Learning
ASSESSMENT
Basics
&
Paradoxes
From Gronlund, N. 1998, The Assessment of Student Acheivemen
Agenda
1. Three Stages of Instruction/ Assessment Decisions:
 Beginning - Readiness and Placement Assessment
 Middle - Formative evlauation
 End - Summative evaluation
2. The Nature of Student Assessment
1. Performance Assessment
2. Testing
 Normative
 Criteria Based
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© E. Kowch
The Calgary Board of Education
Standardized
Test Results :
Grades 3, 6, 9 & 12
(Alberta Learning Exams)
http://www.cbe.ab.ca/ch_supt/acc_serv/achtest.asp
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Some Terms..
 Performance Assessment
– Requires students to demonstrate their achievement of understandings
and skills by actually performing tasks (story writing, speaking,
operating a machine).
 Alternative Assessment
– Performance assessments that emphasizes that we provide alternatives to
traditional paper-and-pencil assessments
– Include “real world” contextual settings
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Some Types of Assessments
 Achievement
– Test the extent to which a student is achieving the intended learning
outcomes
 Aptitude
– Test the student’s preference for certain learning situations.
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Comparing Instruction to Assessment
Instruction:
1. Creates clearly defined learning
outcomes
2. Uses methods and materials
congruent with the learning
outcomes to be achieved
3. Fits the characteristics and needs
of the students
4. Decisions are based on info. That
is meaningful, dependable and
relevant
5. Students are periodically informed
about their learning progress
6. Remediation is provided for
students not meeting the learning
objectives
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Assessment:
1. Assesses the clearly defined
learning outcomes
2. Is congruent with the methods
and materials of instruction
3. Fits the relevant student
characteristics, fairly to all
4. Provides info. That is
meaningful, dependable and
relevant.
5. Early feedback helps learners
adjust and achieve
6. Specific learning weaknesses
are revealed
© E. Kowch
Mini Lesson One:
Placement, Formative and Summative Assessment
 Learning Objectives:
– The student will be able to: (TSWBAT):
– State a definition of placement assessment and
• Give an example for their own practice
– State a definition of formative assessment and
• Give an example for their own practice
– State a definition of Summative assessment and
• Give an example for their own practice
– Distinguish among the various roles of assessment in
the 3 different instructional processes mentioned.
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Assessment Decision Making: 3 Stages
1. At the beginning of instruction
2. During instruction
3. At the end of instruction
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Beginning
Assessment at the Beginning of Instruction

Ask yourself, as teacher:
THE READINESS QUESTION
To what extent do the students already possess the skills and abilities that
we need to begin instruction?
1.
2. THE PLACEMENT QUESTION
To what extent have the students already achieved the intended
learning outcomes of the planned instruction?
(could you ask this at the end of instruction? Why?)
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Activity One:
 In Groups of Two, (grade-alike), create:
–
1. One readiness question for each of 3 subjects you will teach
•
•
(be sure to state the grade level)
(be sure to state the skill that you are looking for in each question:
Example: Skill Assessed:
Readiness Question
1. TSWBAT Add single digit numbers
–
Show me what “Adding” means.
2. One placement question for each of 3 subjects you will teach
•
•
(be sure to state the grade level).
(be sure to state the intended learning outcome for each question:
Example: Learning Outcome:
Placement Question
1. TSWBAT wash hands after recessWhat do you do right after recess I
is over?
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Beginning
Placement Assessment
(to determine entry performance)
Readiness Concern
Do the students have the
Prerequisite skills?
no
Provide readiness
experiences
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Placement Concern
Have the students already
Achieved the intended
Outcomes?
yes
no
yes
Proceed with
The instruction
Discuss: Math vs. Social Studies
(criterion?)
Advance Students
To a higher level
© E. Kowch
During Instruction
During Instruction:
Formative and Diagnostic Assessment

During Instruction, ask yourself as teacher:
1.
On which learning tasks are the students progressing satisfactorily? On
which learning tasks do the students need help?

2.
Which students are having such sever learning problems that they need
remedial work?

1.
2.
3.
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Formative assessments: measure student mastery by measuring
 The intended outcomes of the UNIT of instruction
 Using the results to improve learning (not give grades, necessarily)
 May involve assessment of a product - writing, portfolios, videos,art, music,
welding,speech.
Diagnostic assessments: Focus on a common source of error for students in a
learning process. Tests with slight variations between them that indicate where the
student’s learning is a problem for them.
For example, you would ask yourself:
Are students having trouble adding because they don’t know certain number
combinations, or because they can’t carry a number?
Are students struggling with German because of inadequate vocabulary or because
they do not grasp the elements of grammar?
© E. Kowch
During
During
Instruction
Instruction
The instructional role of
Formative Assessment
(to monitor learning progress)
Are the students achieving the intended
Learning outcomes?
no
Provide Group or
Individual remediation
DIAGNOSTIC ASSESSMENT
(to study persistent difficulties
yes
Provide feedback
to reinforce learning
Proceed with
The planned instruction
Discuss
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End
Assessment at the End of Instruction

