Standard Seven | Assessment
The competent teacher understands and uses appropriate formative and summative assessments for determining student needs, monitoring student progress, measuring student growth, and evaluating student outcomes. The teacher makes decisions driven by data about curricular and instructional effectiveness and adjusts practices to meet the needs of each student.
Artifact 1: Assessment for "Coyote Steals the Sun and the Moon"
Growth in Knowledge Indicator C: understands measurement theory and assessment-related issues, such as validity, reliability, bias, and appropriate and accurate scoring.
Growth in Knowledge Indicator E: understands how to select, construct, and use assessment strategies and instruments for diagnosis and evaluation of learning and instruction.
Growth in Performance Indicator A: uses assessment results to determine student performance levels, identify learning targets, select appropriate research-based instructional strategies, and implement instruction to enhance learning outcomes.
Growth in Performance Indicator B: appropriately uses a variety of formal and informal assessments to evaluate the understanding,progress, and performance of an individual student and the class as a whole.
Growth in Performance Indicator H: uses various types of assessment procedures appropriately, including making accommodations for individual students in specific contexts.
The artifact below was created for EPSY 485: Assessing Student Performance, during the Fall 2012 semester at UIUC. It includes a formative assessment for an 8th grade unit on oral tradition, analyses of each item, and a reflection on conducting and grading the assessment.
Artifact 1: Assessment for "Coyote Steals the Sun and the Moon"
Growth in Knowledge Indicator C: understands measurement theory and assessment-related issues, such as validity, reliability, bias, and appropriate and accurate scoring.
Growth in Knowledge Indicator E: understands how to select, construct, and use assessment strategies and instruments for diagnosis and evaluation of learning and instruction.
Growth in Performance Indicator A: uses assessment results to determine student performance levels, identify learning targets, select appropriate research-based instructional strategies, and implement instruction to enhance learning outcomes.
Growth in Performance Indicator B: appropriately uses a variety of formal and informal assessments to evaluate the understanding,progress, and performance of an individual student and the class as a whole.
Growth in Performance Indicator H: uses various types of assessment procedures appropriately, including making accommodations for individual students in specific contexts.
The artifact below was created for EPSY 485: Assessing Student Performance, during the Fall 2012 semester at UIUC. It includes a formative assessment for an 8th grade unit on oral tradition, analyses of each item, and a reflection on conducting and grading the assessment.
Reflection 1:
The artifact embedded above reflects Standard Seven of the Illinois Professional Teaching Standards, which states that teachers shall "[understand] and [use] appropriate formative and summative assessments for determining student needs, monitoring student progress, measuring student growth, and evaluating student outcomes." The artifact includes a formative assessment that would inform my decision-making about how to structure the rest of the unit leading up to a summative assessment. It is a tool to monitor student progress, and in the assignment I also reflected on specifics of how and why the assessment is reliable and valid. I used assessment strategies such as differentiation of question types and an anonymous survey of how many students guessed on any of the answers to get as accurate a representation of student comprehension as possible. The overall form of assessment - that of an "exit slip" - shows my dedication to constantly evaluating student progress and understanding. Going over the answers the next day and tailoring the discussion to the students' areas of weakness shows my belief in using assessments to enhance learning outcomes. The artifact also demonstrates my knowledge of the importance of considering the context and environment of the assessment and any accommodations that need to be made for students; I include information on what I would adapt in my administration of the assessment for a student with ADHD. The assessment includes a variety of questions, all of which target specific skills within the students and check for comprehension of major themes from the unit. The assessment impacts student learning in that they practice their ability to analyze character development, compare and contrast passages, and comprehend metaphors, and showcase their understanding of how certain incidents and specific dialogue propel the story forward. Assessments do not only benefit students, however. I grew as an educator through the process of completing this artifact; I gained understanding of how to create assessment questions that are free of ambiguity or bias, I practiced differentiating question types, and I reinforced my appreciation of formative assessments and their role in enhancing instruction and monitoring student progress.
