1. FOR LEARNING
1.1. Formative Assessments
1.1.1. Definition
1.1.1.1. These can be formal or informal assessments that happen frequently throughout a lesson to check student understanding.
1.1.2. Purpose
1.1.2.1. This can help a teacher identity which students are grasping the material and which students may be struggling.
1.1.2.2. Formative assessments also allow for teachers to improve their teaching strategies in the future as they review formative assessment results.
1.1.3. Advantages
1.1.3.1. If students are provided with descriptive feedback on their formative assessments, they can be powerful for learning as the student becomes aware of areas needed for improvement before the summative assessment.
1.1.4. Disadvantages
1.1.4.1. Formative assessments can take away from instruction time if they are done too often.
1.1.5. Category Rationale
1.1.5.1. Formative assessments are an example of a FOR learning type of assessment because the formative assessment informs the teacher of how well students are grasping the content material and progressing towards mastery, and in turn the teacher will use this information to devise future lessons plans.
1.1.6. Example
1.1.6.1. Daily Do-Now. For this unit at the 3rd Grade level students will walk into class and work on their daily Do-Now Question: Please write down 5 facts about Inuit culture that we've discussed in class.
1.1.7. Refrences
1.1.7.1. Wormelli, Rick. (2010). Formative and Summative Assessments. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJxFXjfB_B4
1.2. Diagnostic Assessments
1.2.1. Definition
1.2.1.1. Diagnostic Assessments, also known as pre-assessments, can provide information to teachers regarding students prior knowledge, their current skill level, and possible areas they may be struggling in.
1.2.2. Purpose
1.2.2.1. The information collected from the diagnostic test will help teachers determine how and what they need to cover in the future with their students.
1.2.3. Advantages
1.2.3.1. This can help determine IEP for individual students with special needs.
1.2.3.2. The information collected can help teachers create more personalized and possibly differentiated lessons based on their students' needs.
1.2.4. Disadvantages
1.2.4.1. Diagnostic tests can provide information regarding areas of strengths and weaknesses but they do not inform the teacher of any underlying causes for the challenges. Therefore, they may not always be so reliable.
1.2.5. Category Rationale
1.2.5.1. This is an example of an assessment that is used FOR learning. The teacher uses the information that is collected from the diagnostic test to plan for future lessons.
1.2.6. Example
1.2.6.1. When entering 3rd Grade the teacher may give his or her students a math assessment on the first week of school to determine what level the students are at, what their weaknesss may be, and areas that they have already mastered in order to plan math lessons for the rest of the year.
1.2.7. Refrences
1.2.7.1. North Territory Government. (n.d). Diagnostic Assessments. Retrieved from: http://www.education.nt.gov.au/parents-community/assessment-reporting/diagnostic-assessments/diagnostic-assessments
1.2.7.2. Sasser, Dr. Nesa. (n.d.). What are the Advantages and Disadvantages of Formative Assessments? Retrieved from: http://everydaylife.globalpost.com/advantages-disadvantages-formative-assessment-28407.html
2. OF LEARNING
2.1. High-Stakes Assessments
2.1.1. Definition
2.1.1.1. An assessment or test that has great consequences for the individuals. Passing can have important benefits for the student including graduation, a scholarship, or m ovine on to the next grade level and failure can have serious disadvantages, such as not being able to graduate, taking remedial classes, or not getting accepted into a good university.
2.1.2. Purpose
2.1.2.1. These assessments are meant to determine if students are performing at a certain grade level and have a certain level of understanding of the material they have previously covered.
2.1.3. Advantages
2.1.3.1. They can provide information that has diagnostic value.
2.1.4. Disadvantages
2.1.4.1. They can cause a lot of anxiety which may prevent students from testing accurately.
2.1.5. Category Rationale
2.1.5.1. This assessment is an example "Of Learning" because it will always come after students have had interaction with the testing material. Also, most of the time students are not able to see what questions they answered right or wrong, therefore they are not learning from the assessment.
2.1.6. Example
2.1.6.1. An example of a high-stakes assessment are usually standardized tests that are are required by the State or School District. At the elementary level a high-stake test might be one that students take at the end of the school year.
2.1.7. Refrences
2.1.7.1. Munoz, Roberts. (2014). High Stakes Testing Pros and Cons. Retrieved from: http://www.education.com/magazine/article/high-stakes-testing-pros-cons/
2.2. Summative Assessments
2.2.1. Definition
2.2.1.1. A summary assessment. An assessment that comes at the end of a unit and/or course to see if mastery has been achieved.
