RSMAS TA Training:
Assessment and Grading
Lead by Johnna Infanti
August 20, 2012 – August 23 2012
Outline
• What is assessment
• Types of assessment
• What should you expect
• Rubrics
as a TA
• Grading Information
• Writing test and homework
questions
2
What is assessment?
Educational assessment is the
process of documenting, usually in
measurable terms, knowledge,
skills, attitudes and beliefs.
How well are students learning?
How effectively are teachers
teaching?
Assessment can focus on the
individual learner, the learning
community (class, workshop, or
other organized group of
learners), the institution, or the
educational system as a whole.
3
What is assessment?
Quizzes
and Tests
Assessment can have
many forms!
Homework
Lab Reports
Projects
Essays
4
Summative vs. Formative
Summative Assessment
• generally carried out at the end
of a course or project
• Used to assign students a
course grade
• Summative assessments are
evaluative.
Formative Assessment
Formative Assessment
• generally carried out throughout • most effective when they are
a course or project
done frequently
• provide information that can be • Information used to effect
used to improve course content,
immediate adjustments in the
methods of teaching, and,
day-to-day operations of the
ultimately, student learning
course
• Formative assessments are
diagnostic
5
Classroom Assessment Techniques
What is a CAT?
• Formative evaluation method
• Used to assess how well students
understand course content and
effectiveness of teaching methods
• Basic feedback tool for monitoring
how well students are learning the
course content to make timely
instructional adjustment than as
basis for grades
What can CATs do for faculty?
• Will provide feedback that can be
used immediately
• Provides information about how
much students have learned
without time commitment to
grading/etc
What can CATs do for students?
• Develop self-assessment and
learning management skills
• Reduce feelings of isolation
• Increase understanding and ability
to think critically about course
content
Meow!
EXAMPLES GIVEN IN PACKET (pg 7)
http://www.celt.iastate.edu/teaching/cat.html
6
CAT’s: “Feedback Loop”
Classroom Assessment is Ongoing
• Using a number of simple CAT’s,
teachers get feedback on student
learning
• Faculty completes loop by
providing students with feedback
on the results of the assessment
and suggestions for improving
learning
• Using classroom assessment
again, faculty can check on the
usefulness of their suggestions
• The approach will become more
integrated into everyday
classroom activities, and the
communications loop connecting
faculty and students becomes
more efficient and effective
EXAMPLES GIVEN IN PACKET (pg 7)
http://www.celt.iastate.edu/teaching/cat.html
7
What will you be expected to do as a TA?
Some things you may wish to
discuss:
Some typical expectations:
• Write test and homework
questions
• Grade assignments
• Grade exams
Discuss expectations with
course professor before
course begins!
• Grading expectations
• Style of test/homework questions
• Time commitments
8
Writing Effective Test and Homework
Questions
•
•
•
•
Questions should be
Effective
Fair
Challenging
Creative
Questions should allow
students to:
• Show what they know, not
what they don’t know
• Have an equal chance of
success
Questions should be designed:
• To accurately reflect
emphasis placed on
important aspects of
instruction
• To be completed within the
time limits of the course
9
Some Examples…
http://caacentre.lboro.ac.uk/dldocs/otghdout.pdf
10
Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objective and Questions
6 levels of intellectual
understanding
Use to design questions that
utilize higher order levels
11
Some Examples…
Knowledge:
Recognizing and recalling
information
• Dates
• Events
• Persons
• Definitions
Sample Question Frames
• Who invented the…?
• What is meant by…?
• What is the…?
http://www.ksde.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=6PmcGOcdLB8%3D&tabid=1660&...
Comprehension:
Understanding the meaning of
information
• Restating
• Translating
• Interpreting
• Explaining
Sample Question Frames
• Restate in your own
words…?
• Convert Fractions into…?
• List 3 reasons for…?
Application:
Applying rules, methods, or
principals to a new situation
• Using a formula to solve a
problem
• Classify something as a
specific example of a
general principal
Sample Question Frames
• How is … an example of …?
• How is … related to…?
• Why is … significant?
12
Some Examples…
Analysis:
Identifying the organization and
patterns within a system by
identifying its component parts and
relationships among components
Sample Question Frames
• What are the parts of…?
• Classify … according to…
• Outline/diagram…
Synthesis:
Discovering/creating new
connections, generalizations,
patterns or perspectives. Combine
ideas to form a new whole.
