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Thinking About ASSESSMENT

Best Practices

To Support All Learners During the 2020-2021 School Year

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Assessment:

Origins of the term

From the Latin “assidere” or “to sit beside the learner.”
Occurs in relationship with the student
Implies the offer of meaningful feedback and support

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Start Where They Are: Assessment for Learning

Serves a diagnostic and formative purpose
Identifies what students already know and can do in relation to the expectations before a unit of instruction begins
Possible assessment strategies:

Consider student strengths when choosing strategies
More critical this academic year than ever before

Discussion Brainstorm Quick Write KWL	Mind Map Survey Sample questions See, Think, Wonder

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They’re All in Different Places! Now What?

Knowledge is POWER

Once you are aware of the students’ prior knowledge, you can plan activities to close gaps using a combination of:

Whole class direct instruction
Small group targeted instruction
Differentiated and/or personalized learning activities

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“Using the terms ‘formative assessment’ and ‘summative assessment’ can give the impression that these are different kinds of assessment or are linked to different methods of gathering evidence. This is not the case; what matters is how the information is used. . . The essential distinction is that assessment for learning is used in making decisions that affect teaching and learning in the short term future, whereas assessment of learning is used to record and report what has been learned in the past”

-Growing Success, 2010

Assessment as Learning

vs.

Assessment of Learning

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	Assessment AS Learning	Assessment OF Learning
Evidence used for:	formative purposes	to summarize learning in relation to the expectations
Occurs:	frequently and in an ongoing manner	typically at the end of a period of instruction or when a student “gets it”
Embedded:	in the learning process	in the learning process
Accompanied:	by descriptive feedback	by descriptive feedback

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Best Practices

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When students are asked questions that can be “Googled,” teachers shouldn’t be surprised when students “Google” them - Catlin Tucker

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Prioritize Performance Tasks

Encourage students to creatively apply what they have learned by doing something

Video, podcast, TedTalk, create a model and reflect on the process

Ask students to “evaluate, justify, design, generate, create, etc,” NOT “list, name, label, define, memorize, etc.”
Offers teachers a continuous stream of information (observations and conversations) about what each student is able to do and where they require help as students proceed through completing the task

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Differentiate

Offer students choice by assessing attainment of expectations rather than the product form itself
Meet the needs of diverse learners

When all students are doing the same thing, the bar is automatically set too high for some and too low for others

Allow students to direct how they show what they know

This increases engagement and decreases cheating/plagiarism

Some ways to differentiate:

Choice Boards
Playlists
Wheel of Interaction
ELL Accommodation Ideas (but good for all!)

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Focus on Feedback

Provide timely, frequent, and continuous opportunities for students to receive feedback regarding their progress and performance in relation to the expectations
Ensure students have equal opportunities to receive feedback whether in the classroom or learning from a distance
Given the condensed timelines of the quadmester model, timely and actionable feedback shared with students, and parents/guardians, is more essential than ever to support students in successfully meeting the course expectations

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Reduce Construct-Irrelevant Barriers

Construct-irrelevant = barriers that are not tied to the expectations being assessed

May include reading level, writing requirements, time-limits, anxiety-inducing factors, prior/background knowledge, cultural relevance

The presence of these barriers creates a skewed understanding of what the student knows and is able to do
Anytime all students are asked to complete the same task in the same way, construct-irrelevant barriers will interfere
The more construct-irrelevant barriers that can be reduced, the more equitable, valid, and reliable the assessment becomes

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The Inconvenient Truth About Tests and Exams

Present construct-irrelevant barriers for many students that reduce true demonstrations of understanding
Leave little room for nuance, incorrect answers may have resulted from a variety of thought processes that are not evident in a test response
Take place outside of and apart from the learning
Become less necessary when employing a robust use of conversations, observations, and authentic performance activities
Should be de-emphasized wherever possible

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“ Rather than being imposed “externally” at odd times during the year, assessment ought to become part of the natural learning environment. As much as possible it should occur “on the fly”, as part of an individual’s natural engagement in a learning situation … As assessment gradually becomes part of the landscape, it no longer needs to be set off from the rest of classroom activity. As in a good apprenticeship, the teachers and the students are always assessing. There is also no need to “teach for the assessment” because the assessment is ubiquitous; indeed, the need for formal tests might atrophy altogether.”

- Howard Gardner

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