Assessment

1. Assessment Assessment = the process of gathering evidence about a student’s level of achievement in a specified subject area and of making inferences based on that evidence for a variety of purposes. (NASPE 1995)

2. Q&A • What important things have you learned or know about assessment?

3. Q&A • What does assessment entail at your practicum site? • Think, pair, share

4. Lends credibility to the program Leads to objective vs. subjective knowledge of what students can do Motivates students to improve/practice/perform Helps teachers to address state & national stds. in a structured & organized way Great advocacy tool In P.E. we can assess authentically Lack of knowledge about how to assess Requires lesson plans with focused objectives that address state stds. A lot of paperwork Too many students Who will care? Two Sides to the Story

5. Q&A • What is the purpose of assessment? • Provide students with information on their progress & status • Motivate students to improve their performance • To make a judgment about the effectiveness of teaching • Provide information on the status of students in relationship to objectives so that instruction can be adjusted • To evaluate the curriculum or program • To place students in an appropriate instructional group • To provide teacher with objective information on students’ status for grading purposes

6. Q&A • What should be assessed? • What is listed as the essential content and objectives for lessons in that unit • Should every lesson have an assessment? • No but what is taught should be assessed at some point

7. Importance • Assessment represents the fruition (realization) of all the planning and instruction! It represents student learning of the content delineated in standards. • Assessment is a weak area in physical education yet education today is about accountability. Why is this a problem? • Article on HS PE

8. Terms • Norm-Referenced Assessment • How well a performance compares with that of others; A level of achievement relative to a clearly defined subgroup of individuals. Usually scored in percentiles • Examples? • Criterion-Referenced Assessment • A specific, predetermined level of achievement referenced to a scientific or conditional standard. • Examples? • Formative Assessment • Initial or immediate evaluations. Occur throughout the instructional, training, or research process. Ongoing.  • Examples? • Summative Assessment • Final evaluations that come at the end of an instructional unit • Examples? • Authentic Assessment • Evaluation given under real-world conditions • Examples?

9. Common assessments used in PE In this powerpoint: • Checklists • Rating scales • Rubrics

10. Checklists • Best used when the performance being judged is “black and white,” “on or off” etc. Not suitable for performances where there are shades of gray. • What are some examples of outcomes that can be assessed in PE with a checklist? • Example

11. Rating Scale • Quantitative rating scale – uses numbers to distinguish levels of performance • How often was each individual able to find their correct heart rate within 5 beats? • Qualitative rating scale – uses qualifer words to distinguish levels of performance • S was able to position self correctly while playing a 1-2 zone defense in basketball: always, most of the time, occasionally and rarely. c • Any problems you see with qualitative scales? • Example

12. Does Sally have a legit gripe?

13. Analytic Rubric A rubric is a scale of criteria that indicates and identifies levels of performance. It is written by the teacher before instruction begins and shared with students. It also... • Helps set expectations • Facilitates self-assessment • Helps parents feel more confident and comfortable with grading procedures • and is great for accountability • Rubrics are the gold standard! • Example from Net/Wall

14. Steps in writing a rubric • Determine levels of performance (advanced, proficient, basic and below basic) • Even number of columns are better than an odd # b/c it creates a “forced choice.” You as the teacher must decide if the performance was “above average” or “below average.” • Decide on the outcomes you want to measure in the far left column • Assign “weights” to the outcomes to reflect their importance

15. Steps in writing a rubric • Write the language in the advanced column using clear and concise language • Have no more than three “threads” or ideas per outcome (row) • Write the “below basic” column then the middle two (hardest to write) • Create performance “gaps” of a similar amount between each row so the performance varies by a similar degree

16. Using a rubric in the field • Print out a separate rubric for each student • Not recommended! • Create a table of items to assess across the top and student names on the left. • See authentic assessment data recording table • This sheet may be used with virtually any activity you are assessing

17. Practice • Create a rubric for ultimate frisbee

18. Common Rubric Mistakes • Using qualifier words like usually, sometimes etc in the cells b/c those words are very subjective. What is usually to one person may not be to another • Reduces reliability or the likewise two scorers will evaluate the same performance in the same way • Having too many threads • If there are four threads for an outcome, one thread is “advanced”, two are “proficient” and one is a “below basic,” how would you score it?

19. Questions PE Teachers Ask: • Should we grade students on whether they dress for p.e.? • Should we grade students on the speed at which they can run the mile? • Should we grade students on the number of times they are absent or can’t/won’t participate? • Should we grade students on their ability to maintain their heart rate in the target heartrate zone? • Should we grade on x, y, and z?

20. Appropriate practices NASPE • Achievement • appropriate practice: assessment is based upon clearly defined student goals related to appropriate (psychomotor, cognitive, and affective) content. Criteria for determining student achievement are clearly identified. Student grades are based upon individual progress toward the achievement of predetermined goals. • inappropriate practice: students are evaluated and graded on non-content related factors (participation, dress, effort). Students are graded on a single measure that is not valid or reliable.

