FACULTY OF EDUCATION

Associate Degree in Education (ADE) 02 year /!Ed!("ons) E#e$entary 0% year &rogra$

Course No. EED- 425 Credit Hours 3
Title of Course Classroom Assessment Semester 4
th

Course Description
It is natural for teachers to assume that students learn when the teacher teaches. It
isnt sufcient, though, to assume that students are learning. Teachers need to know
if students are learning. Yes, teachers give tests to fnd out if students are learning
from the teachers lessons. ut often these tests occur at intervals of fve or si!
wee"s #or even longer $eriods%. & the time the teacher learns that some students
havent 'een learning, those students are far 'ehind others in the class. (ithout
fre)uent assessment of their learning, it will 'e ver& hard for the students who have
fallen 'ehind to catch u$ with others in the class.
Classroom assessment, a set of educational $ractices taught in this course, ena'les a
teacher to ma"e instructional decisions with and for students 'ased on information
o'tained from fre)uent evaluation of learning. There are man& defnitions of
classroom assessment. Here is one*
Classroom assessment is the process of collecting and
interpreting information about learning and teaching as
it occurs in a classroom for the purpose of making
decisions that improve opportunities for learning.
Tests have a role in the evaluation of learning in school. However, there are nota'le
di+erences 'etween a test and an assessment. ,n& given test is a one-time event.
Classroom assessment is a continuous $rocess. Some tests, called external tests, are
created '& $eo$le who do not "now the students who will ta"e the test. In contrast,
assessments are $lanned and conducted '& teachers with their own students. Tests
are $art of the assessment $rocess, 'ut the& are onl& one of man& assessment tools.
,ssessment is a 'road conce$t. , teacher conducting an assessment collects
information a'out learning from several $ers$ectives and uses more than one
assessment tool.
This course is organi.ed around two central classroom assessment activities. The frst
involves incor$orating assessment activities into lessons. This means including
assessment targets and criteria that re$resent success in achieving the targets/in
addition to the lessons learning o'0ectives/in lesson $lans. The second assessment
activit& is constructing an achievement test.
The goal of the frst activit& is to illustrate how assessment can im$rove learning and
instruction. You have studied a'out learning goals, outcomes, and1or o'0ectives in
other courses, and &ou "now how to use them in lesson $lans. Youll use that
"nowledge now to distinguish 'etween learning o'0ectives and assessment targets.
You will see how to write assessment targets and where the& 'elong in a lesson $lan.
You will learn how to set the criteria that a student must meet in order to show that
she or he has met the target and, therefore, achieved the lessons learning
o'0ectives. You will see that &ou have to choose, from among several o$tions,
assessment tools that will give &ou the information &ou need to determine if students
have achieved the lessons o'0ective.
The goal of the second activit& is to show &ou that creating an a$$ro$riate
achievement test for &our students is more than 0ust writing )uestions #though that is
a central $art of the $rocess%. You will see that good tests re)uire a 'lue$rint #usuall&
called a Ta'le of S$ecifcations%. The 'lue$rint hel$s &ou decide the to$ics and
learning o'0ectives &our test should include and how man& )uestions &ou should
write for each. You will learn what it means when a test is called standardized and
also how to im$rove a test after &ou have given it once.
,s &ou start this course, $lease understand that man& teachers are alread& assessing
student learning in their classrooms. The& do it when the& as" )uestions. The& do it
when the& read and $rovide feed'ac" on homewor". The& do it when the& give a
)ui. or test. ut most teachers arent reall& aware of the im$ortance of these
assessment activities, and the& dont assess student learning in a s&stematic wa& or
with sufcient fre)uenc&.
