. Kinds of Assessment Formative assessment Formative assessment is an integral part of teaching and learning. It does not contribute to the final mark given for the module; instead it contributes to learning through providing feedback. It should indicate what is good about a piece of work and why this is good; it should also indicate what is not so good and how the work could be improved. Effective formative feedback will affect what the student and the teacher does next. Summative assessment Summative assessment demonstrates the extent of a learner's success in meeting the assessment criteria used to gauge the intended learning outcomes of a module or program, and which contributes to the final mark given for the module. It is normally, though not always, used at the end of a unit of teaching. Summative assessment is used to quantify achievement, to reward achievement, to provide data for selection (to the next stage in education or to employment). 25. Diagnostic assessment Like formative assessment, diagnostic assessment is intended to improve the learner’s experience and their level of achievement. However, diagnostic assessment looks backwards rather than forwards. It assesses what the learner already knows and/or the nature of difficulties that the learner might have, which, if undiagnosed, might limit their engagement in new learning. It is often used before teaching or when a problem arises. Dynamic assessment Dynamic assessment measures what the student achieves when given some teaching in an unfamiliar topic or field. An example might be assessment of how much Swedish is learnt in a short block of teaching to students who have no prior knowledge of the language. It can be useful to assess potential for specific learning in the absence of relevant prior attainment, or to assess general learning potential for students who have a particularly disadvantaged background. It is often used in advance of the main body of teaching. 26. Synoptic assessment Synoptic assessment encourages students to combine elements of their learning from different parts of a program and to show their accumulated knowledge and understanding of a topic or subject area. A synoptic assessment normally enables students to show their ability to integrate and apply their skills, knowledge and understanding with breadth and depth in the subject. It can help to test a student's capability of applying the knowledge and understanding gained in one part of a program to increase their understanding in other parts of the program, or across the program as a whole. Synoptic assessment can be part of other forms of assessment. Criterion referenced assessment Each student’s achievement is judged against specific criteria. In principle no account is taken of how other students have performed. In practice, normative thinking can affect judgments of whether or not a specific criterion has been met. Reliability and validity should be assured through processes such as moderation, trial marking, and the collation of exemplars. Ipsative assessment This is assessment against the student’s own previous standards. It can measure how well a particular task has been undertaken against the student’s average attainment, against their best work, or against their most recent piece of work. Ipsative assessment tends to correlate with effort, to promote effort-based attributions of success, and to enhance motivation to learn. 27. Evaluative assessment provides instructors with curricular feedback (e.g., the value of a field trip or oral presentation technique) Educative assessment Integrated within learning activities themselves, educative assessment builds student (and faculty) insight and understandings about their own learning and teaching. In short, assessment is a form of learning. 28. The Effective Assessment Enhancing learning by enhancing assessment Assessment is a central element in the overall quality of teaching and learning in higher education. Well designed assessment sets clear expectations, establishes a reasonable workload (one that does not push students into rote reproductive approaches to study), and provides opportunities for students to self-monitor, rehearse, practice and receive feedback. Assessment is an integral component of a coherent educational experience. Three objectives for higher education assessment • Assessment that guides and encourages effective approaches to learning; • Assessment that validly and reliably measures expected learning outcomes, in particular the higher-order learning that characterizes higher education • Assessment and grading that defines and protects academic standards. 29. 16 indicators of effective assessment in higher education A checklist for quality in student assessment 1. Assessment is treated by staff and students as an integral and prominent component of the entire teaching and learning process rather than a final adjunct to it. 2. The multiple roles of assessment are recognized. The powerful motivating effect of assessment requirements on students is understood and assessment tasks are designed to foster valued study habits. 3.There is a faculty/departmental policy that guide individuals’ assessment practices. Subject assessment is integrated into an overall plan for course assessment. 