M6U1A1: Student Assessments

  1. Authentic: Real Life activities to show understanding of content and application of skills learned. Linked to Performance based assessment above.
  1. Diagnostic: At the beginning of a unit, assessment to determine prior knowledge. Used to guide instruction.
  1. Formative: Are informal checks for understanding during lessons that guide learning and instruction.
  1. Portfolio: A collection of student work to show growth and understanding or single or multiple units of study.
  1. Peer Assessment: Students individually assess each other's contribution using a predetermined list of criteria and share it with their peers.
  1. Performance-Based - activities where students actively show they understanding through the application of their learned knowledge and skills.
  1. Summative: Refers to the assessment of participants where the focus is on the outcome of a program.
  1. High-Stakes. Is usually a standard Government or internationally recognized test that can be used at various set times of the year to make important decisions about students, educators and schools.

Purpose: To understand the level of the student and best determine the readiness and differentiation tools needed to meet the learning objectives, skills and goals.

Advantages: Establishes Baseline - Allows for better differentiation - Provides a fame of reference for later assessments

Disadvantages: -It may cause an educator to make incorrect inferences about a child's ability level

Assessment type: FOR LEARNING

Example: Pre-test:

Disadvantages: Some teachers worry abut the time commitment in doing formative assessments and that they can take away from the lesson objectives.

Assessment type: FOR LEARNING

Advantages: helps students identify their strengths and weaknesses and target areas that need work
helps faculty recognize where students are struggling and address problems immediately

Example: Exit Tickets - Graphic Organizer - Proposals :

Purpose: The goal of formative assessment is to monitor student learning to provide ongoing feedback that can be used by instructors to improve their teaching and by students to improve their learning. More specifically, formative assessments

Disadvantages: There can be a lot of outside factors for poor performance in summative tests including the assessment strategy of the teacher and not just limited to the understanding and application of the students knowledge and skills.

Assessment Type: OF LEARNING

Advantages: The teacher can make out if the students have learned and understood the subject. Information from summative assessments can be used formatively when students or faculty use it to guide their efforts and activities in subsequent courses.

Example: End of unit assessment/test. A final Project/ Paper

Purpose: The goal of summative assessment is to evaluate student learning at the end of an instructional unit by comparing it against some standard or benchmark.

Disadvantages. There is a huge time component from both the students and teacher in doing PB assessments. It also needs very clear and well defined Rubrics so that things aren't left up to personal judgement.

Assessment Type: FOR & OF LEARNING depending on the activity

Advantages: Give the students choice in showcasing their knowledge and skills and provide detailed information so the teacher can assess the complete student. Also promotes the use of 21st century skills in students.

Example: Project Based Learning with presentation or an open ended question allowing the application of their knowledge

Purpose: measures students' ability to apply the skills and knowledge learned from a unit or units of study. Typically, the task challenges students to use their higher-order thinking skills to create a product or complete a process (Chun, 2010)

Disadvantage: It is high controversial among teachers as it can often be used as a performance based assessment of their teaching and doesn't reflect the complete situation or circumstances. It also adds a level of stress and anxiety to all concerned.

Assessment Type: Depends on the type of test can be For Learning or OF Learning. but it usually is OF LEARNING

Advantages: A common standard that is well defined and used widely in the education field. Can be used and understood across multiple locations and educators to assess a student and serve them better.

Example: SAT/IB/ and to a certain extent MAP Testing

Purpose:Is to have a level of accountability and standard unit of comparison of students when assessing their learning and growth. Also used as an entry into further education.

Disadvantages: They are time consuming and hard to assess due to the work load involved and subjectivity. Need to have a thorough rubric to meet standards and avoid bias.

Assessment Type: FOR or OF LEARNING

Advantages: Can come in many forms and generally Is a multiple sourced assessment (lots of data) that allows teachers and students show growth and understanding and that they are meeting learning standards. It is a completion of authentic work that is saved and stored for review etc.

Example: A chosen piece of work to show their skills and understanding of a certain task

Purpose:Helps to show and monitor student growth in learning

Disadvantages: Time consuming and difficult to put in place and measure.

Assessment Type: FOR & OF LEARNING depending on the activity.

Advantages: Brings learning alive and allows learning to grow through the experience. Students have time to build their learning through experience.

Example: Project based on authentic/real experience.

Purpose: Integration of teaching, learning and assessing in real world situations - using the assessment as a vehicle to learn.

  1. Self- Assessment: Students reflect on their learning and activities to deepen their understanding and highlight areas of strength and growth.

Assessment Type: FOR LEARNING

Example: Self-Reflections at the end of an activity

Disadvantageous: Difficult to manage correctly, needs a detailed Rubric and requires students to have certain skills to be competent in doing the assessment.

Advantages> Increases peoples skills of judgement and aids in the increase of what other students are doing - can help students learn how to do things the right and wrong way.

Disadvantages: Takes time to implement correctly. Needs a common Rubric/language for students to understand and use. Students won't be as critical and perhaps too easy on their friends and vise versa.

Purpose: To get students more involved with their classmates in providing proper feedback

Assessment Type: FOR LEARNING

Example: Peer Feedback Form/Rubric

Advantages: Increases level of self- awareness and can enhance the level of learning through levels of increased accountability and meeting objectives.

Purpose: To deepen learning and understanding of the learning through reflection and push responsibility to the students for their learning.

Reference: https://www.cmu.edu/teaching/assessment/basics/formative-summative.html

Reference: https://www.cmu.edu/teaching/assessment/basics/formative-summative.html

References:https://www.teachingchannel.org/questions/what-are-the-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-diagn/?utm_source=newsletter20151114/

Reference: https://www.edutopia.org/blog/performance-based-assessment-reviewing-basics-patricia-hilliard

Reference: https://www.education.com/magazine/article/high-stakes-testing-pros-cons/

Reference: http://edglossary.org/portfolio/

Reference: https://sydney.edu.au/education_social_work/groupwork/docs/SelfPeerAssessment.pdf

Reference: https://www.ucd.ie/t4cms/UCDTLA0033-1.pdf