Assessment is Not a Grade

1. Assessment is Not a Grade How to Use Assessment as a Tool for Achieving Learning Outcomes

2. Resource: Classroom Assessment for Student Learning: Doing It Right-Using It Well Richard J. Stiggins, Judith A. Arter, Jan Chappuis, and Stephen Chappuis

3. What is assessment? • A tool used to measure student learning • It is not simply a grade or a score • It does not always have to be counted • It can motivate and stimulate learning, not punish students or diminish their motivation

4. Why assess? • To serve all stakeholders’ individual needs • “Stakeholders” include: • Students • Instructor • Department • Administrators • State and Federal agencies

5. What should be assessed? • Clear, good learning targets • “We must have a clear sense of the achievement expectations we wish our students to master” --Classroom Assessment for Student Learning

6. Effectively Communicating Results • In a timely and understandable manner • Students must understand symbols used in assessment i.e. letter grades, raw scores, teachers’ comments • Communication must be tailored to the intended audience • Students must understand why they got an answer incorrect, so that they may correct it in the future

7. Self-Assessment Chart

8. Involving Students in Assessment • “The most important instructional decisions [which contribute most to student learning] are made by the students themselves. Students decide whether the learning is worth the effort required to attain it.” --Classroom Assessment for Student Learning • Students decide if they are capable of achievement • As instructors we must keep students believing in themselves as learners through effective assessments

9. The Two Types of Assessment • Formative • Informational for both the student and instructor • Does not count toward a grade or score • Provides opportunity for student correction and supports ongoing growth • Summative • Document individual or group achievement • Measures learning at a specific point in time (what do you know today)

10. Formative Assessment Assessment for learning • A Process during learning: What do I know? What do I need to know? What do I need to learn before it “counts”? • Provides students insight to improve achievement • Helps teachers diagnose and respond to students needs • Acts as a primary motivator in the belief that success in learning is achievable • No penalty for making mistakes

11. Formative Assessment Instructor’s Role: • Instructor transforms learning outcomes or objectives into learning targets • Adjusts instruction based on results • Offer frequent and descriptive feedback to students Student’s Role: • Self-assess and keep track of improvement • Set individual learning goals • Use as a means of self-correction

12. Formative Assessment • Learning targets are statements of what we want students to be able to know and to do • Students can hit any clear target that stands still • Communicate with students what they must know before they need to know it Example: I will write simple sentences using a subject and a verb. I will write complex sentences using subordinating conjunction.

13. Formative Assessment • “No Count” Quizzes • Verbal Feedback • Student Signals (Thumbs up/Thumbs Down) • Student Post-It Notes • Discussion Logs • Think-Pair-Share

14. Reflection Journal for Discussions Classroom Discussion. Dixie Lee Spiegel. 2005

15. Formative Assessment What is Effective Feedback? • Descriptive, criterion-based feedback • Emphasize it is the learning that is important, not what looks good or how it is comparable to others • Focuses on strengths and weaknesses, or areas needing improvement • Does not use arbitrary symbols, such as letter grades or numerical scores, that do not reflect specific criteria.

16. Summative Assessment Assessment of Learning • An Event after learning: Documents achievement or mastery of learning targets • Provides information about level of learning to both students and others outside of the classroom • Certifies student competence, sorts students according to achievement, provides a mode for grading

17. Summative Assessment Instructor’s Role: • Administer assessment to carefully ensure accuracy, quality, and comparability • Use results to help students meet student outcomes • Use as a means of report card grading Student’s Role: • Strive for highest possible score • Avoid failure

18. Summative Assessment • In-class essay • Unit test • Mid-term or final examination • Placement tests • Achievement tests

19. Assessment Development • Plan: Assess why (purpose)? Assess what (focus)? Assess how (method)? How Important? • Develop: Determine the sample. Select, create, or modify test items or tasks and scoring mechanisms. • Critique: Evaluate for Quality • Administer: Administer the assessment • Revise: Evaluate test quality based on results and revise as needed

20. Potential Sources of Inaccuracy • Barriers that can occur within a student i.e. language barriers; physical handicap; lack of test-taking skills; lack of confidence; lack of literacy skills • Barriers that can occur within the assessment context i.e. distractions; poor lighting; cultural insensitivity; lack of proper equipment • Barriers that can occur within the assessment itself i.e. lack of or vague directions; poorly worded questions; poor reproduction of test; missing information

21. Potential Barriers in Methods • Multiple Choice Tests: more than one correct choice; incorrect bubbling on answer sheet; clues to the answer in the item or choices • Extended Written Responses: no or inappropriate scoring criteria; biased scoring; insufficient time to read or score carefully; students don’t know the criteria by which they will be judged

22. Rubrics as Evaluation Tools A RUBRIC is a scoring scale used to assess student performance along a task-specific set of criteria* • A “contract” between students and instructor. An agreement of how students will be evaluated and the level of expectation clearly communicated prior to completion of task. • Comprised of three components:  criteria, levels of performance, and descriptors • Quality Not Quantity. Instead of applying a number number of references, concrete examples, paragraphs, etc., describe the quality of the criteria. Can’t two good examples be better than five poor examples? • Clear, Objective, and Consistent. Everyone feels “graded the same” *http://jonathan.mueller.faculty.noctrl.edu/toolbox/rubrics.htm#versus

23. Analytical vs. Holistic • Analytical - assesses levels of performance for each criteria separately and equally. Breaks down and examines various parts. Analytical is formative; it provide students with detailed information of individuals’ strengths and weaknesses; detailed feedback explains how student can improve. • Holistic - evaluates a level of performance by assessing performance of all criteria as a whole. Holistic is summative; it is a snapshot of what a student can do at that moment.

24. Analytical Rubric Georgia State University www.gsu.edu/~mstnrhx/457/rubric.htm

25. Holistic Rubric Georgia State University www.gsu.edu/~mstnrhx/457/rubric.htm

26. How To Apply Methods in the Classroom • Begin by clearly stating what students must be able to DO (state in syllabus, verbalize in lecture, post on Blackboard.) • Determine and create appropriate summative assessment based on learning targets (written response, speech, project, multiple choice exam) • Design lesson plans to specifically meet learning targets • Implement daily formative assessment of learning targets (diagnostic test, verbal feedback, “no-penalty” quiz, discussion log)

27. Email Address Hollie.villanueva@azwestern.edu