4. There is a clear alignment between expected learning outcomes, what is taught and learnt, and the knowledge and skills assessed — there is a closed and coherent ‘curriculum loop’. 5. Assessment tasks assess the capacity to analyze and synthesis new information and concepts rather than simply recall information previously presented. 30. 6. A variety of assessment methods is employed so that the limitations of particular methods are minimized. 7. Assessment tasks are designed to assess relevant generic skills as well as subject- specific knowledge and skills. 8. There is a steady progression in the complexity and demands of assessment requirements in the later years of courses. 9. There is provision for student choice in assessment tasks and weighting at certain times. 10. Student and staff workloads are considered in the scheduling and design of assessment tasks. 11. Excessive assessment is avoided. Assessment tasks are designed to sample student learning. 31. 12. Assessment tasks are weighted to balance the developmental (‘formative’) and judgmental (‘summative’) roles of assessment. Early low-stakes, low-weight assessment is used to provide students with feedback. 13. Grades are calculated and reported on the basis of clearly articulated learning outcomes and criteria for levels of achievement. 14. Students receive explanatory and diagnostic feedback as well as grades. 15. Assessment tasks are checked to ensure there are no inherent biases that may disadvantage particular student groups. 16. Plagiarism is minimized through careful task design, explicit education and appropriate monitoring of academic honesty. 32. The Assessment Cycle Good assessment follows an intentional and reflective process of design, implementation, evaluation, and revision. The Assessment Cycle relies on four simple but dynamic words to represent this process. 33.  What do I want students to learn? How do I teach effectively? Are my outcomes being met? How do I use what I've learned? 34. JARRY FUENTES BSEd 3D-TLE MARIA SHEILA D. SIMON, Ed. D. Course Facilitator MARYDEN ANDALECIO BSEd 3D-TLE BEVERLY DADIVAS BSE ssessing student learning is something that every teacher has to do, usually quite frequently. Written tests, book reports, research papers, homework exercises, oral presentations, question-and-answer sessions, science projects, and artwork of various sorts are just some of the ways in which teachers measure student learning, with written tests accounting for about 45 percent of a typical student's course grade (Green & Stager, 1986/1987). It is no surprise, then, that the typical teacher can spend between one-third and one-half of her class time engaged in one or another type of measurement activity (Stiggins, 1994). Yet despite the amount of time teachers spend assessing student learning, it is a task that most of them dislike and that few do well. One reason is that many teachers have little or no in-depth knowledge of assessment principles (Crooks, 1988; Hills, 1991; Stiggins, Griswold, & Wikelund, 1989). Another reason is that the role of assessor is seen as being inconsistent with the role of teacher (or helper). Since teachers with more training in assessment use more appropriate assessment practices than do teachers with less training (Green & Stager, 1986/1987), a basic goal of this chapter is to help you understand how such knowledge can be used to reinforce, rather than work against, your role as teacher. Toward that end, we will begin by defining what we mean by the term assessment and by two key elements of this process, measurement and evaluation. Top What is Assessment? Broadly conceived, classroom assessment involves two major types of activities: collecting information about how much knowledge and skill students have learned (measurement) and making judgments about the adequacy or acceptability of each student's level of learning (evaluation). Both the measurement and evaluation aspects of classroom assessment can be accomplished in a number of ways. To determine how much learning has occurred, teachers can, for example, have students take exams, respond to oral questions, do homework exercises, write papers, solve problems, and make oral presentations. Teachers can then evaluate the scores from those activities by comparing them either to one another or to an absolute standard (such as an A equals 90 percent correct). Throughout much of this chapter we will explain and illustrate the various ways in which you can measure and evaluate student learning.   Measurement Measurement is the assignment of numbers to certain attributes of objects, events, or people according to a rule-governed system. For our purposes, we will limit the discussion to attributes of people. For example, we can measure someone's level of typing proficiency by counting the number of words the person accurately types per minute or someone's level of mathematical reasoning by counting the number of problems correctly solved. In a classroom or other group situation, the rules that are used to assign the numbers will ordinarily create a ranking that reflects how much of the attribute different people possess (Linn & Gronlund, 1995).   