Classroom Assessment
What to Assess and How to
Assess It
Learning Targets
LTs define academic success.
They define what students should know and be
able to do.
They should be clearly stated and transparent to
all.
Different readers (i.e., teachers) should
interpret statements of LTs the same way.
They should be written in kid-friendly language.
Learning Targets are Specific
Not specific: The student will understand
the concepts and procedures of
mathematics.
More specific: The student will
understand and apply concepts and
procedures of mathematics.
Better yet: The student will understand
and apply concepts and procedures from
number sense.
Why Specific Learning
Targets?
Help teachers make their educational goals
explicit.
Communicate the intent of instruction to
students, parents, other teachers, and
administrators.
Describe specific performances against
which teachers can evaluate the success of
instruction.
Communicate to students what they are
expected to learn.
Learning Targets Identify
What is Important
Targets center on what is truly
important.
– Not just from our perspective, but
– from the perspective of
professionals in the field of study.
LT Clarify the PURPOSE of
Assessment
• Determine beforehand what inferences you
want to draw from students’ performance
on an assessment.
– Diagnostic information?
– Formative evaluation?
– Summative evaluation?
• Decide how poor performance on the
assessment will be interpreted; how good
performance will be interpreted.
Three General Types of
Learning Targets
1. Cognitive Learning Targets
(Achievement).
2. Affective Learning Targets
(Dispositions)
3. Psychomotor Learning targets
(Motor Skills).
Goals vs Learning Targets
Educational goals are stated in broad
terms.
Used for planning overall educational
activities.
Typically are organized by subject area.
Provide a curriculum framework.
Not specific enough to serve as learning
targets.
Evaluationg Learning Targets (LTs)
(Nitko, 1996)
Are the LTs appropriate for the educational
level of the students?
Do the LTs identify the important outcomes
for the sequence of instruction?
Can the LTs be defended by currently
accepted principals of learning?
Are the resources available to teach to the
LTs?
Specifying Learning Targets
• Learning targets define academic success.
– Define what students should know and be able
to do.
– Need to be CLEARLY stated:
• So that different teachers can understand them.
• So that students will understand what is expected of
them.
• See Verbs for Defining Learning Targets in
the Exhibits Section of the Web Site
Finally, Learning Targets
Should…
• be broad enough so that instruction
can be organized around them,
• be measurable, and
• identify a more global outcome that
encompass several more specific
learning objectives.
Taxonomies for Learning and
Taxonomies for Teaching
Some taxonomies of learning targets (e.g.,
Bloom) are useful for classifying different
types of learning outcomes.
Other taxonomies (e.g., Marzano) are
intended to provide a framework for
teaching.
It is important to realize that some learning
targets might fall into more than one
category. This is especially true of complex
learning targets.
Using Taxonomies to Identify
Learning Targets
Using a taxonomy of learning targets helps
focus attention on higher-level outcomes.
Several taxonomies have been presented in
the instructional literature (See, for
example, several of the examples given
under *Classroom Assessment Links on the
Web on my website.
Take a few minutes to browse the web for
other examples of learning target
taxonomies.
Criteria for Choosing Learning
Outcome Taxonomies
(Nitko, 1996)
Completeness: Can your important learning
targets be classified within the
taxonomy?
Point of view: Does the taxonomy help you
explain your teaching methods to others?
Simplicity: Is the taxonomy easily
understood by your target audiences?
Reporting: Is the taxonomy useful for
organizing assessment results in ways
that are meaningful to target audiences?
Match Assessments to Learning
Targets
“A…basic requirement of the validity of
classroom assessment procedures is
that the procedures…match the
intentions of the specific learning
targets that you include in your
assessment plan.” (Nitko, 1996; p. 32).
An Example for Writing
The student will write clearly and
effectively. To meet this learning target
the student will:
• Develop a topic or theme; organize written
thoughts with a clear beginning, middle,
and end; use transitional sentences and
phrases to connect related ideas; and write
coherently and effectively.
Continued on next slide
An Example for Writing
• Additionally, the student will use a
style appropriate to the intended
audience and purpose; and
• Use proper voice, word choice, and
sentence fluency for the selected
style and audience.
• In addition…
Continued on next slide
An Example for Writing
• The student will apply acceptable
writing conventions. He or she will:
– Know and apply correct spelling,
grammar, sentence structure,
punctuation, and capitalization
– Know and apply specified formatting,
including margins, headings, and size of
font.
An Example for Science
The student will understand and use
scientific concepts and principles. To
achieve this learning target, the
student will:
• Use properties to identify, describe,
and categorize substances, materials,
and objects.
• Use characteristics to categorize
living things.
Continued on next Slide
An Example for Science
• Recognize the components, structure,
and organization of various systems
and the interconnections within and
among them.
• Understand and be able to articulate
how interactions within and among
systems cause changes in matter and
energy.
End