CLASSROOM ASSESSMENT FOR STUDENT

LEARNING

Adapted from Assessment Training Institute, Pearson Education, Inc., 2010

Used with skill, assessment can• Motivate the unmotivated• Restore students’ desire to learn• Encourage students to keep learning • Create—not simply measure—increased

achievement

--Stiggins, Arter, Chappuis, & Chappuis, 2004

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Classroom AssessmentGuiding Principles

• Gather accurate information about student achievement

• Use assessment process and results to promote maximum student learning

Keys to Quality Classroom Assessment

Think of a time you were assessed and it was a negative experience. What made it negative?

Now think of a time you were assessed and it was a positive experience. What made it positive?

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PURPOSE

ACCURACY EFFECTIVE USE

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Key 1: Clear Assessment Purpose

Always begin by asking

• Who’s going to usethe information?

• How will they use it?

• What information will they need?

• Do our assessment practices meet students’ information needs?

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Two Assessment PurposesSUMMATIVE• Assessments OF Learning

How much have students learned as of a particular point in time?

FORMATIVE• Assessments FOR Learning

How can we use assessment information to help students learn more?

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Balanced Assessment

SummativeProvides evidence of achievement to certify student competence or program effectiveness

Assessment for learning

Use assessments to help students assess and adjust their own learning

Formative uses of summative dataUse of summative evidence to inform what comes next for individuals or groups of students

FormativeFormal and informal processes teachers and students use to gather evidence to directly improve the learning of students assessed

Assessment for learning

Use classroom Use classroom assessments to inform assessments to inform teacher’s decisionsteacher’s decisions

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PURPOSE

TARGET

ACCURACY EFFECTIVE USE

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Key 2:Clear Learning Targets

• Are our targets clear to us? Are they clear to students?

• Can we identify what kinds of targets we have?• Do our assignments and assessments reflect the

targets students have had the opportunity to learn?

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PURPOSE

TARGET

ACCURACY EFFECTIVE USE

DESIGN

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Key 3: Sound Assessment Design

• Which assessment methods are the best match for the learning targets?

• What is an appropriate sample size?• Are the items, tasks, and scoring rubrics of

high quality?• Does the assessment control for bias?• Will the assessment yield information that

students can use, when appropriate?

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PURPOSE

TARGET

ACCURACY EFFECTIVE USE

DESIGN

EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

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Key 4: Effective Communication

• Do formative assessment results function as effective feedback to students and teachers?

• Are students engaged in tracking and communicating about their evolving learning?

Formative Purpose

• Is achievement tracked by learning target and reported by standard?

• Do grades communicate achievement accurately?

• Are standardized test results used appropriately?

Summative Purpose

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PURPOSE

TARGET

ACCURACY EFFECTIVE USE

STUDENTINVOLVEMENT

DESIGN

EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

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Key 5: Student InvolvementKey 1: Are students’ information needs planned for?

Key 2: Do students have a clear vision of the intended learning?

Key 3: Are students able to self-assess and set goals on the basis of their assessment results?

Key 4: Do students receive and offer effective feedback during the learning?

Key 5: Do students track, reflect on, and share their learning progress?

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Understanding the Importance of the Keys to Quality

• Thinking about each of these five keys to quality:– Which key(s) did your negative experiences

violate? – Which key(s) did your positive experiences

reinforce?

• Categorize the experiences according to the keys to quality.

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Inside the BLACK BOXRaising Standards Through Classroom Assessment

A Review of Research on the Effects of Formative

Assessmentby Paul Black and Dylan Wiliam

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FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT:All those activities undertaken by teachers and by their students [that] provide information to be used as FEEDBACK to modify the teaching and learning activities in which they are engaged.

--Black & Wiliam, 1998

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Research consistently shows that regular, high-quality FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT increases student achievement.

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Activity Directions• Read through the excerpt from “Inside the Black

Box.”

• Note the 3–5 most important points to you. Then note the practices that Black and Wiliam suggest are essential to improved achievement. (5 minutes)

• Share with a group of 2 or 3 others at your table. (5 minutes)

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Black & Wiliam Review of Research:

1. Does better FORMATIVE assessment = higher learning?

2. Does formative assessment need improving?

3. What improvement is needed?

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Black & Wiliam Research on Effects of Formative Assessment:

.4 to .7 Gain

..7 Standard Deviation Score Gain = 25 Percentile Points on ITBS (middle of score range) 70 SAT Score Points 4 ACT Score Points

Largest Gain for Low Achievers

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Recommended Practices

• Increased descriptive feedback, reduced evaluative feedback

• Increased student self-assessment

• Increased opportunities for students to communicate their evolving learning during the teaching

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The ultimate user of assessment information is the student.

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What Assessment for Learning Looks Like in the Classroom

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• A key premise is that for students to be able to improve, they must have the capacity to monitor the quality of their own work during actual production. This in turn requires that students:

• Know what high quality work looks like

• Be able to objectively compare their work to the standard

• Have a store of tactics to make work better based on their observations

• --Royce Sadler, 1989

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Assessment for learning meets students’ information needs:

• Where am I going?

• Where am I now?

• How can I close the gap?

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Assessment for Learning Strategies• Where am I going?

1. Provide a clear statement of the learning target

2. Use examples and models

• Where am I now?

3. Offer regular descriptive feedback

4. Teach students to self-assess and set goals

• How can I close the gap?

5. Design focused lessons

6. Teach students focused revision

7. Engage students in self-reflection; let them

keep track of and share their learning

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Activity Directions• Participants count off 1-7.• Each person with the number one reads the

explanation of Strategy 1, etc.• Be ready to explain the key idea of your strategy

and how it addresses the AFL key question. • Note ideas that are familiar and ideas that are new

to you.• Share briefly with the whole group on each of the

seven strategies.

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New Idea: Formative assessment can

and should be done BY STUDENTS

as well as by teachers. The key to improvement is how students and teachers

use assessment information.

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Assessment for Learning:

A GPS system for students, too.

On the Way to Quality Assessment!

Start now!

Go slow!

Don’t stop!

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PURPOSE

TARGET

ACCURACY EFFECTIVE USE

STUDENTINVOLVEMENT

DESIGN

EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

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Assessment for Learning Strategies• Where am I going?

1. Provide a clear statement of the learning target

2. Use examples and models

• Where am I now?

3. Offer regular descriptive feedback

4. Teach students to self-assess and set goals

• How can I close the gap?

5. Design focused lessons

6. Teach students focused revision

7. Engage students in self-reflection; let them keep track of

and share their learning

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Requirement for Success?Quality Assessment!

• All assessments arise from high-quality content standards

• All assessments produce accurate evidence

• All users use assessment to benefit student learning

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Expected Benefits and Proven Results

• Assessment connected to learning

• Better instruction focused on standards

• Profound achievement gains for all students, with the largest gains for lowest achievers

• More self-managed learning by students