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Critical Questions
What are assessments?
What are assessments?
An assessment is the act or process of gathering data in order to better understand the strengths and weaknesses of student learning. This often includes observation, testing, interviews, and other methods.
What is the purpose of assessments?
What is the purpose of assessments?
The purpose of assessments is to better ascertain the strengths and weaknesses of students and build upon what knowledge and learning they exhibit. It also helps to guide the teacher to improve and adapt instruction. Assessments also assess the application and execution of district and state requirements. In reading instruction specifically, assessments can be used to plan further individualized instruction to increase fluency for the developing reader.
Key Components of Assessments
Key Components of Assessments
Reliability: The consistency within measurements and tests; an assessment should have consistent results
Reliability: The consistency within measurements and tests; an assessment should have consistent results
Validity: The truthfulness of the evidence or data; an assessment should be testing what it is supposed to test
Validity: The truthfulness of the evidence or data; an assessment should be testing what it is supposed to test
Practicality: The extent to which the assessment is easy and inexpensive to use; reasonable
Practicality: The extent to which the assessment is easy and inexpensive to use; reasonable
Standardization: The extent to which assessment procedures are similar for all students
Standardization: The extent to which assessment procedures are similar for all students
How do we interpret data and test scores?
Understand these key terms:
Variability: Changeableness (How do scores change? Is progress being made?)
Central Tendency: A single central value used to summarize a distribution of scores. The following are ways of measuring central tendency:
-Mean: The average or sum of the scores divided by how many of them there are
-Median: The score that cuts the distribution into two equal halves; the middle.
-Mode: The most frequently occurring score
Distribution: How the scores are distributed (Are scores consistent or spread apart?)
Types of Assessments
Types of Assessments
Authentic Assessment
A type of assessment that strives to reflect the "actual learning and instructional activities of the classroom and out-of-school worlds."
Examples: Portfolios, Journals, Drivers License Testing
Criterion-Referenced Assessment
A type of assessment focused on performance on a test in terms of the kind of behavior expected of a person with a given score; comparing the score or result to the expected criteria desired from the individual.
Examples: Standardized Testing using criterion to grade or assess.
This is a helpful video explaining the difference between norm-referenced and criterion-referenced assessments.
Norm-Referenced Assessment
The assessment of performance in relation to that of the norming group, usually comprised of hundreds of thousands of individuals, used in the standardization of a test or in relation to locally developed norms.
Examples: Standardized Testing using a norming group to assess; often end-of-year tests.
Curriculum-Based Assessment
Means of assessing student growth by using materials, content, and procedures from a particular program being used as a curriculum; uses tasks.
Example: The books used within a classroom outlined with tasks, worksheets, and learning activities.
Performance-Based Assessment
The measurement of educational achievement by tasks that call for the student to produce a response like that required in the instructional environment.
Example: Portfolios, projects, performances/auditions.
Portfolio-Based Assessment
A purposeful collection of a student's work that demonstrates effort and achievement in one or more curricular areas over time. It is a portrait of a student and it belongs to the student.
Example: A collection of the improved writing skills of a student; collection of an artist's pieces.
Self-Assessment
Usually a checklist on which students evaluate themselves as to their conduct and levels of various skills. They are able to identify areas of growth and success as well as areas needing improvement.
Example: A checklist for the student to analyze what they feel they did well and what they can work on.
Screening Assessment
These assessments provide an indication of learner's present ability in a specific area. They document need for a special program, or to separate into different groups. Think of a window screen: it can sift out the potential bigger problems.
Example: A school hearing test done by parents and teachers to indicate a student's present ability.
Diagnostic Assessment
A test to analyze strengths and weaknesses in skill area. These assessments are done by professionals and often are able to "diagnose" what is wrong.
Example: A teacher working with a specific student to find their individual struggles in reading and seeing which area the struggle stems from.
Formative Assessment
These assessments are ongoing measurements of student's skills during learning for the purpose of improving student learning and teacher instruction. They give informed feedback to both parties and may be constructed from oral assessments, written assessments, and demonstrations of progress.
Example: A teacher asking the whole class to put a thumbs up or thumbs down based upon their understanding of the material.
Why or when do we use these assessments?
This video can help answer these important questions.
Summative Assessment
A final evaluation, usually quantitative in practice, of the degree to which the goals and objectives have been obtained. They are a sum of all learning.
Example: A big state test at the end of the year. The results are not discussed or used to build further instruction for the specified students.
Progress Monitoring
A continuous and frequent assessment of a student's progress. The student's progress is being tracked and these assessments are used to document change.
Example: A student's collection of work on writing their name as they learn more about handwriting.
Interim/Benchmark Assessment
These are a point of reference from which measurements may be taken. These assessments are designed to target a specific developmental goal.
Example: A teacher assigning a benchmark book for children to read to assess progress.
Standardized Assessment
A standardized assessment is one in which assessment procedures are similar for all students. The same setting and the same test for the students and administered in a predetermined way. The questions and the ways in which they are graded are consistent and truthful.
Example: A state test, like the ISAT.
Formal Assessment vs.
A form of evaluation in which the assessment is given exactly as directed with no discretion or adaptation from the teacher. They are scored carefully in the predetermined manner. Think of these tests being given in a very formal fashion.
Example: Standardized tests or a final/exam. Tests like the ACT, SAT, or ISAT.
Informal Assessment
"Pit-stops" along the way to gauge understanding of the students and to guide teacher instruction. Teacher can adapt from the information gathered.
Example: The teacher asking the students to gauge their understanding by holding up their fingers 1-5 on how well they understand the material.
Qualitative Assessment vs.
A method of assessment that yields results that cannot be described or presented in a numerical way. These assessments focus primarily on the quality of the work done.
Example: Interviews, essays, projects, portfolios, etc.
Quantitative Assessment
A quantitative assessment is going to be an assessment that deals with skills that can be measured. They are usually given in numerical values and can be statistically analyzed.
Example: Quizzes, questionnaires, etc.
Other Important Information to Note
Other Important Information to Note
Ways to Understand the Results of Your Child's Assessments
Ways to Understand the Results of Your Child's Assessments
What is the difference between causation and correlation?
Correlation just means that there is a present relationship between two things. However, this does not always mean they have causation, or that they share a cause and effect relationship. For example, there may be an increase in purchases of both swimsuits and ice cream during the summer time; their sales are both going up at the same time. However, this doesn't mean that swimsuits are causing more ice cream to be purchased. This could be tied to the weather, so the weather would be causing the increase of purchases.
What does a percentile mean? What about a percentage range?
A percentile simply means that x% of the other students that took the test scored the same or lower than your student. For example, if Johnny was in the 30th percentile, that would mean that Johnny scored the same as or better than 30% of the other students.
Percentage range refers to a range of percentages that is made up of the numbers between two points. For example, to get an A in Mr. Lopez's class, you would need to get within 93-100%. That would be the percentage range.
What is Standard Deviation? How does it apply to these assessments?
Standard Deviation simply refers to how spread out the data or results are. Once we know the mean of a data set, the standard deviation tells us how far the other data points are from the mean. For example, if most of the class scored within 86-90%, the standard deviation would be very small, because the values are very similar and close together. However, if students scored anywhere from 45-96%, the standard deviation would be much larger, as the data points deviate significantly more from the mean than the previous example.
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