Ask yourself, as teacher:
Which students have mastered the learning tasks to such a degree that
they should proceed to the next course or unit of instruction?
2. What grade should be assigned to each student?
1.
Summative Assessment: Occurs at the end of instruction for the
purpose of certifying mastery or assigning grades.
- Is also part of the course redesign.
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End
Summative Assessment
(to monitor learning progress)
no
Have the students achieved
The intended outcomes
Of instruction?
yes
Assign grades to certify
mastery
Provide additional learning
experiences
Evaluate the
effectiveness of the
instruction
Discuss
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Other ways that assessments can aid learning
1.
Motivation:
1.
2.
3.
2.
Retention and Transfer of learning
1.
3.
Self image and student’s value of the learning process can occur if the
student internalizes learning outcome achievements.
Evaluating Instructional Effectiveness
1.
2.
3.
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Because tasks are focused and repeat to mastery (sometimes)
Student Self Assessment
1.
4.
Provides students with short term goals
Clarifies the types of tasks to be learned
Provide feedback concerning their learning progress
Determine the extent to which learning objectives are realistic
Determine the extent to which instruction is appropriate
Determine the extent to which students have the prerequisite learning
for the event design
© E. Kowch
The Nature of Student Assessment
 Two assessment methods are presented:
1. Performance Assessment
2. Testing `
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Testing
– 1. Testing (of knowledge)
• Type 1: Selected Response:
Multiple choice
True and false
Matching
Benefits: fast administration time
-easy to score
-easy to report the findings (#s)
Drawbacks: 80-90% focus on knowledge (facts)
-tend not to be on realistic situations (if we aren’t careful)
-depend heavily on language skills of the student
• Type 2: Supply Response
Word response
Short Phrase
Essay Answer
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Performance Assessment
 2. Performance Assessment ( of skills or behavior)
Type 1: Restricted Performance
Performance of a limited task that is highly structured such as:
- selecting equipment, high jump.
Type 2: Extended Performance
Performance of more complex and less structured tasks such as:
- writing a paragraph on the topic, writing a short story, writing a
journal, doing a web site :-)
- requires student to integrate and apply knowledge and skills in a
realistic setting. Students may have to do more than create a product they might have to review and revise the product themselves.
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Some info about learner (assessment) tasks
 Realism: the extent to which the test simulates the real world.
 Complexity: low cplxty = Yes/No. High = compare/contrast or drive
 Assessment time needed for the task: Selected response tests are
FAST…. Essays are SLOW
 Judgment in Scoring:
– Higher subjectivity = higher demand on teacher judgment.
– Criteria for quality performance helps the teacher and the student at
times:
• Set a rating scale for each criteria
• Or set a rubric up
– Problems? What if creativity in the learner gives you a product so far
outside your criteria that you can’t use the criteria?
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Assessment Methods
Performance Assessment
Testing
Selected
Response
Low
Low
Low
Low
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Supply
Response
Restricted
Performance
Realism of Tasks
Complexity of Tasks
Assessment Time Needed
Judgment in Scoring
Extended
Performance
High
High
High
High
© E. Kowch
Guidelines for Effective Student Assessment
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1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Have a clear idea of all intended learning outcomes
Use a variety of assessment procedures
Use relevant instructional procedures
Get an adequate sample of student performance
Procedures must be fair to all learners
Specify the criteria for successful performance
Provide learner feedback showing performance strength and weaknesses.
Good feedback should:
1. Give such feedback right away
2. Give detailed and understandable feedback
3. Focus on the successful elements AND the improvement areas
4. Provide remedial suggestions to correct mistakes
5. Be positive and provide a guide fo improving both performance and self
assessment.
8.
Use a good grading and reporting system (to communicate
results)
© E. Kowch
Validity and Reliability of Assessments
 Validity: the appropriateness
and meaningfulness of the
inferences we make from
assessment results for some
intended use. Validity is easiest
to accomplish in performance
testing.
 Reliability: can this
assessment result be duplicated
with confidence?
(consistency).
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Norm Referenced Assessment
&
Criterion Referenced
Assessment
A brief Overview
Recall: The “one” and the “many”
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Norm
The Distribution Curve: Defining Normal
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Norm
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The Distribution Curve: Defining Normal
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Normative Achievement testing can provide:
 A relative ranking of students
 A description of the learning tasks a student cannot do
 A description of the learning tasks a student can do
Criticism:
“I had spent much of my professional life criticizing
standardized tests. I knew that they were biased in
hundreds of important ways, that they measured the
narrowest band of cognition, and that they did even that
crudely” (Ayers, 2001, p. 109)
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Criterion
Criterion Referenced Interpretation
 Mastery testing: Learning is evaluated compared to a standard that
is set. The evaluation is about the degree of achievement of the
student, not about a comparison to the achievement of the group.
Carla is capable of using correct paragraph form with a high degree of
mastery, doing this 8 out of 10 times.
 The determination of what tasks students can and can not perform.
Carla uses incorrect paragraph form when she writes narrative
paragraphs.
 An evaluation of the instruction can occur as well.
More instruction is required where students get to practice writing the
narrative paragraph.
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Criterion Referenced Interpretation:
Including and extending beyond Norm Ref
& Critieria Referencing
 Projects
 Portfolios
 Performance
 A more constructivist approach: Internal Assessment
– Regular oral reports
– Enactments
– Constructions
 Allows for affective domain evaluation - “the whole
child”; can get feedback on creativity, imagination,
conceptual thinking, commitment & social interaction
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Recall: The “one” and the “many”
Am I assessing for the student? For the teachers?
For myself? For the class? For parents?
For administration? For the principal? For better
Instruction? ….
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