Madelyne Huff- Questions to Consider (14.2)

            As I stated in my previous blog (Questions 14.1), assessment is a major aspect of one’s educational experience.  If we did not have assessments, it would be extremely difficult to determine what students know and what they don’t know.  In addition, assessments allow educators to make changes to their lesson plans and identify students with specific disabilities.

            According to the textbook, a norm-referenced test “reveals how well each student’s performance compares with the performance of their peers, classmates, or age-mates across the nation.”  Like all tests, there are advantages and disadvantages to taking this type of test.  For example, the NRT’s scoring system is not subjective or biased.  They are easy to adopt and implement into the education system, and teachers do not have to spend nearly as much time grading their students’ scores.  NRTs provide good external validity, longitudinal comparisons, and make it easy to test large numbers of students.  Finally, norm-referenced assessments make it easy for educators to identify students with disabilities.  One disadvantage to this type of testing is that it is more product-based rather than process-based.  Next, NRTs do not take student diversity into account.  For example, a student from a lower socioeconomic background might not know what regatta.  Therefore, it is not fair to test students from different backgrounds on these types of questions.  Also, every student learns differently, and a norm-referenced assessment is not a good across-nation representation.  NRTs test more superficial knowledge and measure broad-ranged skills.  They are not good indicators of one’s overall achievement, and they are summative, which makes it harder to see what changes need to be made.  Finally, they are costly, and it takes a while to get the scores back. 

            Criterion-related tests are another type of assessment, and according to the textbook, they are “designed to tell us exactly what students have and have not accomplished relative to predetermined standards or criteria.”  One advantage to this type of evaluation is that CRTs are more suitable for tracking students’ progress within the curriculum.  Next, they are good indicators of how well students can answer the questions on the material that is being studied.  In addition, they take into account where the students are in the classroom, which makes it easier for teachers identify what changes need to be made.  Finally, a CRT is a better indicator of overall achievement, allow teachers to identify students with special needs, and provide quick results.  One disadvantage to this type of assessment is that creating valid and reliable tests require more extensive time and effort.  Next, the results cannot be generalized beyond the particular course, program, or institution.  Finally, the assessment of complex skills is difficult to determine with just one test score.  

Jenny Holt 14.2 QTC

  

(14.2) Consider norm referenced assessment and criterion referenced assessment. Are there advantages to both? Are there disadvantages?

With criterion-referenced assessments, it seems that students are given the opportunity to learn more based on their needs. Because criterion-referenced assessments focus more on the level of mastery for specific skills within a subject, teachers are able to get more information on the needs of the student. With more specific information about their individual needs, teachers can then begin to work with the student to establish goals. Also, by measuring a student’s performance against the criteria, as opposed to by the performance of other students, the information that you receive from their grades should be more telling and useful for classroom teachers. While norm referenced assessments may give you a number that lets you, as the teacher, know that your students struggled in Math in comparison to other students within the state taking the same test, it does not tell you specifically where their needs lie—or what might need to be retaught. In other words, I feel that even though a norm-referenced assessment may tell you that a student is below grade level it doesn’t tell you what you really need to know—like what specific skills the student has (how many words he/she can read, can he/she subtract two digit numbers, etc.) As a teacher, I would be more interested in what the child can do so that I could begin teaching them at their proper skill level, rather than how they did compared to other students. 

As a child, I remember getting back my TCAP scores. There were lots of confusing graphs and percentages, often hard to understand and interpret. I can remember some kids opening them up and immediately covering up their scores with a book on their desk, not wanting to their peers to see how they performed. I think a lot of kids were labeled based off of these scores growing up and the constant comparison can really effect how you feel about yourself and your abilities. I’m sure we’ve all been compared to someone else in our lives at some point….i.e. “Why can’t you be more like your sister?” It doesn’t feel good.