2.2.2. Purpose
2.2.2.1. The purpose of a summative assessment is to gauge student mastery and to provide evidence if the students have met the standards and grasped the content material.
2.2.3. Advantages
2.2.3.1. Provides information in regards to if students meant the overall learning objectives and standards.
2.2.4. Disadvantages
2.2.4.1. Rick Wormelli (2010) explains that if the focus is on summative assessments, students don't learn as well.
2.2.4.2. He also explains that it does not motivate for deep learning to take place.
2.2.5. Category Rationale
2.2.5.1. I categorized summative assessments as being primarily an assessment "of learning" because summative assessments come at the end of a unit. They are not used by teachers for learning.
2.2.6. Example
2.2.6.1. An example of a summative assessment at the 3rd grade level could be one where students are asked to design a project at the end of the unit. If the Unit's is about Culture and learning about the world, then for the summative assessment students may be asked to design a project together on prezi where they compare and contrast two cultures they have learned about, they may make a VoiceThread or video presentation on one culture they have learned about and outline its various features, they may also make a Wiki cite about a culture and then design additional pages where they discuss their language, food, daily life, dance, music, art, customs, religious beliefs, etc. Another summative assessment could be a unit test at the end of the unit.
2.2.7. Refrences
2.2.7.1. Concordia Education Online. (2015). What are Summative Assessments? Pros, Cons, Examples. Retrieved from: http://education.cu-portland.edu/blog/teaching-strategies/summative-assessment-what-teachers-need-to-know/
2.2.7.2. Wormelli, Rick. (2010). Formative and Summative Assessments. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJxFXjfB_B4
3. BOTH FOR LEARNING AND OF LEANING
3.1. Authentic Assessments
3.1.1. Definition
3.1.1.1. A form of assessment in which students are asked to perform real-world tasks that demonstrate meaningful application of essential knowledge and skills
3.1.2. Purpose
3.1.2.1. To provide a more realistic test that can judge whether or not students are able to apply knowledge they have learned.
3.1.3. Advantages
3.1.3.1. It can be quite meaningful and prepare students for the future.
3.1.3.2. It can be used with students with varying abilities and learning styles.
3.1.4. Disadvantages
3.1.4.1. It can be difficult for a teacher to devise fair grading as much of it may be quite subjective.
3.1.4.2. It may be quite demanding in terms of time and planning.
3.1.5. Category Rationale
3.1.5.1. This type of assessment can be used FOR learning and is OF learning depending on how it is used. The teacher is able to assess mastery or progression towards mastery, at the same time students are able to gain powerful insights about the material and themselves.
3.1.6. Example
3.1.6.1. For the Unit on Culture and Diversity, in groups of 3, students host a small cultural event presentation for the class. They partake in public speaking by presenting their information as they collaborate with one another.
3.1.7. Refrences
3.1.7.1. Mueller, Jon (n.d.) What is Authentic Assessment? Retrieved from: http://jfmueller.faculty.noctrl.edu/toolbox/whatisit.htm
3.2. Portfolio Assessments
3.2.1. Definition
3.2.1.1. A portfolio assessment is a collection of student work.
3.2.2. Purpose
3.2.2.1. it can show what students have achieved through learning. It can also be used to document learning through student work that has been collected.
3.2.3. Advantages
3.2.3.1. Portfolio assessments allow students to record their progress and for teachers to track how students have been doing.
3.2.3.2. It also allows students to reference back as they move forward.
3.2.4. Disadvantages
3.2.4.1. Portfolio assessments can take a lot of time to plan, organize, and execute.
3.2.5. Category Rationale
3.2.5.1. Portfolio assessments can be an assessment OF learning or FOR learning depending on how it is used.
3.2.6. Example
3.2.6.1. A portfolio may be a physical binder or folder that holds student work in an organized manner.
3.2.7. Refrences
3.2.7.1. Teachnology. (2015) The Pros and Cons of Assessing Students Through Portfolios. Retrieved from: http://www.teach-nology.com/litined/assessment/alternative/portfolios/
3.2.7.2. Edutopia. (2010). Comprehensive Assessments: An Overview. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9OBhKzh1BM
3.3. Self Assessments
3.3.1. Definition
3.3.1.1. Students look at their own work and evaluate it using a critical perspective.
3.3.2. Purpose
3.3.2.1. The purpose of self-assessments is to increase student responsibility, to empower students to take ownership over their learning, to develop reflective and critical thinking skills, and to develop a better understanding of their subjectivity and judgment.
