Overview
This lecture introduces the importance of educational assessment, explains the assessment cycle, and provides an overview of key assessment types and concepts.
Importance of Assessment
- Assessment shows what students know and are able to do.
- High-quality, purposeful assessment is necessary to accurately measure student learning.
- Mismatched assessments can give an incomplete or false understanding of student abilities.
- Assessment data drives instruction, not the other way around.
The Assessment Cycle
- Start by clarifying learning targets based on curriculum standards.
- Use backward design: begin with standards, map them to units, lessons, and learning targets.
- Gather evidence of student learning through multiple assessments, not just one.
- Analyze assessment data to interpret and infer student needs.
- Use data to modify and guide instructional plans.
- Students should be involved in clarifying targets, collecting evidence, interpreting data, and planning instruction.
Types of Assessment
- Assessment: the process of gathering and organizing information to make educational decisions.
- Evaluation: judging the quality or worth of assessment results.
- Formative Assessment: ongoing checks for learning during lessons; often low-stakes or ungraded.
- Summative Assessment: final evaluations at the end of units or courses (e.g., tests, final projects).
- Selected Response: tests with fixed answers like multiple choice, true/false, or matching.
- Constructed Response: open-ended answers such as short response, essay, or extended response.
- Performance Assessment: students apply skills/knowledge in tasks or problem-solving.
- Authentic Assessment: real-world tasks that simulate actual practice.
Assessment Comparisons
- Norm-Referenced: compares student performance to other students (e.g., intelligence tests).
- Criterion-Referenced: measures performance against specific standards or learning targets (e.g., ACT, AP tests).
- Aptitude Test: measures potential ability (e.g., SAT, intelligence tests).
- Achievement Test: measures what students have already learned (e.g., AP, state exams).
Quality of Assessment
- Validity: the test measures what it intends to measure.
- Reliability: the test yields consistent results across time, evaluators, and groups.
Key Terms & Definitions
- Assessment — process to gather and analyze information for educational decisions
- Evaluation — judging the quality or worth of data or work
- Formative Assessment — ongoing checks for learning during instruction
- Summative Assessment — final measure of learning at unit/course end
- Selected Response — test questions with fixed choices
- Constructed Response — open-ended, written answers
- Performance Assessment — tasks requiring application of skills
- Authentic Assessment — evaluations simulating real-world scenarios
- Norm-Referenced — assessments comparing students to peers
- Criterion-Referenced — assessments based on set standards
- Validity — accuracy in measuring intended content
- Reliability — consistency in test results
Action Items / Next Steps
- Memorize key assessment vocabulary from Chapter 1.
- Continue reading and exploring topics introduced in this lecture.