Course Outcomes
,t the end of the course, &ou should 'e a'le to*
2 write a lesson $lan that includes assessment targets, criteria for
demonstrating success achieving the targets, and a$$ro$riate assessment
tools
2 e!$lain the $ur$ose of a Ta'le of S$ecifcations for a test #test 'lue$rint% to a
colleague
2 show a colleague how to construct a Ta'le of S$ecifcations for a test
distinguish 'etween good and wea" short-answer, multi$le-choice, true-false,
and matching )uestions from an actual test and e!$lain wh& each )uestion is
good or wea"
2 identif& the characteristics of e+ective feed'ac" and $rovide an e!am$le
2 construct a ru'ric for a $erformance assessment tas"
2 defend, with conviction, the claim that relia'le information from assessments
a'out students learning status increases the e+ectiveness of instructional
decisions
Course Outline
3nit 4* Classroom assessment/(hat are we tal"ing a'out5
1 W. Defnitions, personal experience, professional standards, and
examples
Session # 1
The $ur$ose and content of the course
6istinction 'etween the meanings of measurement,
evaluation, testing, and assessment
Your e!$erience of measurement, evaluation, testing and
assessment
The distinction 'etween summative and formative assessment
Session # 2
The assessment standard in the National 7rofessional
Standards for Teachers in 7a"istan
Session # 3
8!am$les of assessment
,sim, age 49, learns how to gain weight
The frst lesson in a unit on the solar s&stem
:s ;hans grade < class
2 W. eed!ac" that mo#es learnin$ for%ard
Session # 1
The conce$t of feed'ac" as it is used '& 'iologists and
engineers
The conce$t of feed'ac" as it is used '& teachers
8!am$les of conscious and unconscious feed'ac" '& teachers
Summaries of research on teachers feed'ac" to students
indicate that it has a $owerful e+ect on learning
The $s&chological e+ects for students of $ositive feed'ac" and
negative feed'ac"
Session # 2
The theor& of motivation that guides decisions a'out feed'ac"*
, growth mindset
T&$es of feed'ac" and their $ur$oses
Characteristics of e+ective feed'ac"
=eed'ac" as encouragement versus feed'ac" as $raise
6o oral and written feed'ac" have identical e+ective features5
Session # 3
, $ractice e!ercise
Stud& and criti)ue a teachers frst feed'ac" to a student, age
44, on his answers to a test on the solar s&stem
Stud& advice to that teacher a'out her feed'ac" to the student
Stud& and criti)ue the teachers feed'ac" to the same student
on the same test in res$onse to the advice she received
>e?ection on what was learned a'out feed'ac"
3 W. &he context for classroom assessment in 'a"istan
Session # 1
,ssessment $olic& and $ractice in government and $rivate
schools in 7a"istan
7resentation of information collected in interviews with
teachers, $eers, and $arents a'out assessment
Session # 2
The conce$t of culture
Session # 3
Contrasting test-'ased culture in the classroom with an
assessment-'ased culture
Create a defnition of classroom assessment that is a$$ro$riate
to culture#s% in 7a"istan
3nit 9* ,ssessment is a $rocess that connects teaching and
learning
4 W. (earnin$ o!)ecti#es, learnin$ tar$ets, and s*ccess criteria
Session #1
6efnitions for learning goals, learning o'0ectives, learning
targets, success criteria, and formative assessment
6i+erence 'etween the terms learning o'0ectives, learning
targets, and success criteria
3se of e!am$le lesson $lans #@Sun, 8arth, and the :oon% to
discuss the $rocess of creating assessment-em'edded lesson
$lans
Session #2
3sing e!am$les of assessment-em'edded lesson $lans to
stud& the relationshi$ 'etween learning o'0ectives, learning
targets, success criteria, and formative assessment
(or"ing 'ac"ward to write learning o'0ectives, learning
targets, success criteria, and formative assessments after
stud&ing the activities included in the lesson $lans
7ractice $roviding $eer feed'ac" on language and clarit& of
learning o'0ectives, learning targets, success criteria, and
formative assessments
Session #3
(or"ing 'ac"ward to write learning o'0ectives, learning
targets, success criteria, and formative assessments after
stud&ing the activities included in the lesson $lans
5 W. +ecordin$ assessment data
Session #1
>ecording assessment results