3.3.3. Advantages
3.3.3.1. It helps students to become independent and self-monitoring learners.
3.3.3.2. It allows students to take ownership of their learning
3.3.4. Disadvantages
3.3.4.1. Students may feel ill equipped to evaluate themselves.
3.3.4.2. It may increase the workload of the teacher because he or she will need to explain to student what effective self assessments look like and provide guidance.
3.3.5. Category Rationale
3.3.5.1. Self assessments can be used FOR learning and are OF learning. As students reflect on their work, they can gain powerful insights that will assist them in their learning in the future. It also can be used as a type of assessment OF learning as students evaluate how they met the standards and learning objectives.
3.3.6. Example
3.3.6.1. Students write a self evaluation on a project they presented to the class. They reflect on what they learned, challenges they came across, what they could approve on in the future, and the overall quality of their submission.
3.3.7. Refrences
3.3.7.1. University of Sydney (n.d.). Self and Peer Assessments -- Advantages and Disadvantages. Retrieved from: http://sydney.edu.au/education_social_work/groupwork/docs/SelfPeerAssessment.pdf
3.4. Performance-Based Assessments
3.4.1. Definition
3.4.1.1. This assessment evaluates students on some type of real-world project or activity.
3.4.2. Purpose
3.4.2.1. This is to assess application of knowledge, concepts, and skills.
3.4.3. Advantages
3.4.3.1. It is not just a multiple choice question, therefore it requires deeper understanding.
3.4.3.2. It can also measure other factors like creativity, collaboration, and organization-- which are more applicable life skills.
3.4.4. Disadvantages
3.4.4.1. These types of assessments take more time to prepare and plan for.
3.4.4.2. There can be quite a lot of subjectivity when it comes to determining grades (may also be seen as an advantage too).
3.4.5. Category Rationale
3.4.5.1. Performance-Based Assessments can be both FOR learning and are OF learning. As students display they learning the teacher is able to assess how the student has progressed towards mastery or if they have reacher mastery, at the same time the student gains invaluable skills that can be used for future learning.
3.4.6. Example
3.4.6.1. An example of a performance-based assessment could be one where students are graded on a project they devise with one another that requires their collaboration, planning, and research. At the 3rd grade level for this unit, students may be required to conduct research on a specific culture or country and present their findings to the class. Students will not only be graded on information they present but also on delivery, teamwork, organization, creativity, etc.
3.4.7. Refrences
3.4.7.1. Project Appleseed. (n.d.). Perfromance-Based Assessment. Retrieved from: http://www.projectappleseed.org/#!assessment/cwvf
3.5. Peer Assessments
3.5.1. Definition
3.5.1.1. A peer assessment is when classmates evaluate each other's work and provide feedback to one another.
3.5.2. Purpose
3.5.2.1. To provide students with insights and information from various points of view that may help improve the quality of their work.
3.5.3. Advantages
3.5.3.1. Students not only learn from each other but they also learn by teaching each other, so they are also gaining life skills as well-- such as communication and collaboration.
3.5.3.2. The student that is providing the assessment is demonstrating what they have learned, which can also benefit his or hear work at the same time.
3.5.4. Disadvantages
3.5.4.1. Since students have not necessarily mastered the material, it would be difficult to provide comprehensive or very effective feedback.
3.5.4.2. It also may take time for a teacher to demonstrate what effective peer assessment is.
3.5.4.3. Students may also have a tendency to give everyone the same mark, not using enough of a critical perspective when allowing their classmates.
3.5.5. Category Rationale
3.5.5.1. Depending on how it is used, peer assessments can be both FOR learning and OF learning. In the case of being FOR learning, students may be provided with insights that will improve the quality of their work. In the case of being OF learning, peer assessments can be done to asses how well students completed the learning objective or met the standard.
3.5.6. Example
3.5.6.1. Students can do peer assessments on pieces of written work which their classmates complete and submit for review. The students can they review the assessments made by their peers to improve the quality of their paper before submitting it in to the teacher a final time the following class.
3.5.7. Refrences
3.5.7.1. University of Texas (n.d.) Peer Assessments. Retrieved from: http://ctl.utexas.edu/teaching/assess-learning/feedback/peer-assessment