Assessment As the Foundation of the Teacher Work Sample

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Assessment As the Foundation of the Teacher Work
Sample
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• Assessment is the heart of the Teacher Work
  Sample.
• Instruction and assessment are linked in an
  ongoing cycle assessment continuously informs
  instruction.

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(No Transcript)
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WHY ASSESS?
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The Purposes of Assessment

• Selecting, clarifying and evaluating educational
  objectives
• What is really important for students to know
  and be able to do?
• Planning what we will assess helps us to know
  where we will put our instructional emphasis.

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• Planning instruction
• Assessment can help us find out what our students
  already know, making our teaching more efficient
  and more effective.

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• Its important to consider students multiple
  intelligences when we plan for assessment.
• Knowing students multiple intelligences can help
  us to develop appropriate assessments and to plan
  a wider range of classroom activities and
  educational experiences to meet all students
  needs.

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• Evaluating student work
• Reporting and comparing student progress
• (Consider that alternative assessment measures,
  such as student led conferences, videos of
  student performances, student journals, etc. can
  provide different perspectives on a students
  progress.)

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• Counseling
• Example Use student self-assessments to help
  students assess their own strengths and
  weaknesses in the context of academics, career
  planning and personal growth.

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• Motivating and encouraging students
• Assessment serves as a motivator when students
  can see their progress and accomplishments.
• Consider that tests and quizzes often only
  motivate the good students because they are the
  ones who achieve good scores through their
  efforts.

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• Giving special recognition to students
• Selecting students for special programs or
  instruction
• Evaluating program effectiveness
• Holding schools accountable

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• SOME DEFINITIONS

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• Assessment A formal attempt to determine
  students status with respect to an educational
  variable of interest.
• Evaluation An appraisal of the worth of an
  educational program or, in the case of classroom
  teachers, either the effectiveness of an
  instructional activity or the competence of the
  teacher.
• (Popham, 2002)

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• Assessment is the ongoing process of gathering
  and analyzing evidence of what a student can do.
  Evaluation is the process of interpreting the
  evidence and making judgments and decisions based
  on the evidence.
• (Burke, 2005, p. xviii)

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• Thus, with Teacher Work Sample methodology,
  assessment is what teachers do when they gather
  and analyze student performance data.
• Evaluation is what teachers do when they
  interpret those data to determine the
  effectiveness of their teaching.

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Types of Assessments

• Formative Information and data gathered along
  the way which is used to improve, modify or
  revise a program, curriculum, or unit of
  instruction in order to enhance student learning.
  This type of evaluation is helpful in guiding
  ongoing classroom instruction.

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• Summative The use of some type of assessment to
  determine the effectiveness of a unit, course of
  study or program after it has been completed. An
  example is a final exam or the test at the end of
  a unit of study. It should be reliable and
  generally allows for comparisons among students.
  It is often used as a means of grading students
  but may also be used for future planning or
  curriculum and instruction.

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The Teacher Work Sample requires

• A pre-assessment, to determine who has already
  mastered the learning objectives and who may
  require additional assistance throughout the unit
  of study
• Formative assessments, to be used throughout the
  unit of study to determine whether students are
  learning and to modify instruction when needed
• A summative assessment, to determine which
  students have met the objectives, the quality of
  instruction, and future plans for instruction.

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The Pre-Assessment

• A pre-assessment is done prior to planning the
  unit of study. The instructional plan is
  developed based upon the results of the
  pre-assessment.

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• Curriculum Compacting is the term given to the
  use of pre-assessment data for individualizing
  instruction.
• Students who have already mastered the material
  are given alternative assignments.
• Compacting involves identifying the content or
  skill area and/or the standard or benchmark,
  pre-assessing, documenting mastery, and providing
  alternate activities for students who have
  mastered the material. (Coil Merritt, 2001,
  p. 60)

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• STOP
• Examine the Curriculum Compactor Handout

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Formative Assessment

• Formative assessments are used throughout
  instruction to help teachers determine if
  students are learning the content or acquiring
  the skills specified in the learning objectives.

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Types of formative assessments

• Because students learn in different ways,
  assessments should be varied to allow all
  students to demonstrate competence.
• STOP
• Think of some assessments that you have used in
  your own teaching.

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Here are some of the assessments that are often
noted in the literature

• Performance tasks, such as
• Statistical analyses
• Brochures
• Posters
• Power Point presentation
• Videotapes
• Journal entries
• Reading performance (e.g., running record)
• Speeches/oral presentations
• Drama
• Portfolios

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• Consider also using
• Learning logs
• Reflective lesson logs
• Graphic organizers
• K-W-L
• Observation checklists

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Directions Complete the mind map on the Middle
Ages by filling in the main components in the big
circles and the subpoints in the smaller circles
(1 point per circle).
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Letter to the Editor Checklist
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• Some cautions
• Performance tasks should be linked to standards
  and should measure the learning objectives
• Formative assessments should determine individual
  students knowledge and/or skills (thus, a
  whole-group discussion generally is not
  effective as a formative assessment, unless you
  use a multiple-response system)
• Scoring rubrics need to be weighted so that
  knowledge of content is central

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Weighted Rubric for Portfolio (Developed from
Checklist) Student Subject Date
Standard Use reading, writing, listening, and
speaking skills to research and apply information
for specific purposes.
Final Score Final Grade (100)
How to Assess Authentic Learning 71
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• What about tests?

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• Its difficult to construct a good teacher-made
  test.
• Tests often emphasize lower-level thinking.
• Tests are often ambiguous.
• Tests emphasize verbal/linguistic intelligence,
  putting poor readers at a disadvantage.

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We need to change the way we think about tests.

• Tests should be instructional and ongoing (i.e.,
  more before the fact versus after the fact).
• Tests should be constructed prior to instruction.
  
• Teachers need to make adjustments in tests for
  various learning styles, multiple intelligences,
  etc.

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• Efforts should be made to construct tests that
  motivate students to learn, provide choices, and
  make allowances for individual differences.
• (Burke, 2005, p. 106)

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• Well-balanced tests include questions requiring
  varying levels of cognition
• Recall
• Processing information
• Applying information
• Consider the verbs used in constructing test
  items. (HANDOUT Three Story Intellect)

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Some Ideas

• Have students help to construct tests. What is
  most important to know? How can I tell if youve
  learned it?
• Give students some choice in the questions they
  select.
• Provide accommodations to help assure success.
• SEE HANDOUTS

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• Candidates should consider all of these elements
  in planning their assessments for the Teacher
  Work Sample.
• The various assessments used to determine student
  learning should be planned prior to instruction
  (and/or with student input), and should be linked
  to the learning objectives.

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HANDOUT KTIP Teacher Performance Assessment
pgs. 30 32

• Note that pre- and post-assessments do not have
  to be pencil and paper tests.
• Note that the Assessment Design Checklist
  includes several principles for good test
  construction.
• Note that formative assessments are to be
  integral components of instruction (p. 30).
• Note that student self-assessment is expected as
  part of the assessment plan.