ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION

Assessment is no longer viewed and used the way it used to be. A variety of assessments is used to improve student learning and guide teachers in their planning and instructional approaches. Today’s shift is focused on learning and not so much on grades. Evaluation and marks come after providing students with a lot of practice and feedback on their understanding of concept and skills. Assessment is the gathering of information or observable evidence about what a student can do, where as evaluation refers to the process of judging the quality of student work on the basis of established criteria and assigning a value to represent that quality (reference to A Guide to Effective Instruction in Mathematics,Kindergarten to Grade 6 – Volume 4).

Three Types of Assessment

• Assessment for learning (diagnostic)
• Assessment as learning (formative)
• Assessment of learning (summative)

Assessment for learning (Diagnostic)

Is the process of gathering and interpreting evidence in order to provide clear, timely feedback to students to support their ongoing learning and achievement. This type of assessment is descriptive and not evaluative; frequent and ongoing. It is aimed at helping students improve their learning.

To effectively prepare a diagnostic assessment, consider looking at the previous grade level’s expectations and prepare an activity to get a baseline of your students’ mathematical processing skills and levels of understanding of a concept. When preparing a task or question, consider all possible misconceptions and prepare a task that would challenge their understanding of the concept. Incorporating a communication aspect to your assessment will also help you see how deep your students’ knowledge of the concept is and whether they have any misconceptions. All information will guide you in planning and differentiating lessons in a way that best fits your students' zone of proximal development. For an example of a diagnostic assessment of Grade 4 fractions, please click on the link here.)

Diagnostic Assessment Strategies

·        KWL charts

·        Clickers (SMART response, eInstruction)

·        RAN chart

·        Exit cards

·        Checklist

·        Instructional rubrics for students

·        Draw pictures to explain thinking

·        Role plays

·        Wordle

·        Thumbs up/Thumbs down

•       Read a children’s book on a particular Math concept http://childrenspicturebooks.info/articles/picture_books_for_math.htm (This is a website with a list of books for various Math strands)
•      Use the Senteo program on the SMARTboard and create a few questions based on last year's curriculum expectations.
•     Solve a problem from the previous grade (with the availability of various math manipulatives)

Assessment as learning (Formative)

It is based on the conviction that students are capable of becoming adaptable, flexible, and independent in their learning and making-decisions. It provides an opportunity for the student to monitor their own learning and progress. It fosters self-monitoring through meta-cognition and the application of self-regulatory strategies.

Our goal is to determine a child’s progress and improve learning. To effectively prepare formative assessments, careful planning needs to be considered. Consider the design down model of planning. Begin with the end in mind. Begin by asking yourself what is critical for students to know by the end of this unit. Then, determine what skills and concepts need to be learned and in what order. Planning lessons and assessments need to be carefully thought ahead of time and purposeful. Consider both the previous and next grade level’s expectation in the curriculum. Determine what possible misconceptions that we may encounter in your lesson plans, and write up good probing and prompting questions to get students to think about their math ideas and skills. Plan for a variety of lessons that will allow the students to show us what they know and have learned, and what they still need to learn. Be prepared to record your observations and to give students ongoing feedback on both their strengths and areas of improvement. Encourage your students to give each other constructive feedback and provide them with instructional rubrics (with kid-friendly words), where they can monitor or help each other monitor their learning progress. A big resource for teachers is the students’ parents. Use newsletters, a class website or a brochure to inform your students’ parents about the difference between assessment and evaluation. Inform and engage them in supporting you in your Math program. Give them ideas on how to support and extend their child’s mathematical ideas and skills. They are great resources! Here is a sample newsletter for your parents.

Formative Assessment Strategies

·        Assessment for learning tracking sheets (on their knowledge and understanding; thinking and problem-solving skills; communication skills and application skills)

·        Observations

·        Anecdotal notes

·        Math journal

·        Three part lessons

·        Teacher-student conferencing

·        KWL charts

·        Clickers (SMART response, eInstruction)

·        RAN chart

·        Exit cards

·        Checklist

·        Instructional rubrics for students

·        Peers assessments

·        Math portfolios

·        Concept maps http://www.linkslearning.org/Teachers/1_Math/2_Curriculum_Planning/2_Math_Concept_Maps/index.html

·        Draw pictures to explain thinking

·        Role plays

·        Wordle

·        Thumbs up/Thumbs down

•      Write a question related to particular concept

Assessment of learning (Summative)

Includes all summative assessment; it occurs when a teacher deems it necessary to determine the extent of a student’s achievement in relation to an established standard.

Assessments of learning are only done after lots of opportunities to explore and represent a concept (through oral activities, small group activities, class debates, class discussions, many real-life problem-solving exercises, etc.) and after many feedback from the teacher, peers, parents and self-assessments. Summative assessments will assess the students’ knowledge and understanding, thinking and problem-solving skills, communication skills and application skills. They can be done orally, written and/or through a performance task. Summatives should reflect what was explored and learned in class. There should be no surprises to the students or the parents.

Effective Ideas to Support Learning for All Students (reference to Damian Copper)

1.      Classroom assessment serves different purposes at different times (assessments are not always evaluations).

2.      Classroom assessment must be planned and purposeful (Practice the design down model).

3.      Classroom assessment must be balanced (assess oral, written and performance responses).

4.      Classroom assessment and instruction are inseparable because effective assessment informs learning.

5.      Feedback delivered in words is helpful to students.

6.      Classroom assessment is a collaborative process that is most effective when it involves self-, peer- and teacher-assessment.

7.      Performance standards are an essential component of effective classroom assessment (Have success criteria readily available and kid-friendly).

8.      Grading and reporting is a caring process that requires teachers’ professional judgment.

9.      Inform and engage parents in your Math program.

References

1.      OCDSB’s Educators’ Resource Guide: Assessment, Evaluation and Reporting of Student Achievement, 2008

2.      Assessment for learning http://www.etfo.ca/Resources/ForTeachers/Documents/Assessment%20for%20Learning.pdf

3.      Assessment as learning http://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/assess/wncp/ch4.pdf

4.      Assessment FOR, AS, OF learning http://www.crcs.bc.ca/teacherlinks/for-as-of.html

5.      A Guide to Effective Instruction in Mathematics,Kindergarten to Grade 6 – Volume 4

6.      The Key to Good Assessments: Eight Ideas to Support Learning for All Students http://www.eqao.com/eMagazine/2009/02/eMagArticle.aspx?Lang=E&ArticleID=04&ItemID=34