Assessment
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MARGARET (MIDGE) COZZENS
TUSKEGEE UNIVERSITY
FEBRUARY 21, 2013
What is it?
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 An Assessor in ancient times was ad +
sedere, one who sat by the sovereign to
provide technical advice on the value of
things that were to be taxed.
 Assessment is the systematic collection,
review, and use of information about
courses, programs, etc.
 What we assess defines what we value.
Formative vs Summative Assessment
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 Formative Assessment – is conducted
during the duration of the course with the
purpose of providing feedback to be used to
modify and shape the course.
 Summative Assessment is conducted at the
end of the course to make judgments about
the quality of the course/student compared
to previously established performance
relative to learning outcomes.
Principles
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 Learning Outcomes determine assessment
 Plan ahead of time;
 Design and implement data collection
approaches;
 Examine findings to improve student
learning;
 Revise assessments for the future as needed
– not static.
Characteristics
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 Asks important questions;
 Reflects learning outcomes;
 Is linked to decision making about the
curriculum;
 Includes direct evidence of learning;
 Contains a variety of assessment tools;
 Provides information for improvement of
both teaching and learning.
Techniques – Immediate Feedback
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 Minute papers – teachers ask students at the end
of the class, or week, to write a few sentences about
what they learned during the class(es), and their
most important unanswered question(s).
 Critical incident reports – capture vivid
happenings that the student considers significant.
 Journals – document the learning taking place
throughout the course, reviewed after each exam
or test.
 Reflections – similar to minute papers.
Methods
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 Exams – multiple choice, true-false,
extended response, etc.
 Performance assessments – performances,
projects, oral presentations, simulations, etc.
 Portfolios
 Juried activities – multiple raters;
 Standardized test banks – often available
for textbook.
Mathematics (Education) Example
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Describe in words how quadratic equations were
solved in ancient times compared to today.
2. Give the advantages and disadvantages of the
geometric approach compared to the algebraic
approach to teaching quadratics.
3. Solve the quadratic equation x^2 + 10 = 7x
a. Algebraically
b. Geometrically
1.
Tomography Example
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 Given the top, front and right view of an object,
reconstruct what the 3D object looks like using 9
balls (or gumdrops).
Example from BioMath
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You are a Biomath graduate student conducting research in the Amazon
Rainforest. One day you are lucky enough to stumble upon a previously
undiscovered creature. To name this creature (perhaps after yourself!) it
is important to determine its place on the evolutionary tree of life. After
sequencing a section of chromosome 6 you use a computer to look for
matches to any known species. The computer finds that the genes from
chromosome 6 correspond to the genes in the frillneck lizard (a currently
living species) ,but they are not in the same order. Your task now is to
create a phylogenetic tree to show the
relationship between the newly discovered creature and the frillneck
lizard for your local natural history museum. The museum wants a
display of your findings using model creatures complete with a drawing of
the most likely phylogenetic tree. The order of genes is as follows:
New creature: 1 3 2 5 7 4 6
Frillneck lizard (Chlamydosaurus kingii): 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Rubrics
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What are they?
 A rubric is a scoring tool that explicitly represents
the performance expectations for an assignment or
piece of work.
 A rubric divides the assigned work into component
parts and provides clear descriptions of the
characteristics of the work associated with each
component, at varying levels of mastery.
 Rubrics can be used for a wide array of assignments:
papers, projects, oral presentations, artistic
performances, group projects, etc.
Advantages
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 Grading according to an explicit and descriptive set of
criteria that is designed to reflect the weighted
importance of the objectives of the assignment helps
ensure that the instructor’s grading standards don’t
change over time.
 Grading consistency is difficult to maintain over time
because of fatigue, shifting standards based on prior
experience, or intrusion of other criteria.
 Rubrics can reduce the time spent grading by reducing
uncertainty and by allowing instructors to refer to the
rubric description associated with a score rather than
having to write long comments.
 Helps identify strengths and weaknesses of the class.
Examples
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 See Notes
Specific rubrics
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Develop scoring rubrics for:
1. An essay question on an exam.
2. A required paper for your course.
Your courses
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 Using the learning outcomes developed in the
morning session, produce three examples of possible
assessments to meet one or more of the learning
outcomes.
 Share your assessments with others to get a critique.
 Using suggestions from others, revise your
assessments.
 Choose two more learning outcomes and describe 3
ways to assess whether the learning outcomes have
been met.
Combining Individual and Group
Evaluations
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Example:
3 tests
4 quizzes
final exam
group project
participation
100 pts. each
25 pts. each
200 pts.
300 pts.
100 pts.
Option of one test being a group test.
30%
10%
20%
30%
10%
Your course
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Develop two course scoring schemata.
Flexible Grading
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Example:
Component
range available
Homework
10 - 25%
Quizzes
25 – 40%
Final Exam
20 – 40%
Papers
20 – 30%
Choice must add up to 100%
Other components could be added such as self
evaluation, class participation, performances, etc.
Your course
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Develop a flexible grading scheme for your
course.
Would you use it? If not, why not?