In our own classrooms I think we just need to think about what we really want to gain from the assessments that we give. Obviously, we want them to be reliable, so we need to integrate many different types of assessments. Regardless of how we feel about norm-referenced and criterion-referenced assessments, we may not always have a choice about what we administer to our students. We can, however, integrate different types of assessments into what we do throughout the year so that we get more opportunities to identify specific skills that may need more attention. That said, this is only my current opinion. I feel a little funny even having an opinion without any real world experience in the classroom as a teacher. I may feel completely different a year into my teaching career. Regardless, I think it is important that we all explore our own perceptions of assessment, as they may influence how we manage our classrooms in the future.  

Ciera Rinck 14.1

Think of a lesson plan from your licensure area. Knowing that assessment is an integral part of teaching, explain at least four informal and formal assessments that you will use in your lesson plan to provide you with feedback and involve the students in assessing their own learning.

In today's testing world, assessment is a big deal and can cause much anxiety and worry among students and teachers alike.  Before I started studying to be a teacher I thought the only form of assessment was taking a test on paper and waiting for a score to come back.  Today, as I am in full swing of my education classes I realize that assessment is so much more than taking a test, and that it can be very beneficial for teachers and their students.  I really like the idea of informal assessments and hope to use a lot of informal testing when I become a teacher, but I will also need to prepare my students for their future careers in education and the real world, so I will have to include some formal testing in my classroom as well.  In the classroom I think that daily assessments are important and necessary to determine and monitor the progress of my students.  For my lesson plan assessment example I am going to teach a second grade classroom about nouns.  

On the Friday before we begin our lessons on nouns I would give my students a pre-assessment to discover what the students know about nouns--this test would be reliable and practical.  This would be in the form of a formal assessment because it would be a systematic attempt to ascertain what students know and can do.  I would review their answers and thoughts about what they knew about nouns and then would design my lesson plan based off of the needs of the students.

On Monday when the students returned to class I would have a discussion with them about the people, places, and things in their lives--this discussion would serve as another pre-assessment tool for me as the teacher, but would be informal in nature because it would result from my spontaneous, day-to-day observation on how the students are performing.  Then I would tell them that what we were just discussing is nouns!  From here I would teach the lesson about nouns to my students.  

On Tuesday when it was time for the students to begin the grammar lesson again we would review what we learned about nouns and then read a story about a hero.  This story would allow students to hear many nouns within a piece of writing.  After the story was over I would informally assess my students by discussing what we had just read and asking them if they heard any nouns within the duration of the story--this would allow me to informally assess my students.  Then, I would have the students discuss with a partner who their hero is--while one student is telling the story their partner could be writing down the nouns their partner uses and tun it in.  This would allow me to formally assess my students grasp of nouns while they are discussing a topic that interests them while simultaneously allowing the students to assess their own learning and their peers understanding of nouns.  

On Wednesday, I would incorporate games into the day so students could learn nouns in a fun way.  The fist game I would play would be a way for me to informally assess the students from my classroom it is called ABC nouns.  This is a fast paced game that would get students really thinking.  I would split the class into groups and walk around and monitor the students to check their progress--this game would allow for students to check their own progress and each others.  Then, we would play another game that would allow me to formally assess the students and would offer extrinsic motivation.  This game is called longest list, and the students would work alone to come up with the longest list of nouns they could--the winner would receive some sort of prize.  This would allow me to formally assess the students because they could turn in their lists and I could make sure they were all on the right track with naming nouns; I would return their work with feed back so they would know where they stand with nouns. Here is a video describing the games and some other games to teach nouns--but they could certainly be adapted to teach other parts of speech or even other subjects!

