Assessment Professional Learning Module 1: Connecting Assessment with Learning

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Assessment Professional Learning Module 1
Connecting Assessment with Learning
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Principles, Policy, Practice inform each other
Theoretical Principles
Policy
Practice
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(No Transcript)
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The learner is at the centre(student or teacher)
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Principles of Learning and Teaching (PoLT) No.
5Assessment practices are an integral part of
teaching and learning.

• Assessment contributes to planning at a number of
  levels. Monitoring of student learning is
  continuous and encompasses a variety of aspects
  of understanding and practice. Assessment
  criteria are explicit and feedback is designed to
  support students further learning and encourage
  them to monitor and take responsibility for their
  own learning.

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30-second Think(quiet, timed reflection)
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Common purposes of assessment

• Motivation
• (carrot or stick)
• Identify prior learning
• Gain feedback
• (for teaching plans)
• Give feedback
• (to students and
• their parents)

• Control the students
• Practice for later assessments
• Create competition
• BUT

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The MOST important reason is to

• improve student learning

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Underpinning our visible assessment practices
are our values about assessment.
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(Gaell Hildebrand 2005, p.5)
Our past experiences were shaped by the values
of the people who organised our assessment and
we support or reject those values (depending on
our reactions and feelings).
What values about assessment do you hold? How
have you come to believe in these?
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The principles underpinning the Standards are

• Learning for all
• Pursuit of excellence
• Engagement and effort
• Respect for evidence
• Openness of mind
• (Victorian Essential Learning Standards Overview
  2005, p. 4-5)

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It is through our assessment that we
communicate to our pupils those things which we
most value. (David Clarke, 1988,
preface)

• Therefore we must assess what we value - across
  all three strands of the essential learnings.

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Flagship Strategy 1Assessment Advice

• Assessment is the ongoing process of gathering,
  analysing and reflecting on evidence to make
  informed and consistent judgements to improve
  future student learning.
• http//www.sofweb.vic.edu.au/blueprint/fs1/assessm
  ent.asp

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Three purposes

• Assessment OF learning
• Assessment FOR learning
• Assessment AS learning
• What are the differences?

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• Assessment OF learning
• occurs when teachers use evidence of student
  learning to make judgements on student
  achievement against goals and standards.
• It is usually formal, frequently occurring at the
  end of units of work where it sums up student
  achievement at a particular point in time. It is
  often organised around themes or major projects
  and judgements may be based on student
  performance on multi-domain assessment tasks. It
  has a summative use, showing how students are
  progressing against the Standards, and a
  formative use, providing evidence to inform long
  term planning.

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• Assessment FOR learning
• occurs when teachers use inferences about student
  progress to inform their teaching.
• It is frequent, formal or informal (e.g. quality
  questioning, anecdotal notes, written comments),
  embedded in teaching and provides clear and
  timely feedback that helps students in their
  learning progression. It provides evidence that
  informs, or shapes, short term planning for
  learning (and because it helps shape, or form,
  learning it is formative assessment).

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• Assessment AS learning
• occurs when students reflect on and monitor their
  progress to inform their future learning goals.
• It is regularly occurring, formal or informal
  (e.g. peer feedback buddies, formal self
  assessment) and helps students take
  responsibility for their own past and future
  learning. It builds metacognition as it involves
  students in understanding the standards expected
  of them, in setting and monitoring their own
  learning goals, and in developing strategies for
  working towards achieving them. (Because it helps
  shape learning it is formative assessment.)

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• When the cook tastes the soup,
• thats formative
• when the guests taste the soup,
• thats summative.
• (Robert Stake, cited by Lorna Earl 2003, p. 24)
• As you can see from this example, there is a
  formative aspect to the summative judgement (made
  by the guests, in this case).
• For example, I might change the recipe next time
  
• if my guests didnt like it!

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Variations in terminology use

• Some researchers, such as Paul Black and Dylan
  Wiliam (1998, 2002, 2003), use the term
• Assessment FOR learning as an umbrella term.
• They incorporate assessment AS learning
• and the formative uses of assessment OF
  learning under the umbrella.
• We have set you some reading from their famous
  work.

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Assessment practices are an integral part of
teaching and learning.
PoLT Principle No. 5

• In learning environments that reflect this
  principle the teacher
• 5.1 designs assessment practices that reflect the
  full range of learning program objectives
• 5.2 ensures that students receive frequent
  constructive feedback that supports further
  learning
• 5.3 makes assessment criteria explicit
• 5.4 uses assessment practices that encourage
  reflection and self assessment
• 5.5 uses evidence from assessment to inform
  planning and teaching.

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Assessment FOR learning
Assessment AS Learning
Assessment OF learning