Creating Working Assessments

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Creating Working Assessments

• Developed by Lynee Tourdot
• Baraboo School District

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Pre-Assessments

• What are they?
• They are used to determine a students
  comprehension of the knowledge, skills and
  understandings that will be taught in a unit.

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Pre-Assessments

• Why do we give a pre-assessment?
• To adjust the unit based on the background
  knowledge of the students.
• If a student understands most or all of the
  concepts, extensions to learning will be needed
  for that student or students. This may include
  choices for open-ended research, projects,
  additional reading to extend the topic, using the
  student to teach a concept for the class related
  to the topic, etc.
• If there is little background knowledge, a
  teacher may need to expand the unit to give the
  students more background information. This may
  include vocabulary, history, review, basic
  concepts, etc.

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Pre-Assessments

• How do we use pre-assessments?
• At the beginning of each unit to determine the
  level of existing knowledge about the topics
  being learned in the unit.
• Given to all students
• Used to adjust instruction (pre-assessments are
  useless if they are not used to adjust
  instruction)!

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Formative Assessments

• What are they?
• They are also called Assessment FOR Learning or
  Ongoing Assessments
• They are assessments given throughout the unit to
  determine the level of understanding about what
  has been taught.
• Examples homework, exit slips, using a white
  board to assess understanding, guided practice,
  quizzes, thumbs up, sideways or down, think
  alouds, feedback given for revision on
  assignments, etc.
• These do NOT have to be graded.

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Formative Assessments

• How are they used?
• To determine the level of understanding of each
  student throughout instruction. The level of
  understanding determines how the teacher adjusts
  instruction. For example, I may give an exit
  slip to see if students understood the type of
  math problem we learned today. Based on what I
  see on the exit slips, I adjust my instruction in
  the next lesson by meeting with individuals or
  small groups of students about misconceptions or
  misunderstandings, address the whole group if
  needed, or move on to the next level if students
  have shown understanding of the topic.

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Formative Assessments

• Formative assessments are all about feedback.
• Students are in the learning processthey need
  feedback to improve
• Should we grade students during the learning
  process while they are still making mistakes and
  havent had a chance to get their misconceptions
  corrected?
• Feedback on their work is the single biggest
  factor in helping a student to improve or learn
  the concept
• One way to give students feedback is by using a
  rubric
• Use a modified rubric to help students move to
  the next level. (see example)
• Rubric sites (see web site in resources)
• Make sure students have an opportunity to KNOW
  what you expect (give examples, have students
  practice on good and bad samples, and have
  students assess themselves).
• Assessment Ideas
• List of ideas
• Websites Kathie Nunley (Layered Curriculum)

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Summative Assessments

• What are they?
• They are also called Assessment OF Learning.
  If Assessment For learning is the physical
  checkup, Assessment Of Learning is the autopsy,
  or the final analysis of what was learned.

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Summative Assessments

• How are they used?
• Typically this is at the end of the unit, but it
  may also be at an end point within the unit. A
  teacher may use the information to change what
  they do next time they teach the unit, but for
  the most part you are no longer going back to
  re-teach.
• Make sure the assessment matches your BIG
  IDEAWhat do you really want kids to learn? Book
  tests dont often do this.

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Summative Assessments

• Types of Summative Assessment
• Final Exams (but they dont all have to be like
  this!)
• Open-ended questions (see Kathie Nunleys info)
• Projects
• Higher level thinking
• Choice of activities or projects, etc.
• Debate
• Role-play a scenario

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Resources

• Kathy Nunley Layer Curriculum
  http//help4teachers.com/samples2.htm
• Rubric Generators http//itmc.cesa5.k12.wi.us/ST
  AIRS_Site/workshop_pages/rubric_generators/rubric_
  generators.html