“It’s not hard to make decisions when you know what your values are.

” – Roy Disney

So, how do you discover your most essential values to live by?
Begin by making a list.
Think of the words, the values that are important to you. These values should be the ones that
elicit the most emotion and feel right to your soul. Simply write them down and then
prioritize the values based on how you see or want to experience life.
To encourage you to create a list of your values, here are 10 values that are essential to
me. How I live; how I love and how I go about following what I believe is my life’s purpose
is governed by these values. You are welcome to claim these essential values, too:

Steps in Constructing Teacher-Made Test

1. Planning the Test. In planning the test the following should be observed: the objectives of
the subjects, the purpose for which the test is administered, the availability of facilities and
equipments, the nature of the testee, the provision for review and the length of the test.

2. Preparing the Test. The process of writing good test items is not simple – it requires time
and effort. It also requires certain skills and proficiencies on the part of the writer. Therefore,
a test writer must master the subject matter he/she teaches, must understand his testee, must
be skillful in verbal expression and most of all familiar with various types of tests.

3. Reproducing the Test. In reproducing test, the duplicating machine and who will facilitate
in typing and mimeographing be considered.

4. Administering the Test. Test should be administered in an environment familiar to the

students, sitting arrangements is observed, corrections are made before the start of the test,
distribution and collection of papers are planned, and time should be written on the board.
One more important thing to remember is, do not allow every testee to leave the room except
for personal necessity.
5. Scoring the Test. The best procedure in scoring objective test is to give one point of credit
for each correct answer. In case of a test with only two or three options to each item, the
correction formula should be applied. Example: for two option, score equals right minus
wrong (S = R-W). For three options, score equals right minus one-half wrong (S = R-1/2 W
or S= R-W/2). Correction formula is not applied to four or more options. If correction
formula is employed students should be informed beforehand.

6. Evaluating the Test. The test is evaluated as to the quality of the student’s responses and
the quality of the test itself. Index difficulty and discrimination index of the test item is
considered. Fifty (50) per cent difficulty is better. Item of 100 per cent and zero (0) per cent
answered by students are valueless in a test of general achievement.

7. Interpreting Test Results. Standardized achievement tests are interpreted based on norm
tables. Table of norm are not applicable to teacher-made test.
Step 1: Executive Commitment
There should be a serious commitment from the senior executives of the company to install a
systematic, formal and rigorous portfolio management process. The senior management must
believe that companies that use PPM outperformed those who don’t.  For more information about
the value of project portfolio management, see my earlier article "What is the Value of Project
Portfolio Management?"
 

Step 2: Mature Project Management In-

place
Successful implementation of project portfolio management would be severely challenged for
organizations lacking   the ability to scope, estimate and manage its projects. Therefore the
introduction of project portfolio management should start with a company getting a good grasp on
project scoping and estimating, followed by project monitoring and control.
 

Step 3: Establish Your Throughput

Capacity
Once the scoping, estimation and other project management processes have been implemented,
the efforts of the organization should focus on the determination of throughput capacity of the
project pipeline.
One of the easiest ways to assess pipeline capacity is to measure it in dollars or some other
currency. For example, the company executives may decide that the total budget allocated to
projects in the next calendar year will be $100 million. The budget for each successful project is
then estimated and, depending on the allocation method used the projects will be added to
specific buckets until all of the buckets are full.
 However, many companies following this simple approach tend to overlook some very important
factors:

 They ignore project durations and interdependence of projects

 They frequently do not translate human resources’ efforts into dollars (i.e. the available
resource pool is treated as free labor without attaching monetary value to man-days,
man-months and man-years). As a result  situations can arise where human resource
availability is much lower than the budget allocations. (For a detailed discussion of
measuring project resources, see my article "Do You Consider Company’s Internal
Resource Costs When Prioritizing Projects?")
 They disregard skills transferability. While monetary funds can be easily transferred and
reassigned to other ventures, one man-hour of a project manager’s work cannot be
substituted for one man-hour of an accountant’s work

Here is an example of a "back of the envelope" calculation of total project resources bucket at a
company:

 Total number of people at the head office = 250 people

  Total number of working months in a year = 10 ( minus 2 months for vacation, holidays
and sick days)
 Percentage of time spent on projects = 30% (estimated based on surveys)

Thus:
Total Project Resource pool = 250 people X 10 months X 0.30 = 750 man-months
 

Step 4: Develop Your Project Scoring

Model
The essence of the scoring model approach is to come up with several variables that the
executives consider important when assessing the value of their future projects. This is usually
done during the project portfolio workshop where the instructor would first explain the theory
behind the scoring approach, provide several examples of the scoring models developed by
other companies and then ask the executives present to engage in a brainstorming exercise. See
Figure 1 for a sample project scoring model developed for a European industrial products
company.

