Assessment
Boot camp
EFFECTIVE ASSESSMENTS + CONSTRUCTIVE FEEDBACK =
HIGHER STUDENT SUCCESS
PRESENTED BY: AMANDA CHAPMAN
Instructor/University Supervisor/Placement Coordinator
WCU Office of Field Experiences
Overview
 How do we design effective assessments?
 Purpose of Assessments
 Types of Assessments
 How to give Effective Feedback to enhance student learning.
 Useable Examples
What is Assessment?
“Assessment is today’s means
of understanding how to
modify tomorrow’s instruction.”
- Carol Tomilinson
Using Assessment to Drive Instruction. (n.d.). Retrieved February 27, 2015, from
http://www.slane.k12.or.us/files/common/4_2_Adjustments.pdf
How to design
effective
assessments
101
Learner assessment follows from the objectives. Based on the principles of
backward design developed by Wiggins and McTighe (1998), instructors identify the
lesson objective or desired results and then decide what they will accept as
evidence of learners’ knowledge and skills.
The concept of backward design holds that the instructor must begin with the end
in mind (i.e., what the student should be able to know, understand, or do) and
then map backward from the desired result to the current time and the students’
current ability/skill levels to determine the best way to reach the performance goal.
Fact Sheet: Effective Lesson Planning
Goals vs. objectives
GOALS
General expectations of student outcomes.
The OVERALL description and purpose of the
unit/lesson/etc.
Can be broad and vague
Example:
Students will understand the Bill of Rights and
the importance and impact it has on the lives
of American citizens.
OBJECTIVES
Statement of what students should be able to
do, or how they should change
developmentally, as a result of instruction.
Much more specific and MEASUREABLE
Example:
Students will able to list and explain each of
the ten amendments of the Bill of Rights.
Four components
of an objective
A – AUDIENCE
• The Student
B – BEHAVIOR
• What the student will do?
C – CONDITION
• Under what circumstance will the talk be accomplished?
D – DEGREE (Criteria)
• Percent correct
LEARNING OUTCOME
FORMAT
STUDENTS SHOULD BE ABLE TO
<<ACTION VERB>> <<SOMETHING>>
REMEMBER BLOOM’S TAXONOMY?
THAT’S WHERE YOU FIND YOUR VERBS
Plan around objectives
STUDENTS WILL BE ABLE TO…
Look at the examples:
Which ones are well written and assessable objectives?
Which ones are not assessable?
How could you rewrite them to make them assessable?
Important to
remember:
Assessment is a process.
Step 1: Establishing learning objectives
Step 2: Provide learning opportunities
that relate to the objectives.
Step 3: Determine if learning has
occurred.
Step 4: Make revisions and
improvements based on
determinations of student learning.
Evaluations are Judgments
based on performance.
Judgments about performance.
Mostly refers to the assignment of grades
based on student performance.
Examples: tests and papers
Thus, evaluation can be part of
assessment, but it is not
assessment in and of itself.
http://teachpsych.org/resources/Documents/otrp/resources/boysen12.pdf
Why Do You Assess?
How Do You Assess?
What Do You Assess?
When Do You Assess?
With your group take 5 to discuss the
reasons you assess your students.
Why DO We Assess?
SOME TEACHERS TALK ABOUT…
SOME TEACHERS TALK ABOUT…
Assessment Debate
V.S.
Can these two coexist peacefully?
Should one receive more emphasis over the other?
Using Assessment to Drive Instruction. (n.d.). Retrieved February 27, 2015, from
http://www.slane.k12.or.us/files/common/4_2_Adjustments.pdf
Using Assessment to Drive Instruction. (n.d.). Retrieved February 27, 2015, from
http://www.slane.k12.or.us/files/common/4_2_Adjustments.pdf
How DO We Assess?
 Observations
 Self- and peer-evaluation
 Essays
 End-of-Course/Grade Tests
 Interviews
 M.A.P./Dibbles/Star Reading/etc.
