Assessments

Assessments

At the end of a unit, educators must ask, //Where do we want our students to be?// Tracking students' progress is one of the most crucial parts of the educational process and assuring that students have achieved their milestones is equally as important. Determining where we want our students to be and knowing that our students mastered content are the two elements at the heart of assessment. Although there is a lot of buzz about assessment these days, assessment itself is nothing new. If you have ever given an exam, led a discussion, or assigned a project--and used what you discovered to refine your teaching--you've engaged in assessment. Assessment is simply the process of collecting information about students learning and performance to improve education.

In education, it is increasingly important that assessment is meaningful and it must be done thoughtfully and systematically. It is also believed it should be driven so that the information gathered reflects the goals and values of a particular discipline, helps educators refine their teaching practice and grow an educators, and helps prepare students for future coursework. The assessments below provide resources to various forms of assessment. [Citation Below]

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In General
[|The Power of Writing in the Math Curriculum] This resource provides a rich breakdown of how writing can be used in a mathematics classroom to enrich students' conceptual understanding and improve content knowledge. This resource describes writing as "the ability to compose text effective for different purposes and audiences. When many individuals reflect on their own school experiences, writing occurred only in English and history classes, but not in mathematics. Math classes previously relied on skill-building and conceptual understanding activities. Today, teachers are realizing that writing during a math lesson is ore than just a way to document information; it is a way to deepen student learning and a tool for helping students gain new perspectives."

Section one gives a brief background that answers the question //Why write in mathematics?// Section two describes the existing role of writing in the mathematics curriculum, and section three provides strategies and ideas to put into practice right away.

[|Integrating Writing in Mathematics] Integrating writing into your mathematics classroom can be easy for you and beneficial for your students. Communicating about mathematics helps strengthen student learning, which can build deeper understanding. It provides students an opportunity to organize their thoughts related to the math topic, which helps clarify their thinking.

Student writing can also provide valuable insight for you into their mastery of math concepts. Teachers can use writing assignments as either an informal or formal assessment tool. Writing often reveals gaps in learning and misconceptions, which can help inform your instructional planning and intervention strategy.

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Pre- Assessment
[|Differentiation_Pt1-ChallengeWinter05.pdf] As educators, we know and agree that is it critically important to have a classroom that meets the academic and emotional needs of each student. However, with a classroom of twenty-five to thirty students and the pressures of day to day school demands, that task becomes a challenge. Oftentimes, we as teachers feel overwhelmed and underprepared to effectively run a classroom focused on continuous academic progress for all students. In order ensure that continuous challenge. One way to help address students' needs is through pre-assessment. This resource describes what pre-assessment is, why it is important, and how to implement strategies effectively.

[|Pre-assessment Techniques Chart.pdf] <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">This resource provides a pre-assessment strategies chart. In one column, a technique or strategy is listed. A corresponding definition is also provided for each activity. A few of the activities described in the lesson are: entrance tickets, matching, journals/free writes, word sorts, clothes lines, among many other resources.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">[|Know Your Learners] <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">This resource explains that knowing your learners means "being able to recognize, acknowledge, and teach according to the educational and psychological needs of each student." According to this resource, effective educators understand how students differ in their approaches to learning and create instructional opportunities and use teaching methods that match the natural and diverse ways that people learn. This kind of performance requires rich understanding of learners. Effective educators take time to know their learners because this build trust, rapport, and connection with learning.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">[|KWL] <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Recently, an instructional technique known as K-W-L, created by Ogle (1986) was introduced into classrooms. Teachers activate students' prior knowledge by asking them what they already **K**now; then students (collaborating as a classroom unit or within small groups) set goals specifying what they **W**ant to learn; and after reading students discuss what they have **L**earned. Students apply higher-order thinking strategies which help them construct meaning from what they read and help them monitor their progress toward their goals. A worksheet is given to every student that includes columns for each of these activities.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">[|STEM Pre-Assessment] <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Asking students to explore personal beliefs, attitudes, past experiences, and current understandings is an essential precursor to effective teaching and learning. What is already known or felt largely shapes how any individual will interact with a new learning situation. When teachers give students the opportunity to explore their prior knowledge and beliefs and then thoughtfully look and listen at what is revealed they are gathering information for responsive instruction. This style of teaching intentionally connects what students already know with the desired outcomes.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Approaches to investigating prior knowledge vary from time-intensive methods such as interviews and think-aloud to the quick, practical, and easy to implement strategies identified below. Each explores pre-existing understanding from a unique perspective. Regardless of the method used to activate and probe for prior knowledge, the important thing is that gaps in understanding and misconceptions are revealed; the two major targets of instructional planning. <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 160%; text-align: center;">*