Evaluation Evaluation involves using a rule-governed system to make judgments about the value or worth of a set of measures (Linn & Gronlund, 1995). What does it mean, for example, to say that a student answered eighty out of one hundred earth science questions correctly? Depending on the rules that are used, it could mean that the student has learned that body of knowledge exceedingly well and is ready to progress to the next unit of instruction or, conversely, that the student has significant knowledge gaps and requires additional instruction. Top Why Should We assess Students' Learning? This question has several answers. We will use this section to address four of the most common reasons for assessment: to provide summaries of learning, to provide information on learning progress, to diagnose specific strengths and weaknesses in an individual's learning, and to motivate further learning. Summative Evaluation The first, and probably most obvious, reason for assessment is to provide to all interested parties a clear, meaningful, and useful summary or accounting of how well a student has met the teacher's objectives. When testing is done for the purpose of assigning a letter or numerical grade, it is often called summative evaluationsince its primary purpose is to sum up how well a student has performed over time and at a variety of tasks. Formative Evaluation A second reason for assessing students is to monitor their progress. The main things that teachers want to know from time to time is whether students are keeping up with the pace of instruction and are understanding all of the material that has been covered so far. For students whose pace of learning is either slower or faster than average or whose understanding of certain ideas is faulty, you can introduce supplementary instruction (a workbook or a computer-based tutorial program), remedial instruction (which may also be computer based), or in-class ability grouping (recall that we discussed the benefits of this arrangement in Chapter 6). Because the purpose of such assessment is to facilitate or form learning and not to assign a grade, it is usually called formative evaluation. Diagnosis A third reason follows from the second. If you discover a student who is having difficulty keeping up with the rest of the class, you will probably want to know why in order to determine the most appropriate course of action. This purpose may lead you to construct an assessment (or to look for one that has already been made up) that will provide you with specific diagnostic information.   Effects on Learning A fourth reason for assessment of student performance is that it has potentially positive effects on various aspects of learning and instruction. As Terence Crooks points out, classroom assessment guides students' "judgment of what is important to learn, affects their motivation and self-perceptions of competence, structures their approaches to and timing of personal study (e.g., spaced practice), consolidates learning, and affects the development of enduring learning strategies and skills. It appears to be one of the most potent forces influencing education" (1988, p. 467). Top Ways to Measure Student Learning Just as measurement can play several roles in the classroom, teachers have several ways to measure what students have learned. Which type of measure you choose will depend, of course, on the objectives you have stated. For the purposes of this discussion, objectives can be classified in terms of two broad categories: knowing about something (for example, that knots are used to secure objects, that dance is a form of social expression, that microscopes are used to study things too small to be seen by the naked eye) and knowing how to do something (for example, tie a square knot, dance the waltz, operate a microscope). Measures that attempt to assess the range and accuracy of someone's knowledge are usually called written tests. And measures that attempt to assess how well somebody can do something are often referred to as performance tests. Again, keep in mind that both types have a legitimate place in a teacher's assessment arsenal. Which type is used, and to what extent, will depend on the purpose or purposes you have for assessing students. In the next two sections, we will briefly examine the nature of both types.   Written Tests Teachers spend a substantial part of each day assessing student learning, and much of this assessment activity involves giving and scoring some type of written test. Most written tests are composed of one or more of the following item types: selected response (multiple choice, true-false, and matching, for example), short answer, and essay. They are designed to measure how much people know about a particular subject. In all likelihood, you have taken hundreds of these types of tests in your school career thus far. In the next couple of pages, we will briefly describe the main features, advantages, and disadvantages of each test. Top Selected-Response Tests Characteristics Selected-response tests are so named because the student reads a relatively brief opening statement (called a stem) and selects one of the provided alternatives as the