FDN 5560 Classroom Assessment
Craft an Assessment Exercise
The task has three components: (Note: the exercise is a SINGLE document encompassing all three components. When completed, email the document to me at [email protected] ).
1. Identify critical, end-of-unit learning targets (these should be targets that leads to a report card grade). This component has two subparts;
First, identify the skills and knowledge that you expect students will take with them when they leave the unit. Ask yourself, “What do I want students to know and be able to do long after completing this unit of instruction.”
Second, determine the evidence students will need to demonstrate to convince you (and others) that the learning targets have been attained. The evidence must be articulated clearly. For instance, if students are to complete a project, what are the specifics? Describe the standard they will have to meet to be deemed successful.
You should identify 3 to 6, more if you need them (though this would be an exception), critical learning targets that encompass the whole instructional unit.
Once identified, write a clear, articulated description of the targets, including a description of how the targets will be assessed. These are the descriptions that you would distribute to students (and, perhaps, their parents at the beginning of the instructional unit.) The descriptions must be unambiguous and unequivocal. After reading the descriptions, it should be very clear to students (and their parents) what knowledge and skills they (the students) are to acquire and how you will assess that knowledge and set of skills. If Baby Huey would understand the learning targets,, everyone should be able to understand them
I do NOT think that it is possible to articulate these targets in just a sentence or two. At a minimum, each target will require a paragraph. It is often helpful to include, in the paragraph, an example or two that elucidates what you want and how you will assess it.
Further Commentary about Identifying Critical Learning Targets
For this component, your task is to chose a significant sequence or unit of instruction—something that becomes a major component in assigning a report card grade. Typically, this would be a sequence or unit of instruction that covers several weeks.
Once identified, you should consult the relevant sections of the Standard Course of Studies, read those sections carefully, then put them aside and reflect upon the “big picture.” What is the main purpose of the unit? What does the state want you to teach? What, are the really important objectives (what Stiggens and I call Learning Targets) of the unit of study. To be sure, there are myriad topics, concepts, vocabulary terms, procedures, etc., that have to be taught, but what is the purpose of all these? What is the end result supposed to be? What is it that students should leave the unit of instruction knowing and being able to do? These are the CRITICAL LEARNING TARGETS. Furthermore, what do students need show you to convince you, and everyone else, that they have achieved the critical learning targets? This is the assessment piece.
For the exercise, you first need to identify 3-6 of these critical learning targets (these are the BIG targets), and then articulate each target in unequivocal terms—terms that everyone, including Baby Huey, would understand. The description of the LTs should include a description (or an example) of how students will be assessed for mastery on the LTs. The description is something that could be made available to students, parents, other teachers, and your supervisor. Essentially, the descriptions are something that you could include on your own website, if you have one.
I don’t think it is possible to do this in just a couple of sentences. In order to make the critical LTs sufficiently clear—clear enough that students and others know what is expected and how they will demonstrate their proficiency—it typically will take a paragraph or two. Remember, these LTs are the truly important ones. I’ll give you an example.
Suppose, in an English class, one of the LTs is for students to be able to write a competent five- paragraph descriptive paper. The description of the LT would include particulars of what a five- paragraph paper is (or what it should include) along with an example of a task the students might be given to demonstrate their proficiency in writing such a paper. The example might include and example prompt, for instance. The assessment part of the LT description would include things like, “To achieve the highest grade, the paper can have no more than three misspelled words and no more than three grammatical errors. It should include compound sentences. The paragraphs should present unified themes.” Etc. (Obviously, the individual writing the description would have more knowledge of the topic than I do.)
Big critical LTs like this obviously assume that many subordinate LTs have been acquired. For instance, the student will need to know what the different parts of a five-paragraph paper are, and will need practice in writing them. They may need instruction on grammar, spelling, and compound sentence structures. These subordinate LTs are the ones that should be accessed via formative assessment procedures (i.e., AfL) while instruction is taking place.
Some example learning targets can be found HERE.
2. Write a traditional test to be used as a formative assessment. The purpose of this part of the exercise is to construct a test—a traditional test—to assess students’ progress toward ONE of the critical, end-of-unit learning targets identified in component 1, above.
Obviously, any CRITICAL end-of-unit learning target will encompass several intermediate and lower-order, knowledge-building and skill-building learning targets (i.e., the things students need to know and be able to do to achieve the critical learning target.) Pick one or two significant, intermediate-level learning targets and write a test on it to assess how students are progressing.
In other words, the task is to write a test that can be used formatively. The test is not to be used for grading purposes, but to provide YOU and the STUDENT with important information—information that informs you and the student about how she or he is doing and whether there are some parts of the curriculum he or she needs to revisit; as well as information that informs you about whether or not you should re-teach some of the concepts.
Again, a test like this should assess an IMPORTANT component of the curriculum you will teach. You would not want to expend the considerable time and energy it takes to develop such a test to assess trivial knowledge or skills.
This test should contain a minimum of 10 items (a combination of at least two item formats: MC, TF, short answer, completion, restricted essay.) In writing the items, adhere to the item-writing conventions found in the readings you were assigned that relate to item writing.
In addition to actually writing the test, provide a narrative explanation of what you are trying to assess, why this intermediate-level target is important, and how the results of the assessment will inform you and your students. In other words, why THIS test?
The articles by Haladyna, Downing, & Rodreguez, (2002), Frary (1999), and Kehoe (1995a), along with the Item-writing guidelines in Examples and Exhibits (at left) should help you write good items. In addition the material found HERE may also prove helpful.
Further Commentary about the second component.
In the second component of the Craft exercise you are asked to develop a traditional assessment for ONE of the critical LTs identified in the first component. This, in most cases, will be a paper and pencil test composed of multiple-choice, true-false, short-answer, and matching items. This traditional test is the one that could (I would say, should) be used for formative assessment. I’ll have more to say about that component, later. In the meantime read the instructions for the Craft exercise carefully.
3. Construct a performance assessment. Here the goal is to develop an assessment for ONE of the critical, end-of-unit learning targets identified in Component 1, above. This is the assessment part of one of the Learning Targets described in Component 1. Before embarking on this task be sure you read the relevant chapters in Popham and the other readings assigned prior to this task.
Set-up the performance assessment by describing—CLEARLY—what it is the students are to do. This could be an experiment, a significant piece of writing, a musical composition, or any of a number of other important projects or processes. What is critical is that the task be described in clear, unequivocal terms. Again, in language Baby Huey would understand.
After setting up the task, develop a rubric for scoring the task. A general guideline is that the rubric key only into really important parts of the task. Probably only 5 to 8 elements of the task are enough, but all should be critical elements—the performance on which sound judgments as to whether the end-of-unit learning target have been achieved.
Since the rubric typically will be given to students before commencing the task, it should provide adequate information regarding what is expected. Also, the rubric should be clear enough to allow others (teachers, perhaps) to arrive at the same judgment regarding students’ performances (to increase reliability).
Keep in mind that this performance assessment is the assessment piece that will help you determine the report card grade the student will receive for the instructional unit. It has to be clearly articulated with a critical, end-of-unit learning target.
Finally, provide a brief narrative that identifies the critical, end-of-course learning target assessed by this performance assessment and explains why this is an appropriate assessment of that target.