 Performance tasks
 Questioning
 Exhibitions and demonstrations
 Others?
 Portfolios
 Journals
 Teacher-created tests
 Rubrics
Using Assessment to Drive Instruction. (n.d.). Retrieved February 27, 2015, from
http://www.slane.k12.or.us/files/common/4_2_Adjustments.pdf
Using Assessment to Drive Instruction. (n.d.). Retrieved February 27, 2015, from
http://www.slane.k12.or.us/files/common/4_2_Adjustments.pdf
When Do We Assess?
At the beginning of the
unit/time period?
At the end?
In the middle?
Never?
Everyday?
Most teachers assess students at
the end of an instructional
unit/time period/sequence.
However, research proves that
“when assessment and
instruction are interwoven, both
the students and the teacher
benefit.”
Using Assessment to Drive Instruction. (n.d.). Retrieved February 27, 2015, from
http://www.slane.k12.or.us/files/common/4_2_Adjustments.pdf
On-Going Assessments
are the BEST!
Diagnostic
Assessment
Finding out
what your
students know
Formative
Assessment
Summative
Assessment
Keeping Track
& Checking-in
Making Sure
Formative and Summative Assessment
Northern Illinois University, Faculty Development and Instructional Design Center
facdev@niu.edu, http://facdev.niu.edu,
Diagnostic Assessments
Pre-tests
Diagnostic Assessment can help you identify your students’ current knowledge of
a subject, their skill sets and capabilities, and to clarify misconceptions before
teaching takes place.
Knowing your students’ strengths and weaknesses can help you better plan
what to teach and how to teach it.
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)
Formative and Summative Assessment
Northern Illinois University, Faculty Development and Instructional Design Center
facdev@niu.edu, http://facdev.niu.edu,
Formative Assessments
Formative assessment provides
feedback and information during the
instructional process, while learning is
taking place, and while learning is
occurring.
Formative assessment measures
student progress but it can also assess
your own progress as an instructor.
◦ Observations during in-class activities; of students nonverbal 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
◦ 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 selfevaluation of performance and progress.
Formative and Summative Assessment
Northern Illinois University, Faculty Development and Instructional Design Center
facdev@niu.edu, http://facdev.niu.edu,
Ongoing
Assessment
Strategies
Take 10
Look over the list of examples.
Make note of any questions you
may have.
How could you use these
strategies to drive
instruction?
How will ongoing
assessment help you
teach for success?
Summative Assessments
 Summative assessment takes place AFTER the
learning has been completed.
 Provides information and feedback that sums up
the teaching and learning process.
 Should match the material taught and reflect the
formative assessments.
Rubrics
 Often developed around a set of standards or
expectations, can be used for summative assessment.
 Can be given to students before they begin
working on a particular project so they know what is
expected of them (precisely what they have to do)
for each of the criteria.
 Help you to be more objective when deriving a
final, summative grade by following the same criteria
students used to complete the project.
Formative and Summative Assessment
Northern Illinois University, Faculty Development and Instructional Design Center
facdev@niu.edu, http://facdev.niu.edu,
Types of Summative
Assessments
 Examinations
(major, high-stakes
 Portfolios
(could also be assessed
during it’s development as a
formative assessment)
 Performances
 Student evaluation of the course
(teaching effectiveness)
exams)
 Final examination (a truly
summative assessment)
 Term papers (drafts submitted
throughout the semester would be a
formative assessment)
 Instructor self-evaluation
 Projects (project phases submitted
at various completion points could
be formatively assessed)
Formative and Summative Assessment
Northern Illinois University, Faculty Development and Instructional Design Center
facdev@niu.edu, http://facdev.niu.edu,
What is the Difference?
“Summative assessment is more product-oriented and
assesses the final product, whereas formative
assessment focuses on the process toward completing
the product. Once the project is completed, no further
revisions can be made. If, however, students are
allowed to make revisions, the assessment becomes
formative, where students can take advantage of the
opportunity to improve.”