correct answer. Selected-response tests are typically made up of multiple-choice, true-false, or matching items. Quite often all three item types are used in a single test. Selected-response tests are sometimes called "objective" tests because they have a simple and set scoring system. If alternative (b) of a multiple-choice item is keyed as the correct response and the student chose alternative (d), the student is marked wrong, regardless of how much the teacher wanted the student to be right. But that doesn't mean selected-response items are totally free of subjective influences. After all, whoever created the test had to make subjective judgments about which areas to emphasize, how to word items, and which items to include in the final version. Finally, selected-response tests are typically used when the primary goal is to assess what might be called foundational knowledge. This is the basic factual information and cognitive skills that students need in order to do such high-level tasks as solve problems and create products (Stiggins, 1994).   Advantages A major advantage of selected-response tests is efficiency -- a teacher can ask many questions in a short period of time. Another advantage is ease and reliability of scoring. With the aid of a scoring template (such as a multiple-choice answer sheet that has holes punched out where the correct answer is located), many tests can be quickly and uniformly scored.   Disadvantages Because items that reflect the lowest level of Bloom's Taxonomy (verbatim knowledge) are the easiest to write, most teacher-made tests are composed almost entirely of knowledge-level items (a point we made initially in Chapter 7). As a result, students focus on verbatim memorization rather than on meaningful learning. Another disadvantage is that, while we get some indication of what students know, such tests tell us nothing about what students can do with that knowledge. Top Short-Answer Tests Characteristics Instead of selecting from one or more alternatives, the student is asked to supply a brief answer consisting of a name, word, phrase, or symbol. Like selected-response tests, short-answer tests can be scored quickly, accurately, and consistently, thereby giving them an aura of objectivity. They are primarily used for measuring foundational knowledge.   Advantages Short-answer items are relatively easy to write, so a test, or part of one, can be constructed fairly quickly. They allow for either broad or in-depth assessment of foundational knowledge since students can respond to many items within a short space of time. Since students have to supply an answer, they have to recall, rather than recognize, information.   Disadvantages This item type has the same basic disadvantages as the selected-response items. Because these items ask only for short verbatim answers, students are likely to limit their processing to that level, and these items provide no information about how well students can use what they have learned. In addition, unexpected but plausible answers may be difficult to score. Top Essay Tests Characteristics The student is given a somewhat general directive to discuss one or more related ideas according to certain criteria. One example of an essay question is "Compare operant conditioning theory and information-processing theory in terms of basic assumptions, typical research findings, and classroom applications."   Advantages Essay tests reveal how well students can recall, organize, and clearly communicate previously learned information. When well written, essays tests call on such higher-level abilities as analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. Because of these demands, students are more likely to try to meaningfully learn the material over which they are tested.   Disadvantages Consistency of grading is likely to be a problem. Two students may have essentially similar responses, yet receive different letter or numerical grades. These test items are also very time consuming to grade. And because it takes time for students to formulate and write responses, only a few questions at most can be given. Top Performance Tests In recent years many teachers and measurement experts have argued that the typical written test should be used far less often because it reveals little or nothing of the depth of students' knowledge and how students use their knowledge to work through questions, problems, and tasks. The solution that these experts have proposed is to use one or more of what are called performance tests. Performance tests attempt to assess how well students use foundational knowledge to perform complex tasks under more or less realistic conditions. At the low end of the realism spectrum, students may be asked to construct a map, interpret a graph, or write an essay under highly standardized conditions. That is, everyone completes the same task in the same amount of time and under the same conditions. At the high end of the spectrum, students may be asked to conduct a science experiment, produce a painting, or write an essay under conditions that are similar to those of real life. For example, students may be told to produce a compare-and-contrast essay on a particular topic by a