On Thursday during grammar time I would show students the School House Rock Video on Nouns.  I would have them get in groups and come up with a song of their own about nouns and they could perform it in front of the class.  This would be a way to informally assess the students on their understanding of nouns and it would be a fun way for them to be involved in their learning.  Through this activity students could assess their own learning and the learning of their peers so their song only included nouns, and after their performances I would give verbal feedback so they knew what kind of progress they were making.  Finally, on Thursday I would give the students a final formal assessment on nouns.  This assessment could be from the book and would test their knowledge about nouns while also allowing me to check their progress compared to the pre-assessment given the previous Friday.  I would return the students tests and pre-assessments the next day with feedback--this would allow students to see how much they progressed which would hopefully be a significant amount--this may intrinsically motivate them once they see how much they improved from beginning of the week.    

Overall I think that assessing students within the classroom setting is very important, but it doesn't always have to be tedious paper and answer tests--it can be made fun and used for many different purposes. 

Madelyne Huff- Questions to Consider (14.1)

For this Wednesday, I got to observe a second grade classroom at Alcoa Elementary School!  While I always enjoy getting to know the students, I would describe this visit as educational.  By this I mean, I learned a lot about the Common Core Standards and how to appropriately assess students.  I personally feel that some form of assessment needs to be done each day.  Otherwise, teachers would not be able to tell who understands the material and who needs extra help.  In addition, assessments provide educators with an opportunity to see how they can improve on their lesson plans, get an idea as to whether they need to go back over the material, and identify students that would benefit from special education services.  As for this blog, I will be a second grade teacher doing a lesson on point of view. 

            On the first day, I will go over the definition of point of view.  I will use descriptive adjectives and give real life examples to help my students understand the material.  For example, I might say, “I have to go to the doctor on Monday!” in a low voice.  Then I would informally assess my students by asking them, “Based on my tone of voice, do I sound excited or nervous to go to the doctor?” to see if they understand what point of view means.  After teaching the lesson, I would tell them to write everything they know about point of view on their exit cards.  This is an example of a formal assessment and would help me decide if I needed to spend one more day going over the content material. 

            On the second day, I would choose a fiction book to read aloud to the students.  We would discuss various events, and I would ask questions about point of view throughout the story.  By asking these questions, I will be able to informally assess my students and figure out which ones need extra instruction.  After we have finished reading the story, I would probably give them a worksheet, a formal assessment, with questions about point of view.  I would let them work with a partner and monitor the conversations, which is another example of an informal assessment. 

            On the third day, I probably would play a game about point of view.  I would quickly review what point of view means before beginning the game.  I would call out various scenarios and have the students write the point of view on the board.  This is a great example of a formal assessment and is a fun way to get the students excited about learning.  If a student came up to me and said, “Ms. Huff, I do not understand what point of view means.” This informal assessment would tell me that the student has not grasped the concept of point of view.  It would also indicate that I might need to work one on one with that particular student. 

            On the fourth day, I might have the students write a story about their favorite person.  Once they completed their story, I would collect them, mix them up, pass them back out, and have them read one of the stories their peers wrote.  I would ask them to tell me what the point of view of the story was and give me three reasons to back up their answer.  Next, I would ask if anyone had any questions, which allow me to informally assess my students.  I would then read their answers to evaluate their knowledge, another type of formal assessment. 

            To conclude the lesson, I might give the students a test, a formal assessment, from the textbook.  By completing all of the informal and formal assessments throughout the week would allow me to see how I could fix or improve my own style of teaching.  I would be able to figure out what activities were helpful and what activities were pointless.  Also, it would give me an idea as to how much longer I needed to cover point of view.  Therefore, assessment is obviously a major part of one’s educational experience, and I think using a combination of the two assessment types is the best way to go about the process.  Finally, assessments do not always have to be boring and mundane; teachers can make them fun and still be able to evaluate their students!  

Chapter 14.1

Chapter 14

(14.1) Think of a lesson plan from your licensure area. Knowing that assessment is an integral part of teaching, explain at least four informal and formal assessments that you will use in your lesson plan to provide you with feedback and involve the students in assessing their own learning.

Chapter 14.2

Chapter 14

(14.2) Consider norm referenced assessment and criterion referenced assessment. Are there advantages to both? Are there disadvantages?