Formative and Summative Assessment
Northern Illinois University, Faculty Development and Instructional Design Center
facdev@niu.edu, http://facdev.niu.edu,
Using Assessment to Drive Instruction. (n.d.). Retrieved February 27, 2015, from
http://www.slane.k12.or.us/files/common/4_2_Adjustments.pdf
Using Assessment to Drive Instruction. (n.d.). Retrieved February 27, 2015, from
http://www.slane.k12.or.us/files/common/4_2_Adjustments.pdf
EFFECTIVE FEEBACK
EFFECTIVE FEEDBACK
1. It MUST be timely.
2. It MUST be SPECIFIC.
3. It MUST be understandable to the student.
4. It MUST allow the student to act on feedback
◦Refine, Revise, Practice, and Retry
Using Assessment to Drive Instruction. (n.d.). Retrieved February 27, 2015, from
http://www.slane.k12.or.us/files/common/4_2_Adjustments.pdf
Using Assessment to Drive Instruction. (n.d.). Retrieved February 27, 2015, from
http://www.slane.k12.or.us/files/common/4_2_Adjustments.pdf
Evaluative feedback
Evaluative feedback involves a judgment by the teacher based on implicit or
explicit norms.
Evaluative feedback may take the form of:
Approval: “That’s a good essay.” “You’ve done well.” “Good job!”
Disapproval: “That’s not good enough.” “Not your best.”
Reward: Gold stars//A+/Stickers
Punishment: “Write it out again.”
Effective Feedback. (2009). New Zealand Ministry of Education.
Descriptive feedback
Descriptive feedback:
focuses on identified learning outcomes and makes specific reference to the student’s
achievement.
 Looks towards improvement.
An example of descriptive feedback:
“That’s a good introduction because you have covered the main points we discussed at
the beginning. Now … which points do you think you should expand on?”
Effective Feedback. (2009). New Zealand Ministry of Education.
Summary
 Why do we Assess?
 How should we Assess?
 What are the THREE types of assessment?
 What is the purpose of those three?
 How can we make our formative assessments more effective and meaningful to our
students?
Questions?
For further information or later questions please feel free to
contact me at 828.227.3310 or abchapman@wcu.edu
Works cited
Boysen, G. (2012, January 1). A Guide to Writing Learning Objectives for Teachers of Psychology. Retrieved March 3, 2015, from
http://teachpsych.org/resources/Documents/otrp/resources/boysen12.pdf
Tomlinson, C. (2001). How to differentiate instruction in mixed-ability classrooms (2nd ed.). Alexandria, Va.: Association for
Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Effective Feedback. (2009). New Zealand Ministry of Education. Retrieved March 3, 2015, from
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&sqi=2&ved=0CB4QFjAA&url=http://assessment.tki.org.nz/
content/download/2520/19023/version/1/file/Effective+feedback.ppt&ei=6t31VJ7ULsWVNqPGg9AJ&usg=AFQjCNEJFBeWEf8kcS
DG1HPHCIaa9bA5cw&bvm=bv.87269000,d.eXY
Fact Sheet: Effective Lesson Planning | Teaching Excellence in Adult Literacy (TEAL). (n.d.). Retrieved March 3, 2015, from
https://teal.ed.gov/tealguide/lessonplanning
Kelly, M. (n.d.). How to Avoid Common Mistakes When Writing Learning Objectives. Retrieved March 3, 2015, from
http://712educators.about.com/od/curriculumandlessonplans/tp/How-To-Avoid-Common-Mistakes-When-Writing-LearningObjectives.htm
Using Assessment to Drive Instruction. (n.d.). Retrieved February 27, 2015, from
http://www.slane.k12.or.us/files/common/4_2_Adjustments.pdf
Wees, D. (n.d.). 56 Different Examples of Formative Assessment. Retrieved March 3, 2015, from
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1nzhdnyMQmio5lNT75ITB45rHyLISHEEHZlHTWJRqLmQ/pub?start=false&loop=false&d
elayms=3000&slide=id.p