1 / 16

Classroom based formative assessment COI Adolescent Literacy Institute, October, 2008

Classroom based formative assessment COI Adolescent Literacy Institute, October, 2008. Purpose of this presentation:. To identify and clarify the essential features of effective classroom based formative assessments (CBFA). Definitions. Example. Characteristics.

menefer
Download Presentation

Classroom based formative assessment COI Adolescent Literacy Institute, October, 2008

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript


  1. Classroom based formative assessment COI Adolescent Literacy Institute, October, 2008

  2. Purpose of this presentation: To identify and clarify the essential features of effective classroom based formative assessments (CBFA) Definitions Example Characteristics

  3. A short, inclusive definition of Formative Assessment “An assessment is formative to the extent that information from the assessment is fed back within the system and actually used to improve the performance of the system in some way” (p. 31) Black & Wiliam (2007)

  4. A long, restrictive definition of Formative Assessment that links more directly to CBFA “Formative assessment is a process used by teachers and students during instruction that provides feedback to adjust ongoing teaching and learning to improve students’ achievement of intended instructional outcomes. Thus, it is done by the teacher in the classroom for the explicit purpose of diagnosing where students are in their learning, where gaps in knowledge and understanding exist, and how to help teachers and students improve student learning. The assessments are small-scale (a few seconds, a few minutes, certainly less than a class period) and short-cycle (they are often called “minute-by-minute” assessment or formative instruction).

  5. A long, restrictive definition of Formative Assessment that links more directly to CBFA (cont.) Furthermore, the tasks presented may vary from one student to another depending on the teacher’s judgment about the need for specific information about a student at a given point in time. Providing corrective feedback, modifying instruction to improve the student’s understanding, or indicating areas of further instruction are essential aspects of a classroom formative assessment. There is little interest or sense in trying to aggregate formative assessment information beyond the specific classroom” (p. 1). Perie, Marion, Gong, & Wurtzel (2007)

  6. Example of Classroom-based assessment “The assignment was to read three novels by the same author, develop a thesis statement, and defend it in a term paper referring to the literature. To set pupils up for success, the teacher began by providing the pupils with a sample of an outstanding paper to read and analyze to determine what features made it outstanding. They brainstormed and discussed what made it good in class.

  7. Example of Classroom-based assessment Then the teacher gave them a sample paper that was of very poor quality. Again they analyzed and evaluated its features in some detail. Comparing the two papers, they listed essential differences, ultimately collaborating in the development of a set of keys to quality, which they transformed into a set of rating scales that depicted the continuum of quality along each dimension, all in pupil-friendly language and accompanied by examples of pupil work to illustrate each key.

  8. Example of Classroom-based assessment Then, with this specific guidance in place, they drafted their own papers. They exchanged drafts, analyzing and evaluating each other’s work and providing descriptive feedback on how to improve each. If pupils wanted feedback from their teacher on any particular dimension of quality, they could request it and would receive it. The paper was done when the pupil decided it was done. In the end, not every paper was outstanding, but most were of very high quality, and each pupil was confident of that fact before submitting his or her work for final evaluation and grading”(p.9). From Stiggens (2007)

  9. Characteristics of good assessment in the example: Establishing specific and well explained learning goals Setting up instructional situations that provide lots of opportunities for the teacher to assess how well students are doing Providing responsive correction and support to build understanding Engaging students in the establishment of criteria for evaluation—so that they think they are reasonable, and so they understand them

  10. What does this require of teachers within a standards-based environment? Must become competent masters themselves of each of the standards their pupils are to master Must understand the learning progression toward mastery of each standard so they can build an organized curriculum or instructional sequence Must create classroom-level achievement targets that are clear to pupils Must transform the classroom targets into high-quality classroom assessments that accurately reflect pupil achievement of those targets Must use the assessments in collaboration with their pupils to guide instruction and to help motivate pupils to keep learning

  11. Classroom-based formative assessment: Characteristics Involves short-cycle, very frequent (daily) assessment Can take a variety of forms – projects, discussion, questions, quizzes

  12. CBFA can take a variety of forms: Examples from professional development study(Wiliam, Lee, Harrison, & Black, 2004) Most common forms of CBFA were: Rich questioning and discussion – “on the fly” assess students understanding Comment-only marking which focused on providing descriptive, rather than evaluative (as in grading), feedback Sharing scoring and grading criteria with students very explicitly Providing many opportunities for peer- and self-assessment Group review of outcomes from tests

  13. Classroom-based formative assessment: Characteristics Involves short-cycle, very frequent (daily) assessment Can take a variety of forms – projects, discussion, questions, quizzes Has well defined targets Provides enough detail to suggest next steps Followed by appropriate feedback and instructional adjustments Involves students in self and peer assessment

  14. An example of mastery oriented formative assessment within a module that focuses on learning to make inferences: The inference strategy involves three steps: 1) identifying the type of question that is being asked 2) identifying “clue words” that indicate the kind of thinking required to answer the question; 3) exploring supporting details Assessment materials evaluate the student’s ability to perform each of the three steps Progress in mastering each of the components is monitored over time

  15. Thought questions: How realistic is it to expect even 50% of middle and high school content area and reading teachers to become masters of CBFA? What might be efficient ways to begin to elevate skills in this area? Massive PD using a well-designed program Work with assessment experts to develop “common formative assessments” Work at the state level, with expert teacher groups to develop assessment exemplars focused on specific state standards – this could be a full curriculum with sequential assessments, or targeted examples for illustrative purposes

  16. Questions/Discussion

More Related