Assessing Student Learning :Chapter 8

Presented by Michael J. Anthony

Definitions• Assessment -- The process of measuring

something with the purpose of assigning a numerical value.• Scoring -- The procedure of assigning a

numerical value to assessment task.• Evaluation -- The process of determining the

worth of something in relation to established benchmarks using assessment information.

Chapter 8 : Assessing Student Learning

•All teaching involves assessing and evaluating learning.• The word evaluating is derived from the

word “ valoir ” which means “to be worth”.•How do we assess students? •Answer : By collecting information and

making judgments about student performance.

What is Assessment?The word ‘assess’ comes from the Latin verb ‘assidere’ meaning ‘to sit with’.

In assessment one is supposed to sit with the learner. This implies it is something we do ‘with’ and ‘for’ students and not ‘to’ students (Green, 1999).

Evaluation, Measurement, and Assessment

• At the heart of assessment is judgment, making decisions based on values.• Therefore, principals and teachers must make all

kinds of judgments. For example: #Should we use a different text book for next year ? # Will John do better if he repeats the first grade ? # Are the students ready for the proficiency test?

Formative and Summative Assessment

• Formative Assessment (FA) occurs before and during instruction.•What is the purpose of FA ? - to guide the teacher in planning and improving instruction and to help students improve learning.

Summative Assessment (SA)•Occurs at the end of the instruction.•What is the purpose of SA ?• To let the teacher and the students

know the level of accomplishment attained.• It provides a summary of

accomplishment.• For example: Final exam.

Assessment Types

If we think of our children as plants …

Summative assessment of the plants is the process of simply measuring them. It might be interesting to compare and analyze measurements but, in themselves, these do not affect the growth of the plants. (Assessment OF Learning).

Formative assessment, on the other hand, is the equivalent of feeding and watering the plants appropriate to their needs - directly affecting their growth. (Assessment FOR learning).

The Garden Analogy

Source : Advisory Committee for Academic AssessmentOffice of Academic AssessmentKent State University

What Do Test Scores Mean ?

• Standardized tests are called standardized because “ the same directions are used for administering them in all classrooms and standard procedures are used for scoring and interpreting them” (Carey, 1994).

Types of Scores• Percentile Rank Scores – each student’s raw score

is compared with the raw scores of the students in the norming sample. • A percentile rank of 50 means that a student has

scored as well as or better than 50 % of the norming sample and has achieved an average score.• One problem with percentile ranks is the difficulty

in making comparisons among ranks.

Grade-Equivalent Scores (GES)• GES are obtained from separate norming samples

for each grade level. • For example : The average of the scores of all the

3rd graders in the norming sample defines the 3rd-grade equivalent score.

Standard Scores • Standard scores are based on the standard

deviation.• A very common standard score is called the z score.• A Z-score is a statistical measurement of a score's

relationship to the mean in a group of scores.

SAT test

GRE test

Stanine Scores • Stanine (STAndard NINE) is a method of scaling

test scores on a nine-point standard scale with a mean of five and a standard deviation of two. Some web sources attribute stanines to the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II.

Types of Standardized TestsThere are three broad categories of

standardized test in USA. 1. Achievement test2. Diagnostic test3. Aptitude test

Achievement Test• The most common standardized tests given to

students are “achievement tests”.• What does it measure ?• It measures how much a student has learned in

specific content areas such as reading comprehension , math or science. • Individual achievement tests are given to

determine a child’s academic level more precisely or to help diagnose problems.

Diagnostic Tests• The purpose of diagnostic test is to find out the

student’s strengths and weaknesses.

Diagnostic Test

Aptitude Test • Both achievement and aptitude tests measure

developed abilities.• So, how are they different ? • Achievement test measure final performance.• Aptitude test PREDICT how well people will do in

particular programs like college or professional school (Anastasi, 1988)

The Dangers and Possibilities of High-Stakes Testing

• Principals and teachers increasingly expected to use standardized test scores.• So, it requires teachers to be far more

knowledgeable about every aspect of these tools.• Example of high-stakes tests:

The Dangers and Possibilities of High-Stakes Testing• Because the decisions affected by the test score are

so critical, many educators call this process “ high-stakes testing ”. • What is your comment about this kind of tests?

Have they affected you in the past ? Are they fair tests ? • What do teachers comment about high-stakes tests

?The results often come too late to help them plan instruction or remediation.

Advantages in Taking Tests – Fair and Unfair (p.282)• There are three basic issues :

• 1. Are standardized tests biased against minority students?

• 2. Can students gain an advantage on admission tests through coaching ?

• 3. Can they be taught test-taking skills?

Bias and Fairness in Testing• Research on test bias shows that most standardized

tests predict school achievement equally well across all groups of students. • Even though standardized aptitude and

achievement tests are not biased against minorities in predicting school performance, many people believe that the tests still can be unfair.

Why ?

Here are a few example: • Tests may not have “ procedural fairness ” that is ,

some groups may not have an equal opportunity to show what they know on the test. • 1. Language • 2. Answers that support middle class values are

often rewarded with more points.• 3. On individually administered intelligence tests,

being very verbal and talking a lot is rewarded.

New Directions in Standardized Testing and Classroom Assessment

• As traditional standardized tests became the basis for high-stakes decisions, pressure to do well led many teachers and schools to “teach to the test.”• In addition, what is even more troubling, say critics, is that

the traditional tests assess skills that have no equivalent in the real world. • Students are asked to solve problems or answer questions

they will never encounter again.• They are expected to do so alone, without relying on any

tools or resources, and while working under extreme time limits.• Real life just isn’t like this.

Authentic Assessment • In response to these criticisms, the “ authentic

assessment ” movement was born. • The goal was to create standardized tests that assess

complex, important, real-life outcomes.• The approach is called direct assessment,

performance assessment, or alternative assessment.• Because authentic assessment is a new area, it will

take time to develop high-quality alternative assessment to be used by whole school districts or states. For now it can be only used in classroom level.

Informal Assessment (IA)• Is IA a formative or summative assessment ? • Informal assessments are ungraded ( formative )

assessments that gather information from multiple sources to help teachers make decisions (Banks, 2005).• Formative assessment (provide feedback, but not

count toward a grade), saving the actual graded assessment for later in the unit when all students have had chance to learn the material (Tomlinson, 2005).

• Grades and high standards have both positive and negative consequence for students, but grades do not necessarily motivate students to learn.• Thus, there is a difference between working for a

grade and working to learn. • Ultimately, the task of the school is not to identify

talent, but, rather, to develop it.

CONCLUSION

The End of Chapter 8Thank you !