Chapter 2 What Is Continuous Performance-Based Assessment?

2

What Is Continuous What Is Continuous Performance-Based Performance-Based

Assessment?Assessment?

C H A P T E R

Grant Wiggins: Performance-Based Assessment

• Testing should represent central experiences in learning.

• Give students an opportunity to showcase learning in areas where they should be competent.

• Wiggins and McTighe (1998): Three basic types of assessment:

1. Quiz and test items

2. Academic prompts

3. Performance tasks and projects

(continued)

Grant Wiggins—Performance-Based Assessment (continued)

Characteristics of Performance-Based Assessment

• Open-ended

• Complex

• Authentic

• Require the presentations of worthwhile tasks designed to be representative of performances in the field

• Emphasize higher-level thinking and more complex learning

• Expect students to present their work publicly

(continued)

Characteristics of Performance-Based Assessment (continued)

• Articulate criteria in advance so that students know how they will be evaluated.

• Involve the examination of the process as well as the products of learning.

• Embed assessments so firmly in the curriculum that they are practically indistinguishable from instruction.

Worthwhile Tasks

• Performance-based assessments can include game play, dance or gymnastics routine, track meet or swim meet, and projects (e.g., design a fitness center).

• The tasks that physical activity experts (e.g., announcers, officials) are required to do can provide ideas for possible performance-based assessments.

Higher-Level Thinking and Complex Learning

• Successful assessments make students analyze, synthesize, and evaluate.

• Many complex decisions for choice of skill or strategy during game play.

• Game play assessments evaluate the students’ ability to make choices.

• Assessments using higher-level thinking are more challenging and meaningful.

Articulate Criteria in Advance

• Providing students with criteria helps demystify the assessment.

• Allows them to focus on important factors while completing assessment.

• Writing down expectations helps students understand what exactly is expected of them.

Assessments Are Firmly Embedded in Instruction

• Performance-based assessments have an instructional component, so learning and assessing can work simultaneously.

• Reciprocal teaching style requires students to analyze the performance of a partner with criteria from the teacher.

• Peer teaching instructional model requires students to take the information provided by the teacher and teach someone else.

Student’s Work Is Presented Publicly When Possible

• Game play and athletic activities are done with an audience.

• Audience affects assessment in two ways:

– Holds people accountable for their best work.

– May change the focus for the assessment.

• An audience, real or simulated, provides an element of authenticity (Wiggins 1989a).

Process and Product of Learning Are Both Important

• The process of learning is just as important as the final product.

• The process students use to complete the task and assessment task must be included in the evaluation criteria.

Types of Performance-Based Assessments

Teacher observation Essays

Peer observation Open-response questions

Self-observation Journals

Game play and modified game play

Student projects

Role-plays Student performances

Event tasks Student logs

Interviews Portfolios

Teacher Observations

• Observing students and providing oral feedback is not an assessment.

• Assessments must result in a written record that documents students’ learning.

• Focus on varying ability levels when assessing large classes.

• Use observations for parent–teacher conferences.

Peer Observation

• With peer observation, students have their own personal teacher to do an evaluation of performance.

• Checklists or simple rubrics can be used to provide feedback.

• Teach students how to do assessments in which criteria are important.

• Encourage students to evaluate honestly.

• Peer observation should not contribute to the observed student’s grade.

Self-Observation

• Self-observations can improve performance and develop a skill important for adult learning.

• Teachers must educate students about doing this type of assessment.

• Specific criteria are necessary for guidance.

• Self-observations are not appropriate for student grades.

Game Play and Modified Game Play

• A performance-based evaluation done while students are playing a sport or activity.

• Various aspects can be evaluated: psychomotor skills, knowledge of rules, use of strategy, teamwork.

• Provides the first step in improving game play performance.

• Small-sided games are easier to evaluate because there are fewer people to observe.

Role-Plays

• Scenarios developed by teachers to assess some components of physical activity.

• Great for assessing the components of affective domain.