Sample Question Frames
• What would you infer
from…?
• What ideas can you add
to…?
• How would you create a…?
Evaluation:
Using evidence and a reasoned
argument to judge how well a
proposal would accomplish a
particular purpose
• Resolving controversies or
differences of opinion
Sample Question Frames
• Do you agree…?
• How would you decide
about…?
• What priority would you
give…?
Further Examples
http://www.teachers.ash.org.au/researchskills/dalton.htm
http://www.ksde.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=6PmcGOcdLB8%3D&tabid=1660&...
13
What about Grading?
Some helpful tips before you
start
• Do not procrastinate
• Establish a set of criteria
before you begin (like a
rubric)
• Keep grades subjective
• Keep grades confidential
• Remember that there is no
one right way to grade an
exam or homework!
http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive/phd052410s.gif
14
Rubrics
• Can communicate expectations
What is a Rubric?
of quality around a task
Set of criteria and standards
typically linked to learning • Delineate consistent criteria for
grading
objectives that is used to
assess or communicate about • Provide basis for selfperformance
evaluation, reflection, peer
review
Example rubric pg 8
15
Rubrics
About Rubrics
More on Sample Rubrics
Rubric for Written Composition
Rubric for PowerPoint
Presentations
• Rubrics can be many formats
• Table
• % of total grade
• Numerical scale
• Can be used for large project, paper,
presentation, group work essay,
individual short answer question
16
Creating a Rubric
3. Articulate gradations of quality.
• Categories should concisely
1. Have students look at models of good
describe levels of quality (bad to
vs. “not so good” work
good)
• A conservative number of
1. List criteria to be used in the rubric
gradations keeps rubric user
and allow for discussion of what
friendly while allowing for
counts as quality work
fluctuations that exist within the
average range
4. Practice on models
• Use sample assignments
• Can build student confidence by
teaching them how the instructor
would use the rubric on their
work
5. Use teacher assessment
• Use the same rubric students
used to assess their work
17
Rubrics: for Accurate and Fair Assessment
During pre-assessment phase,
rubrics:
During assessment phase, rubrics:
• Clarify expectations and grading
• Help evaluators remain focused
methods with learners
on preset standards of excellence
and objectively assess the learner
• Learners can then perform a selfassessment prior to submission of
their work
During post-assessment phase,
learners:
• Are given scored rubric with clear
explanation of their grade
• Are made aware of their
weaknesses and strengths
18
http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive/phd051910s.gif
Activity
Part 1
• 2 Responses to Test Question
(pg 9 and 10)
• Student A – pg 9
• Student B – pg 10
• Answer Key pg 11
• FOR THIS PART:
• Grade EACH response out of
10 pts WITHOUT using a
rubric
Part 2
• Rubric pg 12
• FOR THIS PART:
• Grade EACH response out of
10 pts USING the provided
rubric
Part 3
• Discussion
• Did your grading change when
using the rubric?
• While still somewhat subjective,
do you see the differences in
grading strategies when using a
rubric vs. without using one?
19
http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive/phd051910s.gif
Sources Used
• http://www.celt.iastate.edu/teaching/cat.html
• http://www.gettysburg.edu/about/offices/ees/institutional_analysis/assessment_/facultyresources/cats.dot
• http://www2.honolulu.hawaii.edu/facdev/guidebk/teachtip/assess-1.htm
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubric_(academic)
• http://home.lagrange.edu/dlivingston/differentiated.htm
• http://www2.gsu.edu/~mstnrhx/457/rubric.htm
• http://www.hishelpinschool.com/teaching/rubriccomposition.html
• http://www.schools.lth5.k12.il.us/aviston/KBLesson8.html
• http://www.english.udel.edu/wc/faculty/tipsheets/rubrics.pdf
• http://jfmueller.faculty.noctrl.edu/toolbox/rubrics.htm
• http://www.ksde.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=6PmcGOcdLB8%3D&tabid=1660&
• http://caacentre.lboro.ac.uk/dldocs/otghdout.pdf
• Angelo, Thomas A. and K. Patricia Cross, 1993, Classroom Assessment Techniques: A Handbook for
College Teachers, Second Edition, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.
• Brinkley, A. et al. The Chicago Handbook for Teachers, Second Edition: A Practical Guide to the College
Classroom. (University of Chicago Press: 2011).
20