Step 5: Establish the Desired Portfolio

Balance
Portfolio balance is important for several reasons. While assessing the value of the projects
proposed, it is very easy to lose the sight of the “big picture” and suddenly end up in a situation
where the company is stuck with a very large number of small, relatively meaningless initiatives
and no significant breakthrough endeavors.
Furthermore, it is also possible that specific area of the business – especially the departments
that are perceived to be the “money makers” – receive disproportionate number of new projects.
Several experienced executives also mentioned their desire not to keep all of their eggs in one
basket when attempting to balance their portfolios.
Another problem that may arise is overabundance of, say, low-risk, low reward projects and lack
of high-risk, high-reward initiatives.
For a detailed discussion of the portfolio balance, please check out my article "Jamal's Musings
- What is Portfolio Balance?"
 

Step 6: Determine the Strategic Alignment

The definition of portfolio’s strategic alignment is fairly simple and straightforward: all of your
projects must in one form or another assist the implementation of your company’s strategy. A
very simple statement that at times is very difficult to explain. In order to do that, let us examine
several examples of the project alignment and non-alignment.
 
Imagine that someone walks into the office of your company’s CEO and asks him to produce a
list of the current projects at the company. Pretend also that your CEO is actually capable of
producing such list (not a very typical state of affairs at many companies). Afterwards the visitor
starts to point in an absolutely random fashion at the projects on the list and asks the same two
questions over and over:
 
Why are you doing this project?
and
How is this initiative related to your company strategy?
 
First, let us examine a simplistic examples. Let us pretend that one of the projects on the list was
“Open a Sales Office in Brussels”. If the CEO explains this project by pointing to the company
strategy of expanding its presence in Europe, then this project is aligned with overall company
strategy.
If, on the other hand the company strategy states that it will be aggressively expanding its
presence in the Asian markets and does not mention European region at all, there is a good
chance that this project is not aligned with the overall strategy.
For more information about project portfolio alignment, please see my article "What is Portfolio
Strategic Alignment and Why Should Your CEO Worry About It?"
 

Step 7: Score Your Projects

At the end of the day the Executive Portfolio Committee must use the scoring model developed
in Step 4 to rank all of their project proposals and determine the cut-off point based on the
resource (either $ or human) constraint.
For example a European industrial products company, whose scoring model we saw in Figure 1,
conducted the following prioritization exercise with their project proposals.
In that particular year the company project management office has calculated that they would
have approximately 750 man-months in resources. Note that in this particular example the
organization preferred to measure their resource pool in terms of human reserves available
rather than in term of dollars.
Furthermore, the product company had seven projects to prioritize. The projects, their scores for
each category, total scores and the resource requirements are presented in Figure 2.

Using the Seven-Step Design Process Kristen Krawford 1. Identify the audience, problem, and
communication goals by creating a scope document, abbreviated GACMIST,that specifies the
following: G:Goal—the goal is to produce a poster that will grab the attention of college
students and educate them on the need for having an online portfolio. A: Audience—college
students. C: Concept—the concept for this poster is based on the portfoliovillage.com Web
site, which explains why a college student needs an online portfolio. M: Messages—the
messages and copy will be provided, but I will be able to add or eliminate copy based on
design purposes. The main message is that everyone needs a professional portfolio. I:
Images—some suggestions of imagery for a college-based online portfolio include college
students, a portfolio, a laptop or computer, and postmodern graphics. S: Style—the style of
this poster should be hip, fresh, and very edgy and graphic, with bright or muted colors—
something that will stand out to both average and more artistic college students. T: Theme
—the theme of the poster is based on new and exciting tools available to a college student.
2 APPENDIX I Using the Seven-Step Design Process 2. Research the audience and the
medium to clarify themes and output specifications. Gather information to be used in the
conceptualization and creation of the work. In order to create a poster that will attract
college students, I began by considering the colors, symbols, and fonts that are associated
with young students. Once I started researching magazines and advertisements targeted to
this audience, I noticed edgier graphics, the nontraditional placement of images and words,
bright colors, line art, and so on. 3. Use concentric circles to identify keywords from which
themes may emerge. These themes will lead to the emotional center of the product or idea.
Ask your client, research subjects, and yourself, “What will make people respond?” Figure
A1-1 Concentric circles help identify themes. 4. Conceptualize on paper using outlines,
flowcharts, sketches, storyboards, and integrated site maps to connect the concept and
theme. Brainstorm using divergent (nonlinear) thinking to find creative solutions first; then
use convergent (linear) thinking to solve process problems. Use thumbnails to rough out
possible creative directions. APPENDIX I Using the Seven-Step Design Process 3 Figure A1-2
Sketches are a vehicle for creative design planning. 5. Create simple solutions in the form of
visual comps, prototypes, and treatments using digital design tools. FigureA1-3 The initial
designs provide direction. 4 APPENDIX I Using the Seven-Step Design Process 6. Revise by
filtering, simplifying, and justifying the work. FigureA1-4 The final designs represent simpler
solutions. 7. Evaluate the design against the communication goals and scope document to
measure your success and make recommendations for future updates. Have the visual
communication goals been achieved in the final piece? Goals: Use of Line Art Use of Graphic
Images Use of Photo or Graphic of a Portfolio Use of Edgy Fonts Use of Color Inclusion of
Information to Attract the College and Designer Audience
The Question
How does the type of classroom assessment used by teachers influence student motivation?