Class discussions as o$$ortunities to learn fnd out what
students "now and understand a'out a to$ic
>ecording student $artici$ation in discussion
6rawing conclusions a'out student $artici$ation and student
"nowledge from records of $artici$ation in discussion
Session #2
Students $artici$ation in recording evidence of learning
:ethods for recording assessment data
2 :s ;hans monitoring note'oo"
2 Students science 0ournals
2 6istinguishing 'etween assessment $rocedures used '&
teachers and $rocedures used '& students
Session #3
Constructing a class record to document student achievement
6 W. ,nterpretin$ assessment data
Session #1
Test scores do not lead directl& to educational decisions,
though educational decisions are made and actions are ta"en
on the 'asis of inter$retations of test scores
Inter$retations and conclusions made from test scores should
'e valid and relia'le
Aalidit& as a conce$t
Aalidit& as a $s&chometric construct
>elia'ilit& as a conce$t
>elia'ilit& as a $s&chometric construct
Aalidit& and relia'ilit& are not $ro$erties of the tests 'ut of
conclusions from test scores
Session #2
=rames of reference for inter$reting scores from assessment
tas"s
Norm-referenced frame of reference
Criterion-referenced frame of reference
Self-referenced frame of reference
Bther names for norm-referenced and criterion-referenced
inter$retations of students scores on assessment tas"s
>elative inter$retations #com$ara'le to norm-referenced
inter$retations%
,'solute inter$retations #com$ara'le to criterion-referenced
inter$retations%
8!$lanation for each of these inter$retations of $erformance
Illustrations of each of these inter$retations of scores from
assessment tas"s
Session #3
Create a diagram of the assessment $rocess
Identif& $laces in the diagram where assessment connects
learning with instruction
Create one diagram, if $ossi'le, which ever&one in the class
can endorse
3nit C* ,ssessment tools
7 W. ,nter#ie%in$ teachers a!o*t assessment
Session # 1
Interviews
Constructing an interview tool to collect data a'out teacher
$ractices, o$inions, and 'eliefs a'out assessment
Session # 2
Conducting the interview
Session # 3
6iscussion and anal&sis of data collected in the interview
Criti)ue of the interview tool
8 W. Essa- .*estions/ 0eas*rin$ complex achie#ement
Session # 1
Short-answer essa&s
Donger-answer essa&s
Dearning goals that can 'e measured '& short-answer essa&s
Dearning goals that can 'e measured '& longer-answer essa&s
,dvantages and disadvantages of essa& tests
Session # 2
Euidelines for writing essa& )uestions
7ractice writing essa& )uestions
Session # 3
Euidelines for scoring essa& )uestions
9 W. 'erformance-!ased assessment 1pro)ect-!ased assessment2
Session # 1
6efnition of performance-based assessment
3se of an e!am$le of e!tended $erformance-'ased
assessment #the green 'ean com$etition% to stud& di+erent
features of $erformance-'ased assessments
Stud&ing di+erent features of a ru'ric and its relationshi$ with
the learning o'0ectives and assessment tas"s included in the
$erformance-'ased assessment $ro0ect
Session # 2
3nderstanding di+erent characteristics of $erformance-'ased
assessment tas"s '& conducting a short $erformance-'ased
assessment tas" in class
3sing a ru'ric to grade a $erformance-'ased assessment tas"
3nderstanding usefulness and challenges in using
$erformance-'ased assessment tas"s in class
Session # 3
6esigning a $erformance-'ased assessment tas"
10 W. 'ortfolios/ S*mmari3in$ st*dent achie#ement
Session # 1
(hat )ualifes as a $ortfolio of student wor"5
T&$es of $ortfolios
7ro0ect $ortfolios
Erowth $ortfolios
,chievement $ortfolios
Com$etence $ortfolios
Cele'ration $ortfolios
(or"ing folders
7ur$oses of $ortfolios
Instruction
,ssessment
Session # 2
Euidelines for $ortfolio entries
>e?ection and self-evaluation as $art of the $ortfolio $rocess
7ortfolio conferences
Session # 3
,ssessing $ortfolios
,dvantages and disadvantages of $ortfolios
3nit <* Teacher-made tests/How do teachers do it5
11 W. &ests as assessment tools
Session # 1
8!$loring $ersonal e!$eriences and feelings a'out tests
6iscussing the strengths and limitations of tests as
assessment tools
3nderstanding that tests are one of man& assessment
methods and li"e an& other assessment tool have their own
