Description: The topic of study this week in EDAT 6115 was “Assessing Student Learning” (Slavin, 2015). We looked at instructional objectives, the importance of evaluation, various types of evaluation, test questions, and methods for grading. The focus was on using this information to increase the effectiveness of teachers’ lessons and to increase learning for students.
Analysis: There is no
way to understand where a student in his/her acquisition of knowledge without
assessment. Teachers must use some type of assessment in order to gauge a
student’s growth as well as the effectiveness of his/her teaching. Assessments
come in many forms and can be formal or informal.
Instructional objectives are “statements of skills or
concepts that students are expected to know at the end of some period of
instruction” (Slavin, 2015). They must
match the assessments that will be given as well as aligned to state standards.
Instructional objectives should be both clear and measurable. They contain
three main components: performance, conditions, and criteria. The performance component
specifies what the learner is expected to do. The objective describes the
conditions under which the student will perform. The criterion defines the performance
level required to meet the objective. Teachers plan their lessons around
instructional objectives so that students will meet the objectives.
Backwards planning is one way that teachers can write
objectives to ensure that all standards are being covered. Teachers first write
broad, long term objectives; they then break down those objectives into
smaller, more specific objectives. When writing objectives, teachers should be
aware of the verbiage used. Different skills, levels of understanding, and
purposes should also be taken into consideration. One way this can be
accomplished is through the use of a taxonomy, such as Bloom’s Taxonomy or Webb’s
Depth of Knowledge. These taxonomies “[categorize] tasks according to the
complexity of thinking required to successfully complete them” (Aungst, 2014).
It is imperative that teachers plan instructional objectives in advance as they
communicate to students what they will be expected to do; therefore, the
objectives must be accurate, and teachers must be fully prepared to instruct
students towards mastery of the objectives.
Evaluations are valuable aspects of teaching and learning.
Waugh and Gronlund (2013) as cited by Slavin (2015) list six key purposes of
evaluations:
1.
“Feedback to students
2.
Feedback to teachers
3.
Information to parents
4.
Information for selection and certification
5.
Information for accountability
6.
Incentives to increase student effort”
Feedback is a necessary part of education, and it is
imperative that it be timely. Teachers and students “need to know as soon as
possible whether their investments of time and energy in a given activity are
paying off in increased learning” (Slavin, 2015). When students are provided
specific feedback on their strengths and weaknesses, they are more likely to
increase their efforts towards success. Teachers require feedback in order to
analyze the effectiveness of their instruction. Using feedback, teachers can
adjust their teaching by incorporating different strategies or, perhaps,
slowing down a bit, and thereby, increasing student engagement and learning.
Evaluation provides valuable information to many involved in
education. Parents are able to stay up to date on their student’s academic
progress or lack thereof. Parents can use this information to reinforce student
attendance, study habits, and requesting additional help when needed.
Evaluation results are used in the selection of students for particular
programs such as gifted services, special education services, or program of
study tracks. In addition, these results can be used to provide certification
from a program of study or access to a particular program of study. Accountability
is a major factor in education. States use evaluation results to make decisions
regarding teachers’, administrations’, and districts’ effectiveness in
educating students. Lastly, according to the list of evaluations’ purposes is
that of providing information for incentives. Results, also referred to as
grades, provides a means of motivating students to perform to the best of their
abilities. Often, awards and prizes are given to students performing well or
exhibiting growth as revealed by their evaluation results. Long term
incentives, such as getting into preferred colleges, the military, or
work-based learning programs are of value to students as well.
Various types of evaluations are in use by teachers and
districts to reveal information regarding student learning and teacher
instruction. The major categories are formative and summative assessments and
norm and criterion referenced assessments. Each of these assessments are used
for particular purposes. Formative assessments are basically used to see how
students are doing within a unit of study. Teachers use this data to adjust
his/her instruction or to provide additional instruction to students requiring
intervention. Summative assessments are primarily used to determine how well
students did at the end of a particular unit of study. The data is used to make
comparisons between students. Norm referenced and criterion referenced
assessments are differentiated based on the interpretation of student scores. Norm
referenced assessments focus primarily on comparing student scores across a
district, state, or the nation. Criterion referenced assessments focus
primarily on “students’ mastery of specific skills, regardless of how other
students did on the same skills” (Slavin, 2015). To make a connection between
these types of assessments, Slavin (2015) states that “formative evaluation is
almost always norm referenced [while] summative testing…can be either criterion
referenced or norm referenced.” The difference simply lies in the use of the
scores.
Some teachers use alternative forms of assessment that are
different from the traditional paper and pencil tests. Portfolio and performance
assessments allow students to show what they know “through work samples or
direct real-world applications” (Slavin, 2015). Performance assessments require
students to apply the concepts and knowledge that they have learned and utilize
higher level thinking skills (Hilliard, 2015). Some might argue that these
types of assessments are more indicative of a student’s learning than
traditional assessments.
Methods of grading are quite different depending upon the
grade level being taught. In early elementary, some districts use standards
based grading with meets, progressing, or not demonstrating as the “grade”
given. As students progress through grades, they begin earning numerical grades
or letter grades. In order to determine a grade that will be placed on report
cards, teachers average scores earned on assignments and assessments.
Generally, assignments and assessments are weighted differently. The calculated grades are reported on report
cards or progress reports that are provided to parents.
Reflection: It would be a difficult task to determine how
students are progressing through the curriculum without evaluations. When I
taught kindergarten, many of the assessments that I performed were informal and
based on observations and student performance. As a ninth grade Biology
teacher, I will approach assessment in a somewhat different manner. I found the
explanations of different types of evaluations in our text to be very useful to
me. As a matter of fact, I will be working for the next three days with the
Biology department to revamp our assessments in order to increase the rigor.
This is being done to better prepare our students for the Milestones EOC. I
will be able to use the information from this week’s reading as I work with my
colleagues this week. Understanding how assessments should be written will help
me prepare more effective assessments that will provide an accurate picture of
student achievement.
References:
Aungst, G. (2014). Using Webb's depth
of knowledge to increase rigor. Retrieved from:
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/webbs-depth-knowledge-increase-rigor-gerald-aungst
Hilliard, P. (2015). Performance-based
assessment: Reviewing the basics. Retrieved from:
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/performance-based-assessment-reviewing-basics-patricia
hilliard
Slavin, R. E. (2015). Educational
psychology: Theory and practice. Boston, MA: Pearson
Education.
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