• Teachers can present challenging real-world problems and evaluate decisions made.

• They may be live, videotaped, or written.

• Can be used in student portfolios.

Event Tasks

• Performance tasks that can be completed within one class period (NASPE 2004).

• Include psychomotor activity.

– Example: Have students create a game with certain equipment and assess their knowledge of the elements and strategies of a game.

• Adventure education event tasks can evaluate problem solving, cooperation, and team building.

Interviews

• Interview students to evaluate knowledge.

• Can be used to sample student knowledge rather than assess every student.

• Information gained can be used in planning future lessons.

• Benefits students for whom English is a second language, those with learning disabilities, and those with writing deficiencies.

Essays

• Used to evaluate cognitive knowledge.

• Students are given a realistic task and an audience, and a product is created.

• Tasks are open-ended so students have a variety of ways to answer them.

• Allow for student creativity.

Open-Response Questions

• Students are presented with a real-world scenario or problem and given an opportunity to solve it.

• Assess how students apply knowledge in the real world.

• The answer tends to depend on the situation and there are several ways to respond correctly.

• Requires higher-order thinking to respond.

Journals

• Provides an excellent opportunity to assess the affective domain.

– Used to self-assess skills.

– Can help a teacher become aware of a student’s struggles, competence, sense of teamwork, or fair play.

– Requires students to write critical elements of a skill and assess cognitive knowledge.

• Do not evaluate or grade affective domain.

Student Projects

• Require time outside of class to complete.

• Students use knowledge gained in class and apply to real-world setting.

• Use higher levels of thinking by creating a new product, analyzing a situation or performance, or making an evaluation.

• Teachers should not penalize students for limited resources.

Student Performances

• Used as culminating events in performance-based assessment.

• Teachers design parameters for culminating performance before the unit begins.

• Examples are gymnastics routine, class tournament, training for a run.

• Students are required to use higher-level thinking skills.

Student Logs

• Method of recording results from practice sessions.

• Students can document improvement.

• Logs can document practice or out of class activity.

• Teachers can use information in logs to help students.

• Used to document effort.

Portfolios

• Collections of materials or artifacts that demonstrate competence.

• Used to document growth over time.

• Working portfolios involve a place where students gather diverse information about mastery.

• Evaluation portfolios are turned in for assessment and should include narrative or reflections.

How Performance-Based Assessments Change Instruction

• Main purpose of assessment should be to document student learning.

• Teachers encouraged to coach students to reach a level of excellence.

• Changes in teaching philosophy are necessary.

Teacher Becomes a Coach

• Teacher becomes a coach who brings out optimal performance.

• Teachers and students work together to enhance student learning.

• Assign projects and assessments and coach students to excellence.

Greater Use of Formative Assessment

• Provides information teachers use to adapt instruction for meeting students’ needs.

• Students are given additional chances to demonstrate mastery.

• Formative assessment functions as excellent feedback throughout instruction.

• Summative assessments do not allow any second chances to improve.

Assessments Are Progressively More Difficult

• In progressive assessments, students evolve from the performance and assessment of simple to more complex skills.

– Must be authentic.

– Can be used to track students’ performance.

• Checkpoints: Teacher can monitor student performance across trials and time.

Learning and Progress Seen Through Multiple Lenses

• Multiple assessments are needed in order to see a clear picture of students’ ability.

• Single assessment form is not sufficient to measure complex material in units.

• Several types of assessments give complete idea of students’ learning.

Advantages of Performance-Based Assessment

• Direct observation of student learning

• Good instructional alignment

• Interesting assessments

• Instructional feedback

• Measures multiple objectives and concepts

• Active student learning

• Higher-order thinking skills

• Multiple chances to get it right

• Enjoyable for students

Issues When Using Performance-Based Assessments

• Concerns about reliability and validity

• Failing to set criteria for an assessment

• Teaching to the test

• Assessment is time consuming

• Parents completing the assessment

• Focusing assessment on irrelevant content