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Formative Assessment
<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">[|STEM Formative Assessment] <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Formative assessment encompasses a variety of strategies to determine student progress toward achieving specified learning goals. As Menken (2000) pointed out, “for assessments to be effective and useful for educators in instructional practice, they must be deeply entwined with the classroom teaching and learning driven by the standards.” Timely teacher feedback is an essential ingredient of this process. The habit of embedding formative assessments at key points during instruction yields information that teachers can use to identify and respond to problem learning areas.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">The strategies for investigating student learning identified below provide different types of data from and about students. Many of these approaches are also suitable to use as homework assignments. It is appropriate to include the work generated through formative assessments in the comprehensive assessment system used to evaluate student performance.

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<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Summative Assessment
<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">[|Rubistar] <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Rubistar is a free tool to create exceptional rubrics in a short amount of time. Registered users can save and edit rubrics online. Users can access rubrics from home, school, or on the road. Registration and use of this tool is free and many of the rubrics are registered under creative commons and help create quick and effective rubrics in a short amount of time!

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">[|STEM Summative Assessment] <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Sooner or later, a final accounting of a student’s performance must be made. Such an assessment summarizes learning after a given time or upon completion of a major course assignment. Its purpose is to generate a grade that accurately reflects student understanding. The practice of assessing student performance and assigning grades occupies the center of current accountability systems that schools use to evaluate levels of student achievement.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">In contrast to formative assessments that are embedded throughout instruction, and used to monitor student work and make appropriate data-based adjustments to instruction, summative assessments examine cumulative aspects of the learning experience. Throughout history, the most common form of summative assessment has been the familiar “test.” With their heavy reliance on multiple-choice items, tests target the acquisition of factual knowledge.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">[|Portfolio Resources] <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">A resource created by Dr. Helen Barrett, this resource is a collection of Web 2.0 tools that can be used to present content using the web. This resource is a collection with at least 33 different online services, software and strategies between September 2004 and the present. There are lists of tools, samples, and How-To's. A great way to explore new ways to help students present information.

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<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Exams
<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">[|Best Practices for Designing and Grading Exam.pdf] <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">This .pdf provides an overview of developing valid and reliable exams, especially multiple-choice and essay items.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">The most obvious function of assessment methods such as exams, quizzes, papers, presentations, etc. is to enable instructors to make judgements about eh quality of students learning (i.e. assign grades). However, the methods of assessment used by faculty can also have a direct impact on the quality of student learning. Students assume that the focus of exams and assignments reflect the educational goals most valued by an instructor, and they direct their learning and studying accordingly. Given the importance of assessment for both faculty and student interactions about learning, how can instructors develop exams that provide useful and relevant data about their students' learning and also direct students to spent their time on the important aspects of the course?

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Creating high quality educational assessments requires both art and science: the art of creatively engaging students in assessments they view as fair and meaningful, and that produces relevant data about student achievement; and the science of assessment design, item writing, and grading procedures.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">[|How to Write Better Tests.pdf] <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">This handbook is designed to help instructors write better tests—better in that they more closely assess instructional objectives and assess them more accurately. A number of problems keep classroom tests from being accurate measures of students' achievement. This .pdf file explores the many problems with tests and how to write tests that accurately assess students' understanding of content.

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<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 70%;">[|Assessment Introduction Text:] Carnegie Mellon. "Assessment." //Assessment Examples and Tools//. Carngie Mellon, 2011. Web. 5 Dec 2011. <http://www.cmu.edu/teaching/assessment/index.html>.