Assessments

1. PERFORMANCE-BASED: An alternative to standardized testing designed to encompass a better overall representation of student progress whereby the student has to demonstrate their knowledge instead of simply being tested on it (Teachnology, 2017).

1.1. PURPOSE: To gauge student progress and demonstrate the scope of knowledge a student has on a subject (Teachnology, 2017)

1.2. An assessment OF Learning

1.3. ADVANTAGES: Forces the student to put their knowledge in a context that can be explained and understood & student is responsible for demonstrating their learning (Teachnology, 2017). Plus it encompasses a wider base of learning levels that traditional testing (Teachnology, 2017).

1.4. DISADVANTAGES: Difficult to implement in a large class setting; often impossible to test the full volume of what a student has learned as opposed to demonstrating knowledge on a standardized test against all the benchmarks (Teachnology, 2017)

1.5. EXAMPLE: Doctoral candidate delivers an oral presentation and participates in a discussion/debate in defense of their thesis project.

2. HIGH-STAKES: Test outcomes are used to make important and sometimes life-altering decisions (Johnson & Johnson, 2009).

2.1. PURPOSE: To reduce or eliminate the social promotion of students and instead evaluate them according to rigorous academic standards. Origin was a 1980 publication of a document called "A Nation At Risk" by the Reagan Administration (Johnson & Johnson, 2009).

2.2. An assessment OF Learning

2.3. ADVANTAGES: It holds students accountable to clearly defined learning objectives and standards. Proponents feel it motivates teachers, administrators, and school systems to be more accountable for learning.

2.4. DISADVANTAGES: Many feel it mandates proficiencies on core learning such as reading and math to the extent it de-emphasizes creativity. Subject offerings in public schools such as art and music are often reduced or eliminated to make room for deeper core learning (Johnson & Johnson, 2009).

2.5. EXAMPLE: Student takes a test in the attempt to earn a professional certificate in a computer programming language. Achieving the certificate will enable them to qualify for a better paying job. Not achieving the certificate will disqualify them from applying for the job.

3. PORTFOLIO: A form of assessment that documents learning through a series of student-produced artifacts; a form of authentic assessment (Fernsten, 2009)

3.1. PURPOSE: Offers an alternative to high-stakes testing and other traditional forms of assessment (Fernsten, 2009). Requires students to demonstrate learning through student-produced artifacts.

3.2. An assessment FOR Learning

3.3. ADVANTAGES: Goes beyond testing for letter grades and includes students in the evaluation process in a meaningful and authentic manner through the personal demonstration of learning (Fernsten, 2009).

3.4. DISADVANTAGES: It's a time consuming and subjective process that is more difficult to evaluate that traditional forms of assessment. Student output can vary widely.

3.5. EXAMPLE: A collection of student writing across the genres: poems, essays, research papers, and short stories.

4. AUTHENTIC: Measures student performance in direct, relevant ways to determine if the objectives have been met.

4.1. PURPOSE: To enhance the learning process and help students gain knowledge while completing tasks tied to real-world experiences (Concordia University, 2012).

4.2. An assessment FOR Learning

4.3. ADVANTAGES: Helps students analyze what they've learned and apply it to their own experiences (Concordia University, 2012).

4.4. DISADVANTAGE: Can be much more time consuming and costly compared to other formative and summative assessment options.

4.5. EXAMPLE: A field trip that entails a scavenger "fact finding" hunt at the National Infantry Museum at Ft. Benning while studying the Civil War.

5. SELF-ASSESSMENT: Assesses a student's level of knowledge or skill from their own perspective.

5.1. PURPOSE: Generally used to get an idea of the range of knowledge and abilities of a class as a whole, not to evaluate the individuals (Carnegie Mellon, 2017).

5.2. An assessment FOR Learning

5.3. ADVANTAGES: Can help a student discover what they're good at, where they have room to improve, what they're interested in, and potential career paths (Education Planner, 2011). It's also low stress for the student and easy to administer. Can even be anonymously administered.

5.4. DISADVANTAGE: Students may not be able to accurately assess their own abilities.

5.5. EXAMPLE: A simple questions and answer quiz to determine what students know about a topic in a unit prior to beginning instruction.

6. DIAGNOSTIC: Measures student understanding of a subject area or skill base (Synonym, 2017).

6.1. PURPOSE: Determines placement in courses or grade levels. Also used to determine if learning intervention or enrichment needs to occur.

6.2. An assessment OF Learning

6.3. ADVANTAGES: Allows teachers to pinpoint areas of student learning strengths and weaknesses to determine what interventions or enrichments are needed.

6.4. DISADVANTAGE: Could overlook temporary underlying causes of poor student performance such as exhaustion, distraction, depression, etc.

6.5. EXAMPLE: A series of reading, math, and ability tests used to determine if a student qualifies for special education services.

7. FORMATIVE: A method of continually evaluating student academic needs and development within the classroom (Coffey, 2009).

7.1. PURPOSE: To provide immediate and ongoing feedback about student learning during instruction to improve student achievement ahead of the summative assessment.

7.2. An assessment FOR Learning

7.3. ADVANTAGES: It's a much lower stress form of assessment for the students that summative assessments and allows many opportunities to remediate along the way before the cumulative summative assessment.

7.4. DISADVANTAGES: It's generally a subjective process not measured against any formal benchmarks, so learning needs can be missed. It's also time consuming for the teacher.

7.5. EXAMPLE: Think-Pair-Share. Teacher gives a question for students to ponder. Students pair up to discuss and revise their opinions on the topic. Then they share what they collaboratively learned with the class.

8. SUMMATIVE: Cumulative evaluations that measure growth after instruction, usually at the end of a unit (Coffey, 2009).

8.1. PURPOSE: To determine if long-term learning goals, objectives, and standards have been met.

8.2. An assessment OF Learning

8.3. ADVANTAGES: Measures student growth against norms and benchmarks, provides valuable data from which teachers and schools are also measured and held accountable for student learning

8.4. DISADVANTAGE: Since it's the final test to capstone a unit, it is generally too late to go back and address learning gaps.

8.5. EXAMPLE: An End-Of-Course (EOC) Exam

9. PEER ASSESSMENT: A process where students and teachers share in the evaluation of student work.

9.1. PURPOSE: To deepen student understanding of learning and engage them more fully in the learning process (University of Texas, 2017).

9.2. An assessment FOR Learning

9.3. ADVANTAGES: Helps students learn how to provide effective feedback through modeling appropriate and constructive examples and guidelines.

9.4. DISADVANTAGES: Lack of student training in the evaluation process, potential biases, fear of risking peer criticism for appearing judgemental.

9.5. EXAMPLE: Students may be asked to trade personal essay projects and grade them according to a teacher-provided rubric.