Module 26 is about assessment. There are different ways to
assess learning. In measuring, you assess by quantitative data, and in
evaluation, you make judgments based on observations. Assessing learning can
help teachers to see where students are struggling and see where they can
improve. Assessments can be formative, which is generally less formal and
happens while learning is in progress in order to make modifications, or
summative, which generally happens at the end of a unit of material or time.
Module 28 discusses performance assessment, which can be either formative or
summative. This kind of assessment requires the student to do an activity, such
as play the piano or shoot a basketball.
Projects, portfolios, and
presentations are common types of performance assessment seen in the classroom.
My question is an opinion question. I was wondering how much
assessment should be performance based? Couldn't this form of assessment
disadvantage some students who know the material but struggle to display it? Or
is that a good thing?
FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT
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SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT
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FORMALLY ASSESSED
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When reading a novel, you could give
students a short reading quiz out of 5 points after each chapter to check for
any areas of confusion in the text.
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At the end of the novel, you could give the
students a test over the whole book, including comprehension questions, essay
questions, and recognition of quotes.
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INFORMALLY ASSESSED
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Sticking with the same novel, you could have
classroom discussions to see how students are enjoying the book and
understanding its content.
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Before, or instead of, a test over the book,
you could play a review game. The same kinds of questions could be asked, but
it would be for the fun of competition and learning, and not for a grade.
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Though sometimes you may be able to guess, you cannot know which kind of assessment is used just by looking at it. It all depends on context. The same assessment can be used in different ways. For example, the same test could be used to assess learning at the end of a unit for a grade, or simply for the teacher to see what students are understanding and to use to modify her teaching strategies.
I think that the majority of material should be performance based, because that is what the students will have to be graded on throughout school. We should give them as much practice as we can. Even if we think that it is better to not just grade on performance, there are tests that determine a student's future that are strictly performance based. The SAT, ACT, Istep etc. are all performance based tests that a student has to perform well on to get into college.
ReplyDeleteYour question is interesting, and I have two thoughts on it:
ReplyDelete1. Many people hold up performance assessment as being the most authentic, and something that should be used as much as possible. For example, if you are teaching mathematical problem solving, having students actually DO it tells you much more about their learning, and their process, than if they are given a standardized test. Participating in particular ways that are similar to professionals (acting as a scientist, statistician, historian, etc) is something that is possible if you teach and assess in these ways.
2. I don't think any assessment is better or worse than another in itself, but only in how aligned it is with your learning goal. If you state your learning goal as 'storing multiplication tables in their head' (or something), then it wouldn't make sense for you to have a performance assessment--a written or verbal test would do just as well in showing that the knowledge 'is in there'. However, if you learning goal is something that could be defined as a performance, then having them actually DO IT is the best assessment you could have.