Look at the pictures ... can you identify? What do you think the pictures portray with regards to Assessments?
The above cartoons depict the possible disconnections that certain assessments may contain.
The above describes the three assessment categories, which can be undertaken at any given time in an educational setting. However, there is a continuum (from low to high) with respect to student engagement among the three. Assessment of learning would represent the least amount of student engagement. Assessment for learning would represent medium to low student engagement. Assessment as learning represents high student engagement. While assessment as learning can't be achieved all the time (for practical and purpose driven reasons), it should always be considered as a possible first option. In addition to the above pictures, the below chart establishes the case for more 'assessment as learning' further.
Standardized Tests and Standards Based Assessments
Standardized: Norm-referenced tests
scores compared to other students in order to determine the level of achievement (i.e. rank, or percentile according to a bell curve)
usually multiple choice format
content and optimal results are based on national standards
high-stakes
Standardized: Criterion-referenced tests
designed to measure student performance against predetermined criteria or learning standards
created by individual teachers or experts from large companies
can be high-stakes
various ways of reporting results
Standards Based Assessments
meaningful feedback
high student engagement
standards are translated into learning objectives in order to be as student friendly as possible
expectations are clear and concise at each stage of the learning process
My thoughts ...
If I had to choose between criterion and norm-referenced, I would surely choose criterion. I don't believe its ethical (from an educational standpoint) to evaluate one student against another. Its scary to think that if a whole class performs excellent on a test, that some may still fail due to being at the 'low-end' of excellent grades (i.e. an unfavorable bell curve). Would a result like that be the fault of the student, who overachieved on the test, or the fault of the test creator who may have not made the test challenging enough? This is messy! And in my opinion, if norm-referenced tests can be avoided, then it should, for the simple fact that students are not being appreciated/rewarded for their own individual merits. If a test has to be standardized, the criterion-referenced tests should be used in order to affirm students are being graded against learning standards for the level of education in question (The picture below provides a quick snapshot of the differences). The optimal path is standards based assessments, which are quite similar to criterion-referenced tests, but differ in the fact that they tend not to be high stakes tests and they allow for more student engagement (i.e. more washback).
The above picture is the result of a group activity related to the principles of language assessment. Each group was assigned a video to watch accompanied by reading material, which provided detailed characteristics about each of the principles. The above picture is helpful because it answers the question: If you could describe each principle with a slogan (or short phrase), what would it be? This is obviously not a standalone document. You would need more information in order to verify your assessment's legitimacy against these principles. I have included the video about this topic in the 'Video Library' tab for your viewing pleasure. Try not to get too stressed! The important thing to remember is that no assessment is perfect, therefore you will not be able to achieve all of those principles in one assessment. However, it is incumbent upon a teacher to fulfill as much as possible, in order to give our students the best chance to succeed!
In the last post I commented on the differences between teaching, assessing, and testing. This post looks at the differences between assessments and evaluations. The diagram in itself details the differences between the two, but in layman's terms, evaluations tell you if your assessment plan is working (hence the title :-). As I mentioned before, assessments can include tests, portfolios, quizzes, assignments, projects, presentations, debates etc. Each teacher develops an assessment plan to execute, whether it's on a weekly, monthly, trimester, semester, or yearly bases. At the end of the designated period the assessment plan is evaluated against predetermined standards. The results are helpful as it informs administrators and teachers whether the assessment plan, and other strategies need to be tweaked.
In the beginning ... there was teaching. Teaching encompasses all activities done inside and sometimes outside of the classroom. Among the many facets of the teaching function, there is assessing and testing. Among the many tools to assess, testing is one of them. Before exploring the dynamic field of assessments, its important to clarify that not all assessments are tests. Tests are simply just a subset of the plethora of assessments available to be utilized.
Here are quick snippets to help you differentiate:
Assessment: is an ongoing process conducted by the teacher of overall student performance (in various domains, which may happen simultaneously). Test: responses made by students in a predetermined format and within a certain amount of time, which are then measured and evaluated.
Still want more information!
This video puts the above information into context. You will see and hear teachers commenting on the differences between assessing and testing, and how they personally feel about them.
(this video can also be found in the 'Video Library' tab, located on the home page)
My name is Ian Neblett and I will be guiding you through my personal learning journey of assessments. While the course I took was called, 'Assessment in TESOL', the information, charts, and diagrams that you will view in this blog can be applied to a variety of subject matter. Therefore the information is beneficial for all educators and interested parties. The purpose of this blog is to showcase my learning of the subject, and provide you the viewer with the essentials concerning assessments. Once I have peaked your interest in the subject area via my blog, it is my hope that you will delve and discover some of the principles yourself more profoundly, so that the learning environment your in may be benefited.