$ros and cons
Session # 2
8!$loring the defnition of achievement tests and standardized
tests
6iscussing di+erent characteristics and e!am$les of
standardi.ed tests
Session # 3
Stud&ing two t&$es of score inter$retations for tests* Norm-
referenced vs. criterion-referenced
12 W. &he test constr*ction process
Session # 1
Start of the test construction $rocess
Dearning to create a Ta'le of S$ecifcations -the frst ste$ in
creating a test
6rawing connections 'etween learning o'0ectives and a Ta'le
of S$ecifcations
Session # 2
Creating a Ta'le of S$ecifcations to hel$ write test )uestions
6iscussing the e+ectiveness of Ta'le of S$ecifcations in real-
life classroom situations
Connections 'etween looms Ta!onom& and the
Ta'le of S$ecifcations
Classif&ing test )uestions according to looms categories
Session # 3
Stud&ing the di+erences 'etween strong and wea" test
)uestions
8!$loring the characteristics of strong test )uestions
7racticing writing short-answer, sentence com$letion, multi$le-
choice, and true-false )uestions
13 W. 4ritin$ test .*estions
Session # 1
Continue to $ractice writing test )uestions
Session # 2
7utting the test together
Session # 3
Stud&ing characteristics of clear test directions
7ractice writing test directions
14 W. 'ractice interpretin$ test scores
Session # 1
>eview of Student Teachers current "nowledge a'out the
inter$retation of test scores
Introduction to assessment trac"er #a tool for assessing the
)ualit& of the test and of student learning%
Stud&ing an e!am$le of an assessment trac"er in detail to
e!$lore its main features
Session # 2
Dearning to use an assessment trac"er to inter$ret test scores
Session # 3
3sing the assessment trac"er to $rovide constructive feed'ac"
to students
3nit F* >eview through $ractice
15 W. 4ritin$ an assessment-em!edded lesson plan
Session # 1
>eview at least two of the sam$le science lessons into which
&ou wrote learning o'0ectives, learning targets, success
criteria, and assessment tools
>eview defnitions and di+erences 'etween a learning
o'0ective and a learning target
Selecting success criteria
Disting assessment tools1methods used or studied in the
course
6esigning a tem$late for a lesson $lans
Choose a to$ic for &our lesson1assessment $lan
Session # 2
(rite &our lesson1assessment $lan
Select a $artner with whom &ou will e!change feed'ac"
Session # 3
8!change feed'ac" on the lesson $lans
Share feed'ac" with the class
Identif& the main $oints a'out the assessment in lessons that
were taught in this course
16 W. 4ritin$ a test !ased on essa- .*estions that co*ld !e *sed as a
fnal examination for this co*rse
Session # 1
>eview the reason#s% for essa& )uestions
>eview the two t&$es of essa& )uestions
>eview guidelines for writing essa& )uestions
>eview the disadvantages of essa& )uestions
Identif& course to$ics for essa& )uestions
Session # 2
Identif& the conditions under which fnal e!aminations are
given in &our college or universit& #for e!am$le, the length of
the e!amination $eriod%
Identif& the course to$ics &ou $lan to include in &our test
(riting essa& )uestions 'ased on to$ics in this course
6evelo$ing grading criteria for selected )uestions in the essa&
test
Session # 3
8!change feed'ac" on essa& tests
,nswer a $artners )uestion and return it to them for mar"ing
:ar"ing essa&s 'ased on grading criteria
Te!t'oo"s and references
7. lac", C. Harrison, . :arshall, and 6. (iliam, Assessment for Learning: Putting It
into Practice #er"shire, 3;* B$en 3niversit& 7ress, 9G4G%.
S. Clar"e, Active Learning through Formative Assessment #Dondon* Hodder
8ducation, 9GGH%.
I. H. :ac:illan, lassroom Assessment: Principles and Practices for !"ective
#tandards- $ased Instruction% Fth ed. #oston* 7earson, 9G44%.
:. 6. :iller, >. D. Dinn, and N. 8. Eronlund, &easurement and Assessment in
'eaching, 44th ed. #3$$er Saddle >iver, NI* 7earson, 9G4C%.
>. Stiggins, I. ,rter, I. Cha$$ius, and S. Cha$$ius, lassroom Assessment for #tudent
Learning: (oing It )ight*+sing It ,ell #oston* 7earson, 9GGJ%. This te!t has a 6A6
and a C6.
6. (iliam, !mbedded Formative Assessment. #loomington, IN* Solution Tree 7ress,
9G44%.
There are several we'site addresses to use for the course. These we'sites are listed
on the handouts where the& will 'e used.