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STUDENT ASSESSMENTS (PEER ASSESSMENT :check: (Peer assessment is a process…

- - - - Peer assessment occurs when students assess each other's work in a summative way often using criteria developed by an instructor that results in a final grade . It can however be also formative as it can engage students in dialogue with their classmates during a lesson, commenting on each others’ work rather than a one-way feedback system from instructor to student.
        
        Advantages:
        
        Agreed marking criteria means there can be little confusion about assignment outcomes and expectations
        
        Encourages student involvement and responsibility
        
        Encourages students to reflect on their role and contribution to the process of the group work
        
        Focuses on the development of student’s judgment skills.
        
        Students are involved in the process and are encouraged to take part ownership of this process
        
        Provides more relevant feedback to students as it is generated by their peers
        
        It is considered fair by some students, because each student is judged on their own contribution
        
        When operating successfully can reduce a lecturer's marking load
        
        Can help reduce the ‘free rider’ problem as students are aware that their contribution will be graded by their peers
        
        Disadvantages:
        
        Additional briefing time can increase a lecturer’s workload.
        
        The process has a degree of risk with respect to reliability of grades as peer pressure to apply elevated grades or friendships may influence the assessment, though this can be
        reduced if students can submit their assessments independent of the group
        
        Students will have a tendency to award everyone the same mark
        
        Students feel ill equipped to undertake the assessment
        
        Students may be reluctant to make judgements regarding their peers
        
        At the other extreme students may be discriminated against if students ‘gang up’ against one group member
        
        As an example for a high school Biology class, you could get each student to conduct an individual experiment by themselves or perhaps research a scientific problem of interest and create a presentation of their recommended solutions. Each student could then be evaluated by their peers anomalously or every student could be assigned a peer who they will assess and also be assessed by.
- - - - Designed primarily as an assessment for learning (formative) as it is used to evaluate task performance during a lesson, project or class activity.
        
        Advantages:
        
        Provides a snapshot of students learning in time
        
        Knowledge is constructed during the learning process
        
        Student discovers knowledge for him/herself, rather than receiving knowledge
        
        Facilitates both the way students take information
        and the way they store and apply this information to deal with novel situations
        
        Incorporates authentic tasks that need higher level of thinking and application of skills
        
        Provides an opportunity to tap into the depth and breadth of students’ learning
        
        Disadvantages:
        
        Time and content
        
        Validity
        
        Reliability
        
        As an example for a high school Biology class, you could get students in groups to design and conduct a practical laboratory experiment and use a lab rubric (as I described in module 5) to employ a performance-based assessment.
- - - - Designed primarily as an assessment of learning (summative) as they are typically are given to students at the end of a set point, during or at the end of the semester, to assess what has been learned and how well it was learned.
        
        Advantages:
        
        Helps Teachers Learn More About Student Needs.
        
        The Testing Data Is Readily Available.
        
        Improved Test Taking Abilities.
        
        Disadvantages:
        
        Some Subjects Are Not Properly Emphasized.
        
        Creativity Is Stifled.
        
        Increasing Pressure Does Not Always Work.
        
        Dropouts increase
        
        Redefinition of Teaching
        
        Teacher Stress
        
        As an example for a high school Biology class, some students may elect to take the Advanced Placement (AP) Biology exam that can only be taken once and cannot be repeated. If they pass, students can use this to enter college/university saving both time and money.
- - - - Designed primarily as an assessment for learning (formative) as students learn to reflect on the progress of their work as they move through different stages.
        
        Advantages:
        
        Can give us a perspective of student’s expectations, necessities, problems and frustrations in the process
        
        Can give us a more humanistic perspective of the student’s development, in other words how do students’ feel, it is a means of checking their emotional thermometer and measuring the level of anxiety they experience
        
        Can reveal the students’ attitude towards the course, the language they are studying, the materials and activities
        
        Can give hints of the students’ opinion about the course and their feelings or perception about their progress in learning
        
        An important indicator of how mature our students are
        
        Develops more interest in the course from students
        
        Aids students’ in taking responsibility of their own learning
        
        Disadvantages:
        
        It can be fairly unreliable if students do not trust the teacher, or if grading is in stakes; e.g., if students know that if they give themselves a bad grade this will impact their score
        
        It can be time-consuming if not planed adequately.
        
