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WHAT'S NEW - MAY 2002
STUDENT EVALUATION/ ASSESSMENT
Welcome to the website for the Council on Alberta Teaching Standards (COATS).
This area of the website changes monthly.
The theme for May will interest teachers and administrators who are exploring the issues of evaluation and assessment.
Please examine each of the three main areas noted below to find out more about the topic.
The first section identifies several weblinks related to the topic.
The site also makes available scholarly information, practical guidance, and peer-reviewed articles.
We hope that you will find this website to be a valuable resource.
For quick reference bookmark http://www.teachingquality.ab.ca today!
WEBSITES AND ARTICLES RELATED TO STUDENT EVALUATION/ ASSESSMENT
Assessment
http://www.enc.org/topics/assessmemt
This site offers a wealth of information about student assessment.
Though aimed primarily at an American audience, Alberta teachers may find the topics discussed of professional interest. Included in the site are strategies teachers have used successfully with their students.
The site gives particular attention to (a) classroom assessment, (b) educators' concerns about assessment, (c) aligning assessment with learning, (d) alternative assessment, and (e) standardized testing.
The Assessment Principle
http://standards.nctm.org/document/chapter2/assess.htm
The site provides teachers with information about mathematics assessment.
The site notes that assessment should support the learning of important mathematics concepts and ought to furnish useful information to both teachers and students.
The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan education association with more than 100,000 members and 250 Affiliates throughout United States and Canada.
The association is dedicated to improving mathematics teaching and learning, kindergarten through high school.
Planning and Assessing
http://www.liverpool.k12.ny.us/lcsd/index/usinginternetresources/planassess.html
This site is a partnership between Apple Computer and the Liverpool School District in New York.
It contains a broad range of resources that teachers can review and consider.
For example, it includes a section titled "Rubrics" that provides teachers with criteria they can use to assess activities ranging from classroom presentations to frog dissections.
The site leads the teacher to a menu of assignment formats he or she may wish to use.
It may provide Alberta teachers with many good ideas for assessing students' learning progress.
Assessing
http://www.classroomtoday.com/teacherslounge/assessing/assessing.asp
In the Classroom Today site, teachers will find lessons and resources by content areas on topics related to assessment and evaluation.
Classroom Today has incorporated many different assessment tools into the website.
By addressing different forms of assessment, the site provides Alberta teachers with ideas and tools that they can use to track students' progress.
Also check out the Notebook, Portfolio, Unit Quizzes, and other great resources on class assessment tools linked to the site.
JOURNAL ARTICLES
| Title: |
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Successful students' formative and summative uses of assessment information. |
| Source: |
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Assessment in Education. (2001). Vol. 8. Issue 2, Pages 58-65. |
| Author(s): |
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Brookhart, Susan M. |
| Abstract: |
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This journal article documented successful students'perceptions about the formative and summative aspects of classroom assessments.
Interviews were carried out with 50 students in high school English and Anatomy classes, about specific classroom assessment events.
The comments were coded according to students' descriptions of the formative and summative aspects of the assessments.
The findings indicated that successful students engaged in self-assessment as a regular, ongoing process and actively tried to fit new information about their learning into their careers as students.
Students do not appear to make distinctions between formative and summative assessment, but used assessments in a variety of integrated ways. |
| ISSN: |
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0969-594X |
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| Title: |
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Daily classroom assessment. |
| Source: |
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Education. (2001). Vol. 122. Issue 2, Pages 372-375. |
| Author(s): |
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Columba, Lynn. |
| Abstract: |
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Daily classroom assessment may involve such activities as teacher questioning, classroom practice, interviewing, homework, and student questions.
Effective educators cannot limit themselves to instructional goals that can only be assessed through conventional pencil-and-paper methods.
Good daily assessment is good instruction, because it is carefully aligned with what is taught and how it is taught. |
| ISSN: |
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0013-1172 |
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| Title: |
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Improving classroom tests as a means of improving assessment. |
| Source: |
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Mathematics Teacher. (1997). Vol. 90. Issue 1, Pages 58-65. |
| Author(s): |
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Thompson, Dennisse R; Beckmann, Charlene E. |
| Abstract: |
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This journal article suggests ways to analyze and modify typical classroom tests that are objective, easy to implement, and in accordance with the type of changes and recommendations being discussed to improve assessment.
Sections in this research article includes criteria for analyzing classroom tests and modifying test items. |
| ISSN: |
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0025-5769 |
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| Title: |
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Assessing student performance. |
| Source: |
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Education. (1999). Vol. 120. Issue 2, Pages 285-297. |
| Author(s): |
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Mertler, Craig A. |
| Abstract: |
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This journal article examined the current assessment practices of elementary and secondary teachers in Ohio.
The specific aim of the study was to gain an understanding of the extent to which teachers use traditional versus alternative forms of assessment techniques in their classrooms.
As previous research found, teachers did not spend much time conducting statistical analyses of their assessment data.
In addition, there were significant differences among teachers at different school levels and at differing levels of teaching experience with respect to their assessment practices.
