Chapter13 - Assessing Student Learning

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instructional objective

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a statement of skills or concepts that students should master after a given period of instruction

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task analysis

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breaking tasks doen into fundamental subskills

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backward planning

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planning instruction by first setting long-range goals, then setting unit objectives & finally planning daily lessons

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assessment

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a measure of the degree to which instructional abjectives have been attained

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teaching objectives

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clear statements of what students are intended to learn thru instruction

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learning objectives

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specific behaviors that students are expected to exhibit at the end of a series of lessons

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taxonomy of educational objectives

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Bloom's ordering of objectives from simple learning tasks to more complex ones.

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behavior content matrix

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a chart that classifies lesson objectives according to cognitive level

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affective objectives

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objectives that have to do with student attitudes & values

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evaluation

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measurement of student performance in academic & sometimes other areas; used to determine appropriate teaching strategies

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norm-referenced interpretations

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assessments that compare the performance of one student against the performance of others

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criterion-referenced interpretations

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assessments that rate how thoroughly students have mastered specific skills or areas of knowledge

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table of specifications

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a list of instructional objectives & expected levels of understanding that guides test development

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selected-response items

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test items in which respondents can select from one or more possible answers, without requiring the scorer to interpret their response

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multiple-choice items

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test items that usually consist of a stem followed by choices or alternatives

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stem

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a question or partial statement in a test item that is completed by one of several choices

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distractors

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incorrect responses that are offered as alternative answers to a multiple-choice question

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clang

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features that make a choice stand out in multiple choice questions

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true-false items

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a form of multiple choice test items, most useful when a comparison of two alternatives is called for

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matching items

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test items that are presentee in two lists, each item in one list matching one or more items in the other list

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completion items

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fill in the blank items

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short essay item

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a test question the answer to which may range from a sentence or two to a page of 100 to 150 words

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long essay item

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a test question requiring an answer of more than a page

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problem solving assessment

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test that calls for organizing, selecting & applying complex procedures that have at least several important steps or components

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halo effect

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bias due to carryover of a general attitude about a respondent, as when a teacher knows which student wrote which response & alters the grading depending on his or her opinion of the student

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evaluative descriptors

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statements describing strong & weak features of a response to an item, a question or a project

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portfolio assessment

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assessment of a collection of the student's work in an area showing growth, self-reflection & achievement

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performance assessments

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assessments of students' ability to perform tasks in rel life contexts, not just to show knowledge. also called authentic assessments.

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relative grading standard

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grades given according to a student's rank in his or her class or grade

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mastery grading

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grading requiring an established standard of mastery, such as 80 or 90% correct on a test. Students who do not achieve it the first time may receive corrective instruction & then retake the test to try to achieve mastery

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What are insructional objectives & how are they used?

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Research supports the use of instructional, or behavioral, objectives, which are clear statements about what students should know & be able to do at the end of a lesson, unit or course. These statements also specify the conditions of performance & the criteria for assessment. In lesson planning, task analysis contributes to the formulation of objectives & and backward planning facilitates the development of specific objectives from general objectives in a course of study. Objectives are closely linked with assessment. Bloom's taxonomy of educational objectives classifies educational objectives from simple to complex, including knowledge, comprehension application, analysis, synthesis & evaluation. A behavior content matrix helps to ensure that objectives cover many levels.

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Why is evaluation important ?

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Formal measures of student performance or learning are important as feedback for students & teachers, as information for parents, as information for selection & certification, as information for assessing school accountability & as incentives for increasing student effort

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How is student learning evaluated?

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strategies for evaluation include formative evaluation; summative evaluation; norm-referenced evaluation in which a student's scores are compared with other students' scores; & criterion-referenced evaluation, in which student's scors ae sompared to a standard of mastery. Students are evaluated thru tests or performances. The appropriate method of evaluation is based on the goal of evaluation. for example, if the goal of testing is to find out whether students have mastered a key concept in a lesson, a criterion-referenced formative quiz or a performance would be the most appropriate.

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How are tests constructed?

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to elicit evidence of student learning in relation to the instructional objectives. Achievement tests should be constructed in keeping with six principles:
1. measure clearly defined learning objectives
2. measure a representative sample of the learning tasks included in instruction
3. include the types of test items most appropriate for measuring the desired learning outcomes
4. fit the uses that will be made of the results
5. be as reliable as possible & be interpreted with caution
6. imporve learning
A table of specifications helps in planning tests that correspond to instructional objectives. Types of test items include multiple choice, true-false, completion, matching, short essay & problem solving items. Each type of test item has optimal uses, vantages & disadvantages. Example: if you want to learn how students think about, analyze, synthesize or evaluate some aspect of course content, a short essay test might be most appropriate, provided that you have time to administer it & evaluate students' responses.

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What are portfolio & performance assessments?

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these avoid the negative aspects of pencil & paper multiple choice tests by requiring students to demonstrate their learning thru work samples or direct real world applications. Performance assessments are usually scored according to rubrics that specify in advance the type of perfomance expected.

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How are grades determined?

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grading systems differ in elemtary & secondary education. Example: informal assessments might be more appropriate at the elementary level, whereas letter grades become increasingly important at the secondary level. grading standards might be absolute or relative (grading on the curve). Performance grading is a way for teachers to determine what children know & can do. A key requirement for performance grading is judicious collection of work samples from students that indicate level of performance. Another approach is to give students tests in which they can show their abilities. Other systems include contract grading & master grading. Report card grades typically average scores on test, homework seatwork, class participation, deportment & effort.