The Context
Assessments are used for many different purposes in education. Two of the main reasons students are assessed
are to evaluate and improve individual student performance and to audit or measure system performance (the
performance of many students across classrooms, schools, districts, or states). Classroom assessment is
concerned with the evaluation and improvement of individual student performance and is highly contextualized to
the education experiences of students within specific classrooms. The results of this form of assessment typically
are not generalizable beyond the context of the classroom in question. However, teachers and students gain
immediate and detailed feedback as to how effectively students have learned the subject matter.

Many different classroom assessment tools are available for teacher use (questioning, homework, projects, lab
work, tests and quizzes, etc.), each providing different learning opportunities and feedback for students. As
teachers select from these options, they evaluate which assessment is most appropriate for their purpose and
the effect that assessment may have on student learning. For example, a science lab can be used to provide
students with a hands-on learning experience, as well as to assess the understanding students have of the
scientific principles involved in the experiment. Similarly, a writing exercise might be used to evaluate a student's
technical ability to write an essay or research paper, as well as her specific knowledge of an event, person, or
issue.

When examining the multiple purposes of classroom assessment, it is important to consider the potential effect of
the assessment on student motivation. The research highlighted here examines the effect that three different
types of assessment had on motivation in three 5th grade science classrooms. The researchers categorized
student motivation as either mastery-learning goal oriented or performance goal oriented. According to the
authors, students with a mastery orientation are generally concerned with increasing their competence and
therefore focus on the application of hard work and effort. Such students are more likely to prefer challenging
work and evaluate their performance internally (did they work to their full potential? did they learn anything?).
Performance-oriented students prefer having the opportunity to display their competence and receive an external
reward (such as a high grade) for accomplishment. These students gauge success in relation to the performance
of other students; they may actively seek to avoid demonstrations of incompetence and may be less likely to
choose challenging tasks.

The Details
This study focused on 79 students across three 5th grade science classes in a rural, northeastern-U.S.
elementary school. The same teacher taught all three classes, and the students in each class were
heterogeneous in both general ability level and gender. Student age ranged from 10–11 years old. Each class
received three instructional units: fresh water; salt water; and a commercially available unit, "the Voyage of the
Mimi."

The teacher and researchers developed three assessments (a paper and pencil test, a laboratory exercise, and a
performance assessment) and applied each type of assessment to each unit in one of the three classes. After the
classes completed the same unit, one class received a test, one a lab, and one a performance assessment. Over
the three units, each class experienced each type of assessment. The written assessment consisted of short-
answer, fill-in-the-blank, and true-false questions. The lab experience asked students to test certain concepts in a
highly structured experiment that included specific step-by-step instructions. The performance assessment was
similar to the lab, but included only very general instructions.

After each assessment, students were asked to complete a standard survey about their attitudes toward science,
goal orientation, and cognitive engagement. At the end of the project, each class was interviewed and asked to
discuss which type of assessment they preferred, how the performance assessment in particular could be
improved, and—if the assessments were to be un-graded—which assessment they would prefer.
Statistical analysis of the survey results showed that assessment type had no significant effect on student
attitudes toward science or cognitive engagement, but had a significant effect on goal orientation. On both the
performance assessment and the pencil-and-paper test, student goal orientation scores were significantly higher
than those on the laboratory assessment. After examining the qualitative interview data, the researchers
concluded that this was likely the result of two countervailing forces. Students were primarily concerned with their
classroom grades. Thus, they were most comfortable when working within the parameters with which they were
familiar—pencil-and-paper tests. Students felt that the teacher's expectations were specifically defined, the rules
were clear, and the amount of preparation needed was understood. At the same time, students saw the benefits
of designing their own learning experiences and working in teams, as required by the performance assessment.
Although there was an underlying discomfort with the lack of structure and delineated requirements associated
with the performance assessment, that discomfort disappeared when students were asked which assessment
type they preferred if grades were not involved.

The Bottom Line

In and of itself, assessment type is not necessarily strongly related to student goal orientation. Instead, it is the
interplay of assessment type and academic stakes (such as grades) that influences student attitudes. When
stakes are attached to learning experiences, students prefer assessment formats with which they are familiar and
that they feel will most directly demonstrate their academic knowledge. Academic challenge and individual choice
become important to students when there is less personal risk attached to the assessment. As teachers develop
classroom assessment, it is useful to consider student familiarity with both the assessment format and its goals.

Who's Affected?
The findings from this study may be of use to teachers involved in designing and selecting classroom
assessments for their students.

Caveats
The sample size of this study is very small (three classes in one school), and may not be generalizable to other
classrooms. This study did not evaluate the effect of assessment type on academic outcomes. Students in the
study were not explicitly familiarized in advance with the various types of assessment, and as such, the findings
may be measuring student comfort and discomfort with unfamiliar experiences, rather than the effect of differing
assessment types on student motivation.