Recommendations include tailoring measurement courses to fit the needs of future classroom teachers. (Contains 5 tables and 10 references.) |
| ISSN: |
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0013-1172 |
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| Title: |
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Building validity and reliability into classroom tests. |
| Source: |
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NASSP Bulletin. (2001). Vol. 85. Issue 622, Pages 32-38. |
| Author(s): |
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Weller Jr., David L. |
| Abstract: |
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This journal article discusses two types of assessment for student performance and suggests ways in which teachers can ensure content validity when devising their own tests for classroom use.
The paper notes that successful and effective assessment uses both formal and informal evaluative techniques.
The paper also addresses: how to ensure the content validity and reliability of objective and essay tests; and, ways to compute reliability of classroom assessments. |
| ISSN: |
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0192-6365 |
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BOOKS
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| Title: |
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Measurement and assessment in teaching. |
| Source: |
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Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall. (1999). Pages 574. |
| Author(s): |
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Linn, Robert L; Gronlund, Norman E; Davis, Kevin M. |
| Abstract: |
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This book deals with how to construct and use of classroom tests and assessments that are technically sound.
The book provides examples illustrating: sound assessment construction principles; comprehensive coverage of approaches to testing and assessment; and, up-to-date concepts of validity in the context of standards-based education.
The book also emphasizes the growing trend toward authentic assessment and other current practices.
Other topics covered include: restricted-response and extended performance tests; use of rating scales and observational techniques; peer and self-report assessments; and, attitude measurement and interest inventories. |
| ISBN: |
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0-138-78356-X |
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| Title: |
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Assessing students with special needs. |
| Source: |
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Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall. (2000). Pages 672. |
| Author(s): |
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McLoughlin, James A; Lewis, Rena B. |
| Abstract: |
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Assessment is at the center of all good teaching, and this book is designed to provide a clear, comprehensive guide to the assessment of students with mild disabilities.
This book will give the reader an understanding of the assessment process as well as the practical skills needed to assess students with special needs successfully so that they can be taught well.
To structure the process, the book offers an assessment model and the notion of the Individualized Assessment Plan (IAP).
This functional approach allows readers sufficient flexibility to explore the areas and types of assessment in which they are interested. |
| ISBN: |
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0-130-85209-0 |
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| Title: |
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Authentic assessment: A guide for elementary teachers. |
| Source: |
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New York: Addison Wesley Longman. (2000). Pages 128. |
| Author(s): |
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Montgomery, Kathleen. |
| Abstract: |
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This book offers elementary teachers a simple introduction to the concept and best practices in authentic assessment.
The text offers a child-centered approach of assessment that promotes the belief that students should become self-regulated, lifelong learners.
It clearly defines authentic assessment terminology and techniques and provides field-tested tools and strategies for assessing all children.
The research and practices advocated passed the stringent tests of hundreds of practicing elementary teachers.
Primary topics discussed in this book are (part 1) understanding authentic assessment, (part 2) designing and using rubrics for assessment, (part 3) portfolios and assessment, and (part 4) using assessments for grading and reporting. |
| ISBN: |
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0-321-03782-0 |
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| Title: |
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Classroom assessment: What teachers need to know. |
| Source: |
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Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon. (2001). Pages 368. |
| Author(s): |
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Popham, James W. |
| Abstract: |
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Focusing on the use of classroom assessment to help teachers make better educational decisions, this textbook discusses the various aspects, means, and types of assessment.
Specific chapters cover reliability, validity, the absence of bias, the object and means of assessment, selected-response tests, constructed-response tests, performance assessment, portfolio assessment, affective assessment, instructionally oriented assessment, standardized testing, and test preparation. |
| ISBN: |
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0-205-33304-4 |
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| Title: |
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Reflections on assessment: Its purpose, methods, and effects on learning. |
| Source: |
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Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/ Cook Publishers. (2000). Pages 224. |
| Author(s): |
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Staff, Heinemann; Strickland, James. |
| Abstract: |
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This book looks at the theory that drives student-centered assessment and evaluation and examines practical strategies teachers can use to "make it work" in a system still based on behaviorist principles.
Classroom examples are integrated throughout to help teachers in their efforts to communicate learning results to parents, other teachers and school boards.
To illustrate points, the authors include stories about teachers who have used a variety of strategies and techniques to: drive curriculum and teaching; assess and evaluate within the constraints of district and state mandates; and, grade students in ways that are consistent with student-centered learning. |
| ISBN: |
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0-867-09445-1 |
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| Title: |
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Assessing student performance: Exploring the purpose and limits of testing. |
| Source: |
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San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. (1999). Pages 336. |
| Author(s): |
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Wiggins, Grant P. |
| Abstract: |
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In this book, the author clarifies the limits of testing in an assessment system.
Beginning with the premise that student assessment should improve performance, not just audit it, Wiggins analyzes some time-honored but morally and intellectually problematic practices in test design, such as the use of secrecy, distracters, scoring on a curve, and formats that allow for no explanation by students of their answers.
He explains how many test-design standards serve technical experts and their needs rather than students and their interests.
By showing the reader that assessment is more than testing, and intellectual performance is more than the right answer, Wiggins points the way toward new systems of assessment that more closely examine students' habits of mind and provide teachers and policy makers with more useful and credible student feedback. |
| ISBN: |
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0-787-95047-5 |
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