21. Participation/Achievement Why then are so many teachers still grading inappropriately and not measuring student learning? Helion – beware the “dark side” • Attendance/dress… 40% • Daily effort/attitude/ participation ………. 30% • Knowledge (written test)…………...…………10% • Skill (skills test)……....20% • 100% Attendance/dress ……… 10% Completion of formative assessments………….. 60% Summative assessment… 30% _________ 100% Doolittle and Fay (2002)

22. NASPE 1: • Demonstrates competency in motor skills and movement patterns needed to perform a variety of physical activities • Format - authentic, or rotating station, or pull-out group • Generic Rubrics for Several Activities: Example 1 • Basketball 4th(skill testing) • Underhand VB Serve • Badminton strategy • Video analysis – record and view later • May also do in real-time (Farmington badminton ex.) • Great resource: www.cantoncharterpe.com

23. NASPE 1 • Create and demonstrate a routine (gymnastics, etc) including grades for being an audience member • Informal Assessments – cannot be used for a grade • Self-Assessment – student assessment of oneself • Catching example • Peer Assessment - students assessment of one another student • Recommendations: • Students give feedback on the cues only • Teacher should practice with students the giving and receiving of meaningful feedback • Give corrective and positive feedback together • Give only positive feedback • Don’t attach grades to peer feedback, completion scores only • Advantages: socialization, teaching of others, offsets larger class sizes, peer and self improvement, and greater interaction with the learning objectives

24. NASPE 2: • Demonstrates understanding of movement concepts, principles, strategies, and tactics as they apply to the learning and performance of physical activities • Elementary movement skills: (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10) • Many available on PECentral • http://www.pecentral.org/assessment/paperandpencilassess.asp • Create and post a monthly bulletin board (upper grades) • Individual or Group assignments (personal fitness program, wellness plan, research of community physical activity opportunities) • Picture project: identify &/or correct skill cues from a photograph or demonstration • Sportfolio (1, 2) • Check for Understanding 7-up style: Thumbs up, thumbs down • Students can’t see one another’s answers, use a checklist for scoring • Assess on fitness knowledge, rules, strategies, nutrition etc • Gym exit survey • Pedometers – Write about improvement over time, do math calculations, create goals, etc…

25. NASPE 3: Participates regularly in physical activity • K-2: Draw pictures or ask students how they engage in physical activity at home • 3-12: Create a home activity log in conjunction with the regular classroom teacher • Have parents fill out a survey about their child

26. NASPE 3: Participates regularly in physical activity • 3-12: Practicum – Students required to participate in physical activity field experiences • Athletes are not exempted • Form partnerships with local community resources (fitness centers, tennis clubs, park and recreation leagues, equestrian centers, etc) where students must have their participation verified by a signature • Negotiate discounts or free trial for students • Require X number of hours per month or year; require X number of locations per year

27. NASPE 4: Achieves and maintains a health-enhancing level of physical fitness. Assessing Fitness Levels – There are conflicting viewpoints on how to assess health-related fitness. Some ideas: • Completion of the task • Self-developed form • Criterion referenced - fitnessgram (A=healthy fitness, C=needs improvement) • Fitnessgram profile

28. NASPE: Additional Fitness Considerations • I advocate creating a Cumulative Fitness Report which tracks a students health related fitness achievement/scores 4-12. When a student leaves elementary school, it goes with them to middle school and beyond. • Overweight/Obese Students • PE teachers have a responsibility to help these students because overweight children usually become overweight adults. • Section 504 plan or IFSP

29. NASPE 5 & 6: • NASPE 5: Students will exhibit responsible personal and social behavior that respects self and others in physical activity settings • NASPE 6: Students will choose physical activity for health, enjoyment, challenge, self-expression and/or social interaction to sustain a physically active

30. NASPE 5 & 6: • Farmington levels of involvement • Naugatuck daily grading scale • Hellison’s model • Affective rubrics (hard to write) • 1, 2 • http://www.iowaahperd.org/journal/foraker_article_98.html; http://thenewpe.com/conferences/presentations.htm).

31. Recommendation from Doolittle Article • Set program-wide norms (Victor HS, NY): • 60% skills/tactics • 20% cognitive • 20% level of involvement based on a rubric • Nothing here about dress or attendance, assessments are based upon learning. Anything else is poor teaching.

32. Finding Assessments Online • A lot of what is on the internet is junk or needs extensive modification. Very few are ready for immediate use in class. Expect to need to change them or develop your own. • Look at them through the lens of quality assessment outlined in this powerpoint

33. Administering Assessments • Employ authentic assessments as much as possible to avoid reducing activity time • Even knowing the rules of an activity can be done authentically. • Testing should be private, not public • Scores for each student must be derived; otherwise it is not an assessment

34. Communication • Communicating grades is important both in communicating student progress, measuring student learning in terms of program improvement, and advocacy for PE both inside and outside school. • For example, with fitness assessments, you could send home 2-sided flyer. One side has their child’s fitnessgram results and how to interpret them. The second side could have: • Information about health and physical activity • Information about the PE program • An after-school health and physical activity workshop sponsored by the PE teacher

35. with Parents… • Newsletter combined with… • Report Card

36. Cycle of Instruction