certain date, but the resources students choose to use, the number of revisions they make, and when they work on the essay are left unspecified. As we noted in Chapter 5, when performance testing is conducted under such realistic conditions, it is also called authentic assessment (Meyer, 1992). Another term that is often used to encompass both performance testing and authentic assessment, and to distinguish them from traditional written tests, is alternative assessment. In this section we will first define the four different types of performance tests and then look at their most important characteristics. Top Types of Performance Tests Currently, there are four ways in which the performance capabilities of students are typically assessed: direct writing assessments, portfolios, exhibitions, and demonstrations.   Direct Writing Assessments These tests ask students to write about a specific topic ("Describe the person whom you admire the most, and explain why you admire that person.") under a standard set of conditions. Each essay is then scored by two or more people according to a set of defined criteria.   Portfolios A portfolio may contain one or more pieces of a student's work, some of which demonstrate different stages of completion. For example, a student's writing portfolio may contain business letters; pieces of fiction; poetry; and an outline, rough draft, and final draft of a research paper. Through the inclusion of various stages of a research paper, both the process and the end product can be assessed. Portfolios can also be constructed for math and science as well as for projects that combine two or more subject areas. Often the student is involved in the selection of what is included in his portfolio. The portfolio is sometimes used as a showcase to illustrate exemplary pieces, but it also works well as a collection of pieces that represent a student's typical performances. In its best and truest sense, the portfolio functions not just as a housing for these performances but also as a means of self-expression, self-reflection, and self-analysis for an individual student (Templeton, 1995).   Exhibitions Exhibitions involve just what the label suggests -- a showing of such products as paintings, drawings, photographs, sculptures, videotapes, and models. As with direct writing assessments and portfolios, the products a student chooses to exhibit are evaluated according to a predetermined set of criteria.   Demonstrations In this type of performance testing, students are required to show how well they can use previously learned knowledge or skills to solve a somewhat unique problem (such as conducting a scientific inquiry to answer a question or diagnosing the cause of a malfunctioning engine and describing the best procedure for fixing it) or perform a task (such as reciting a poem, performing a dance, or playing a piece of music). Top Ways to Evaluate Student Learning Once you have collected all the measures you intend to collect -- for example, test scores, quiz scores, homework assignments, special projects, and laboratory experiments -- you will have to give the numbers some sort of value (the essence of evaluation). As you probably know, this is most often done by using an A to F grading scale. Typically, a grade of A indicates superior performance; a B, above-average performance; a C, average performance; a D, below-average performance; and an F, failure. There are two general ways to approach this task. One approach involves comparisons among students. Such forms of evaluation are called norm-referenced since students are identified as average (or normal), above average, or below average. An alternative approach is called criterion-referenced because performance is interpreted in terms of defined criteria. Although both approaches can be used, we favor criterion-referenced grading for reasons we will mention shortly.   NORM-REFERENCED GRADING A norm-referenced grading system assumes that classroom achievement will naturally vary among a group of heterogeneous students because of differences in such characteristics as prior knowledge, learning skills, motivation, and aptitude. Under ideal circumstances (hundreds of scores from a diverse group of students), this variation produces a bell-shaped, or "normal," distribution of scores that ranges from low to high, has few tied scores, and has only a very few low scores and only a very few high scores. For this reason, norm-referenced grading procedures are also referred to as "grading on the curve."   