Classroom Assessment
A Practical Guide for Educators
by Craig A. Mertler
Chapter 5
Informal Assessments
Introduction

The main types of informal assessments include teacher
observations, teacher questions, and student reflections.

The majority of assessments used in classrooms are
informal.

Assessments occur in an ongoing, continuous manner.
Teacher Observations

Teacher Observations: watching and/or listening to
students as they perform an activity, or judging a
product they have produced.
• purpose is to record and describe student behavior
as it naturally occurs
• can provide information with respect to:
 the quality of student performances
 the processes and procedures students use to
complete assignments
 the processes and procedures teachers use in
providing instruction
Teacher Observations

Teacher Observations (continued)
• characteristics
 many events are observed simultaneously or in
quick succession
 classroom observations often focus on one event
 teachers should depend on the observations of
students
 most events that occur in the classroom go
unnoticed
 observations are quickly forgotten or distorted
when recalled
 observations often require inferences
Teacher Observations

Teacher Observations (continued)
• guidelines for use
 know what to observe
 know when to place limits on how much is being
observed
 be familiar with what is being observed
 avoid extended inferences; look for
substantiating evidence
 recognize that observations may overestimate
achievement
 document observations that must be recalled
later
Teacher Observations

Teacher Observations (continued)
• record keeping
 Anecdotal records: short narratives that describe
behavior and context.
 used to document behaviors for later reference
by teachers and others
 interpretation may also be included
 bias must be avoided in any interpretations
 only record observations that have special
importance and cannot be obtained through
more formal methods of classroom assessment
Teacher Observations

Teacher Observations (continued)
• record keeping (continued)
 Checklist: list of behaviors or outcomes, where
teacher simply indicates whether each has been
observed.
 limited to situations where presence or
absence of a condition is to be determined
 more structured than anecdotal records
 only two possible options for observations—
observed or not observed
Teacher Observations

Teacher Observations (continued)
• record keeping (continued)
 Rating scales: similar to checklists; offer more
specific feedback (along a continuum).
 can indicate frequency or degree to which
student exhibits a characteristic
 can be used formatively and summatively
 also referred to as rubrics (holistic and analytic)
Teacher Questions

Teacher Questions: informal, unplanned, spontaneous
oral inquiries posed by teachers to students.
•
useful as a means of monitoring student
understanding during instruction
•
both lower- and higher-order questions can be posed
•
can also be used as a form of student self-reflection
Teacher Questions

Teacher Questions (continued)
•
characteristics
 can be obtrusive
 must be interpreted by others; must be clear
 can be directed to individuals, small groups, or
an entire class
 details of questions asked and their subsequent
responses are quickly forgotten
Teacher Questions

Teacher Questions (continued)
•
guidelines for use
 develop questions from instructional objectives
 provide a clear problem for students to address
 allow sufficient time for students to respond
 avoid student embarrassment
 exhibit caution when reacting to student
responses
Teacher Questions

Teacher Questions (continued)
•
record keeping
 few structured techniques exist
 teachers may customize a variation of a checklist
in order to document participation and
responses
Student Reflections

Student Reflections: brief narratives or self-reports
written by students concerning the subject matter being
studied.
•
variations of journals or learning logs
•
completed periodically throughout a unit
•
may consist of summaries of material, questions
raised during class, characteristics of a project, etc.
•
provide opportunities for teacher and students to
discuss comments and questions
Student Reflections

Student Reflections (continued)
• widely used variation is the one-minute paper
 students are given last few minutes of class to
respond (in writing and anonymously) to one or
two questions specified by the teacher




What was the most important thing you learned from
today’s class?
What question do you still have following today’s class?
I would like to know more about…
I am still unsure about…
 student responses are collected and synthesized
by the teacher
 teacher begins the next class with commentary
 emphasize student responsibility to listen and
process
Validity and Reliability of
Informal Assessments




Often suffer to reduced validity and reliability due to
subjective nature
Can be improved by avoiding some common problems
Validity
• can be adversely affected by prejudging or
anticipating student behaviors
• inappropriate indicators of student characteristics
are sometimes selected
Reliability
• affected by lack of adequate sampling of behaviors
• inferences drawn in one setting may not extend to
others
Advantages and Limitations of
Informal Assessments


Advantages
•
are efficient and adaptable
•
can be built into flow of lesson (no interruption)
•
can be used to monitor instruction and learning
Limitations
•
observations are limited only to those behaviors that
occur naturally
•
teachers observe only a fraction of student behaviors
•
many informal observations go undocumented and,
therefore, are likely forgotten