        It can be taken as an opportunity to attack the teacher
        
        Depending on the students’ maturity, it might not be taken seriously, and thus seen only as a means from the teacher to waste time as if he/she had nothing else to do
        
        It requires from the students to be trained in order to work adequately
        
        It is difficult to apply in lower levels
        
        If not done orally, sometimes, e. g. in writing, it can be ignored and thus rendered worthless
        
        As an example for a high school Biology class, you could get each student to film a short video of themselves reflecting orally on various areas such as what they have enjoyed, what they have learned, how they feel they have worked and contributed to various modules/activities, what they would do better if they had to do it again etc.
- - - - Advantages:
        
        Not graded, which takes the anxiety away from students. It also detaches the thinking that they must get everything right
        
        Serve as a practice for students to get assistance along the way before final tests
        
        Allows teachers to address learning issues early on instead of waiting until the end of the unit to assess
        
        Teachers have to do less reteaching at the end because many of the problems with mastery are addressed before final tests
        
        Disadvantages:
        
        Sacrificing time to assess during the lesson
        
        Teachers may lack training or professional development on how to use formative assessments successfully because historically assessments are completed at the end
        
        Formative assessment may lack the same weight — low to no point value — as a summative assessment
        
        Students may not take the assessments seriously, which may cause teachers to misread feedback from students.
        
        Designed primarily as an assessment for learning (formative) as the information that is retrieved is used to inform planning and teaching.
        
        As an example for a high school Biology class, you could use an exit ticket at the end of class (like I did with my demo Biology lesson in module 5) asking each student to write down in 3 sentences what they have learned during the class.
- - - - Portfolio assessments can be either summative or formative in structure. A summative portfolio focuses on the product or end result of the student’s learning such as, for example, a digital recording of a final performance, a scientific lab report, or a final series of photographs. A formative assessment takes into account the student’s process of learning and can include works-in-progress or evidence of the effort leading to the final product. This type of portfolio might include an actor’s annotated script, the shape and light charcoal studies for a still life painting, or math problem demonstrating the steps in between question and answer.
        
        Advantages:
        
        Can contain evidence of a wide range of skills and attributes
        
        Can be very effective in combination with a quick viva exam
        
        Portfolios can demonstrate progress in learning
        
        Portfolios can reflect students' attitudes and individual strengths
        
        Disadvantages:
        
        Looking through portfolios can be time consuming
        
        Hard to mark objectively
        
        Authenticity of evidence can sometimes be questioned
        
        As an example for a high school Biology class, you could get students to make a portfolio and keep adding to it as they progress through the course (including lab reports, personal reflections, concept maps, articles, interviews etc). It would show their understanding of the core ideas in Biology with written explanations and artifacts. It also gives each student the opportunity to assess their own understanding and to reflect on class activities. The portfolio could be graded once per marking period and/or checked periodically throughout the term. It's a great study tool and self-assessment if it's worked on regularly throughout the term.
- - - - Designed primarily as an assessment for learning (formative) as it is mostly happens during the learning
        process.
        
        Advantages:
        
        Focuses on analytical skills and the integration of knowledge
        
        Promotes creativity
        
        Reflection of real-world skills and knowledge
        
        Encourages collaborative work
        
        Enhances written and oral presentation skills
        
        Direct match of assessment, instructional activities, and learning objectives
        
        Emphasizes integration of learning over time
        
        Disadvantages:
        
        Time-intensive to manage, monitor, and coordinate
        
        Difficult to coordinate with mandatory educational standards
        
        Challenging to provide consistent grading scheme
        
        Subjective nature of grading may lead to bias
        
        Unique nature may be unfamiliar to students
        
        May not be practical for large enrollment courses
        
        Challenging to develop for various types of courses and ranges of objectives
        
        As an example for a high school Biology class, you could create and get students to perform an authentic real-life activity project. For example, see Genetic Disorder project below:
- - - - Designed primarily as an assessment of learning (summative) as it is used to evaluate student learning at the end of an instructional unit
        
        Advantages:
        
        To know if students have understood
        
        They determine achievement
        
        They make academic records
        
        Provides opportunity
        
        Boosts individuals
        
        Weak areas can be identified
        
        Training success can be measured
        
        They are tools for evaluation
        
        Instructional design
        
        Measures educator performance
        
        Gains better understanding
        
        Benefits for projects
        
        Disadvantages:
        
        Demotivates individuals
        
        Rectification is late
        
        Disruptive
        
        No remedy
        
        Not accurate reflection of learning
        
        Negative effect for students
        
        Issues with teaching and curriculum
        
        Reliability and validity
        
        Biasing
        
        Authenticity
        
        As an example for a high school Biology class, you could use an end of unit or chapter test as I described in module 5.
- - - - Advantages:
        
        Establishes a baseline for the class
        
        Allows for better differentiation plans for the students
        
        Provides a frame of reference for later assessments
        
        Disadvantages:
        
        It may cause an educator to make incorrect inferences about a child's ability level
        
        Designed primarily as an assessment for learning (formative) as it's used to collect information for planning instruction and acknowledging learners’ needs
        
        As an example for a high school Biology class, you could use a simple multiple choice test as a diagnostic assessment in your high school biology class. Tell the students that there is no grade associated with this test except for participation.