CRITERION-REFERENCED GRADING A criterion-referenced grading system permits students to benefit from mistakes and to improve their level of understanding and performance. Furthermore, it establishes an individual (and sometimes cooperative) reward structure, which fosters motivation to learn to a greater extent than other systems. Under a criterion-referenced system, grades are determined through comparison of the extent to which each student has attained a defined standard (or criterion) of achievement or performance. Whether the rest of the students in the class are successful or unsuccessful in meeting that criterion is irrelevant. Thus, any distribution of grades is possible. Every student may get an A or an F, or no student may receive these grades. For reasons we will discuss shortly, very low or failing grades tend to occur less frequently under a criterion-referenced system. A common version of criterion-referenced grading assigns letter grades on the basis of the percentage of test items answered correctly. For example, you may decide to award an A to anyone who correctly answers at least 85 percent of a set of test questions, a B to anyone who correctly answers 75 to 84 percent, and so on down to the lowest grade. To use this type of grading system fairly, which means specifying realistic criterion levels, you would need to have some prior knowledge of the levels at which students typically perform. You would thus be using normative information to establish absolute or fixed standards of performance. However, although norm-referenced and criterion-referenced grading systems both spring from a normative database (that is, from comparisons among students), only the former system uses those comparisons to directly determine grades. Criterion-referenced grading systems (and criterion-referenced tests) have become increasingly popular in recent years primarily because of three factors. First, educators and parents complained that norm-referenced tests and grading systems provided too little specific information about student strengths and weaknesses. Second, educators have come to believe that clearly stated, specific objectives constitute performance standards, or criteria, that are best assessed with criterion-referenced measures. Third, and perhaps most important, contemporary theories of school learning claim that most, if not all, students can master most school objectives under the right circumstances. If this assertion is even close to being true, then norm-referenced testing and grading procedures, which depend on variability in performance, will lose much of their appeal. Top Suggestions for Teaching in Your Classroom: Effective Assessment Techniques 1. As early as possible in a report period, decide when and how often to give tests and other assignments that will count toward a grade, and announce tests and assignments well in advance. 2. Prepare a content outline and/or a table of specifications of the objectives to be covered on each exam, or otherwise take care to obtain a systematic sample of the knowledge and skill acquired by your students. 3. Consider the purpose of each test or measurement exercise in light of the developmental characteristics of the students in your classes and the nature of the curriculum for your grade level. 4. Decide whether a written test or a performance test is most appropriate. 5. Make up and use a detailed answer key. a. Evaluate each answer by comparing it to the key. b. Be willing and prepared to defend the evaluations you make. 6. During and after the grading process, analyze questions and answers in order to improve future exams. Top Resources for Further Investigation Suggestions for constructing Written and Performance Tests For specific suggestions on ways to write different types of items for paper-and-pencil tests of knowledge and on methods for constructing and using rating scales and checklists to measure products, performances, and procedures, consult one or more of the following books:Measurement and Evaluation in Teaching (7th ed., 1995), by Robert Linn and Norman Gronlund; How to Make Achievement Tests and Assessments (5th ed., 1993), by Norman Gronlund; Classroom Assessment: What Teachers Need to Know (1995), by W. James Popham;Student-Centered Classroom Assessment (1994), by Richard Stiggins; Classroom Assessment (2d ed., 1994), by Peter Airasian; and Practical Aspects of Authentic Assessment (1994), by Bonnie Campbell Hill and Cynthia Ruptic. The Learning Resources Development Center (LRDC) at the University of Pittsburgh publishes a large number of briefs, articles, and reviews related to assessment and learning, particularly emphasizing cognitive-based approaches. An online resource of the LRDC can be found at http://www.lrdc.pitt.edu/publications.html. The most extensive on-line database of assessment information is the ERIC/AE Test Locater, which is found at www.cua.edu/www/eric_ae/testcol.html. It includes numerous topics, reviews of tests, suggestions and digests relating to alternative assessment, and broader standards and policy-making information as it relates to evaluation and assessment of students.   