Assessment: An Overview

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Assessment An Overview

• Original author Holly Hull
• Modified by Jim Julius

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Assessment Information

• Definitions
• Areas
• Types
• Examples

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Comprehensive Definition

• Assessment is an ongoing process aimed at
  understanding and improving student learning. It
  involves
• making our expectations explicit and public
• setting appropriate criteria and high standards
  for learning quality
• systematically gathering, analyzing, and
  interpreting evidence to determine how well
  performance matches those expectations and
  standards
• and using the resulting information to document,
  explain, and improve performance.
• (Thomas A. Angelo, AAHE Bulletin, November 1995,
  p.7).
• (emphasis/bulleting added)

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Comprehensive Definition (cont.)

• When assessment is embedded effectively within
  larger institutional systems, assessment can help
  us
• focus our collective attention
• examine our assumptions
• and create a shared academic culture dedicated to
  assuring and improving the quality of
  education.
• (Thomas A. Angelo, AAHE Bulletin, November 1995,
  p.7).
• (emphasis/bulleting added)

Click to see more assessment definitions
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Simpler Assessment Definition

• systematically gathering, analyzing, and
  interpreting evidence to determine how well
  performance matches expectations and
  standards... (Thomas A. Angelo, AAHE Bulletin,
  November 1995, p.7).

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Areas of Assessment

• Content knowledge (facts/concepts/basic skills)
• Critical thinking (higher levels of Blooms
  taxonomy)
• Metacognition Planning/goal-setting,
  self-monitoring, self-evaluation
• Creativity/Problem-solving
• Group/Self-management Skills (cooperation,
  organization, participation, effort, citizenship,
  etc.)
• Performance skills (presentations, writing,
  experiments, complex problem-solving, multimedia,
  etc.)

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Types of Assessment

• Traditional
• Standardized Tests
• Essay Questions
• True/False
• Short Answer
• Multiple Choice
• Etc.

• Authentic/Project-Based/ Alternative/Performance
  Assessments
• Tools
• Performance Checklist
• Rubric
• Portfolio
• Anecdotal Record
• Assessment Contexts
• Projects (Tasks)
• Journals
• Conferences
• Etc.

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Areas and types of assess-ment
Marzano, R., Pickering, D., McTigh, J. (1993).
Assessing student outcomes Performance
assessment using the dimensions of learning
model. Alexandria, VA Association for
Supervision and Curriculum Development.
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To summarize

• Authentic, performance-based assessments focus on
  contextualized ends and means
• process skills
• meaningful products
• relevant knowledge/skills

• Simpler, traditional assessments focus on
  decontextualized ends
• knowledge/basic skills

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Checklist

• It is
• Predetermined list
• Performance-based
• Composed of measurable/ observable items

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Rubric

• It is
• Set of criteria/descriptors
• Based on levels of achievement and
• Attributes of the performance being measured

Hows the presentation?
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Portfolio

• It is
• Purposeful collection of student work
• Tool that can be used for assessment and/or
  instruction
• Student-centered and should involve student in
  the process

• It is not
• A folder of all the students work
• An end in itself
• A teacher-only activity

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One Last Thing to Remember...
Assessment should be an ongoing process, embedded
within a big picture!