Good teachers assess for two reasons: assessment of learning and assessment for learning. Assessment of learning, or summative assessment, means that teachers assess whether their students' learning is in line with particular standards. These assessments must be varied in order to determine the full range of student learning. For example, quantitative assessment may be utilized to assess factual knowledge, while qualitative assessment may help a teacher evaluate reasoning skills. Teachers must also remember that these types of assessments may require accommodations for individual students; such as, a student with limited reading abilities may need an oral exam, instead of a written one. On the other hand, assessment for learning, otherwise know as formative assessment, is used by the teacher to evaluate teaching strategies and ensure the progression of all students. This type of assessment is done during learning, and allows teachers to modify teaching strategies as needed. Although formative assessment is used to make in-the-moment changes to teaching, they should be pre-planned. Both teachers and students can make use of formative assessment to track learning. Elements of designing students assessments include:
Congruence With Instructional Outcomes
In order to be effective, assessments must align with standards, such as the PA Common Core Standards.
Criteria and Standards
In order for an assessment to be valid and reliable there must be clearly outlined criteria/standards for students to follow. In other words, there should be no doubt in the students' minds about what the expectations are.
Design of Formative Assessments
Formative assessment is an extremely useful tool for both teachers and students. It allows teachers to use best practice in teaching each student. It also allows teachers to make on-the-fly edits to their lessons in order to reach all students. However, formative assessments must be planned before the lesson is taught.
Use for Planning
Assessments are not useful if teachers do not use them to improve future lessons.
Implementing in the Classroom/Artifacts Demonstrating Competency
Congruence With Instructional Outcomes
In order to be effective, assessments must align with standards, such as the PA Common Core Standards.
Criteria and Standards
In order for an assessment to be valid and reliable there must be clearly outlined criteria/standards for students to follow. In other words, there should be no doubt in the students' minds about what the expectations are.
Design of Formative Assessments
Formative assessment is an extremely useful tool for both teachers and students. It allows teachers to use best practice in teaching each student. It also allows teachers to make on-the-fly edits to their lessons in order to reach all students. However, formative assessments must be planned before the lesson is taught.
Use for Planning
Assessments are not useful if teachers do not use them to improve future lessons.
Implementing in the Classroom/Artifacts Demonstrating Competency
- Lesson plans include related standards
- Each lesson plan has multiple forms of formative assessment and relates to summative assessment
- All assessments can be proven to be standardized, practical, valid, and reliable
- Modified assessments are given to students who need it
- Teacher gives clear expectations of all assignments
- Teacher provides positive and negative examples for students to reference when completing a project
- Teacher uses formative assessment to make on-the-spot changes to a lesson
- Assignments are based on topics that are important to students
- Students in America are assigned buddies in France to assess their letter writing skills in French
- Let students help create the rubric
- Images labeled for reuse
- (2018). Static.pdesas.org. Retrieved 13 March 2018, from http://static.pdesas.org/content/documents/danielson_rubric_2.pdf