Writing Higher-Level Questions As Benjamin Bloom and others point out, teachers have a disappointing tendency to write test items that reflect the lowest level of the taxonomy-knowledge. To avoid this failing, carefully read Part 2 of Taxonomy of Educational Objectives: The Classification of Educational Goals, Handbook I: Cognitive Domain (1956), edited by Benjamin Bloom, Max Englehart, Edward Furst, Walker Hill, and David Krathwohl. Each level of the taxonomy is clearly explained and followed by several pages of illustrative test items. Top Analyzing Test Items Norman Gronlund briefly discusses item-analysis procedures for norm-referenced and criterion-referenced tests in Chapter 6 of How to Make Achievement Tests and Assessments (5th ed., 1993). For norm-referenced multiple-choice tests, these include procedures for assessing the difficulty of each item, the discriminating power of each item, and the effectiveness of each alternative answer. For criterion-referenced tests, they include a measure for assessing the effects of instruction. More detailed discussions of item-analysis procedures can be found in Chapter 8 of Educational Testing and Measurement: Classroom Application and Practice (4th ed., 1993), by Tom Kubiszyn and Gary Borich. Also, Question Mark Software, based in Britain, produces a software program that can help teachers generate quality test items. Information on the software can be found at http://www.qmark.com or by calling the U.S. distributor at 800-863-3950. This was excerpted from Chapter 12 of Biehler/Snowman, PSYCHOLOGY APPLIED TO TEACHING, 8/e, Houghton Mifflin Co., 1997. For more information on assessment -- especially on how to construct items-- see Orlich et al., TEACHING STRATEGIES, 5/e, Houghton Mifflin Co., 1998, Chapter 8, "Small Group Discussions and Cooperative Learning." For more information on assessment in the Grabes' INTEGRATING TECHNOLOGY FOR MEANINGFUL LEARNING, 2/e, Houghton Mifflin Co., 1998, see the "Spotlight on Assessment" sections on pages 7, 52, 171, 316, and 357. For more information on assessment in Gage/Berliner, EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY, 6/e, 1998, see Chapter 13, "Basic Concepts in Assessment and the Interpretation of Standardized Testing," and Chapter 14, "The Teacher's Assessment of Student Learning."   Top Copyright Houghton Mifflin Company. All Rights Reserved. Terms and Conditions of Use, Privacy Statement, and Trademark Information Role of Assessment in Instructional Decision -Kaye 1. By:Kayce Joy L. Saliendrez 2.  Pre-instruction-(prior knowledge) During instruction-(students’ progress) Post-instruction assessment –(mastery) 3.  Provides information about the lacking competencies such as knowledge and skill. 4.  Monitors student’s learning Sets his teaching at a level that Challenges students metacognitive skills or high-level thinking 5.  Monitors whether the learner mastered the basic contents ,knowledge and skills required for the learner activity 6.  To determine the students’ entry behaviour To determine the objectives has been attained or not To determine students’ strength and weakness To rate the students’ performance for the purpose of giving grades To improve teaching-learning process. 7. Placement •What the students are and what they already know Diagnostic •Students' weakness for remedial instruction Formative •If instructional objectives are achieved Summative •If the students master the objectives for the purpose of giving grades Evaluation is used to determine 8.  Placement Diagnostic Formative Summative 9.  Used to determine the entry behaviour of the pupils Used to determine the performance at the beginning of instruction GOAL: to determine the position in instructional sequence and the mode of evaluation . 10.  To determine the specific learning needs of the students . Strength and weaknesses 11. Pre-tests (on content and abilities) Self-assessments (identifying skills and competencies) Discussion board responses (on content-specific prompts) Interviews (brief, private, 10-minute interview of each student) 12.  Assessment during the instruction Helps detect which students need attention 13. Observations during in-class activities; of students’ non-verbal feedback during lecture Homework exercises as review for exams and class discussions) Reflections journals that are reviewed periodically during the semester Question and answer sessions, both formal— planned and informal—spontaneous 14. Conferences between the instructor and student at various points in the semester In-class activities where students informally present their results Student feedback collected by periodically answering specific question about the instruction and their self-evaluation of performance and progress 15.  To determine the mastery at the end of the course Overall assessment Achievement at the end Used to primarily for assigning course grade 16.  Examinations (major, high-stakes exams) Final examination (a truly summative assessment) Term papers (drafts submitted throughout the semester would be a formative assessment) Projects (project phases submitted at various completion points could be formatively assessed) 17.  Portfolios (could also be assessed during it’s development as a formative assessment) Performances Student evaluation of the course (teaching effectiveness) Instructor self-evaluation 18.  Used to determine the effectiveness of the teacher’s method Used to give meaning to students’ effort in their quest for quality learning Used to justify the request and utilization of supplies ,materials and equipment of the schools operation 19.  Used to plan for and improve the next educational activities Used to give recognition and awards to best-performing individual Used to promote quality assurance within and outside of the school. 20.  https://www.azwestern.edu/academic_servic es/instruction/assessment/resources/downlo ads/formative%20and_summative_assessmen t.pdf retrieved on June 26,2014