The artifact embedded above reflects Standard Seven of the Illinois Professional Teaching Standards, which states that teachers shall "[understand] and [use] appropriate formative and summative assessments for determining student needs, monitoring student progress, measuring student growth, and evaluating student outcomes." The artifact includes a formative assessment that would inform my decision-making about how to structure the rest of the unit leading up to a summative assessment. It is a tool to monitor student progress, and in the assignment I also reflected on specifics of how and why the assessment is reliable and valid. I used assessment strategies such as differentiation of question types and an anonymous survey of how many students guessed on any of the answers to get as accurate a representation of student comprehension as possible. The overall form of assessment - that of an "exit slip" - shows my dedication to constantly evaluating student progress and understanding. Going over the answers the next day and tailoring the discussion to the students' areas of weakness shows my belief in using assessments to enhance learning outcomes. The artifact also demonstrates my knowledge of the importance of considering the context and environment of the assessment and any accommodations that need to be made for students; I include information on what I would adapt in my administration of the assessment for a student with ADHD. The assessment includes a variety of questions, all of which target specific skills within the students and check for comprehension of major themes from the unit. The assessment impacts student learning in that they practice their ability to analyze character development, compare and contrast passages, and comprehend metaphors, and showcase their understanding of how certain incidents and specific dialogue propel the story forward. Assessments do not only benefit students, however. I grew as an educator through the process of completing this artifact; I gained understanding of how to create assessment questions that are free of ambiguity or bias, I practiced differentiating question types, and I reinforced my appreciation of formative assessments and their role in enhancing instruction and monitoring student progress.
Artifact 2: Emerson "Self-Reliance" Worksheet
Growth in Knowledge Indicator E: understands how to select, construct, and use assessment strategies and instruments for diagnosis and evaluation of learning and instruction.
Growth in Knowledge Indicator I: knows assessment and progress monitoring techniques to assess the effectiveness of instruction for each student.
Growth in Performance Indicator A: uses assessment results to determine student performance levels, identify learning targets, select appropriate research-based instructional strategies, and implement instruction to enhance learning outcomes.
The artifact below is a formative assessment that I used in a unit on transcendentalism. By asking students to fill out this worksheet as they read Emerson's work, I was able to assess their understanding of the major themes of the unit up to that point. I was also able to target their areas of confusion, adapting my lessons to then specifically address those needs. Students were also given a sheet with a more in-depth description of different reading strategies, and tips for what to do when they get "stuck." The worksheet below asks them to integrate these reading strategies into their reading for class.
Growth in Knowledge Indicator E: understands how to select, construct, and use assessment strategies and instruments for diagnosis and evaluation of learning and instruction.
Growth in Knowledge Indicator I: knows assessment and progress monitoring techniques to assess the effectiveness of instruction for each student.
Growth in Performance Indicator A: uses assessment results to determine student performance levels, identify learning targets, select appropriate research-based instructional strategies, and implement instruction to enhance learning outcomes.
The artifact below is a formative assessment that I used in a unit on transcendentalism. By asking students to fill out this worksheet as they read Emerson's work, I was able to assess their understanding of the major themes of the unit up to that point. I was also able to target their areas of confusion, adapting my lessons to then specifically address those needs. Students were also given a sheet with a more in-depth description of different reading strategies, and tips for what to do when they get "stuck." The worksheet below asks them to integrate these reading strategies into their reading for class.
Reflection 2:
The artifact embedded above reflects Illinois Professional Teaching Standard Seven, which requires teachers to "[understand] and [use] appropriate formative and summative assessments for determining student needs, monitoring student progress, measuring student growth, and evaluating student outcomes." This worksheet was a formative assessment, illustrating my understanding of "progress monitoring techniques to assess the effectiveness of instruction for each student" (Knowledge Indicator I). By incorporating reading comprehension strategies into the assessment, I demonstrate my ability to "select, construct, and use assessment strategies and instruments" (Knowledge Indicator E). I wanted the worksheet to have two distinct parts: one, where students pick out an important quote (or one that really speaks to them) and in which students write down a summary of the reading's main themes. The second section is for them to write down questions, main ideas, connections, more quotes, etc. In this way, I can monitor and respond to their individual, specific questions as well as their overarching needs (about the major themes of the unit). The purpose of this formative assessment was to help students understand the material, clarifying the main ideas and asking them to contribute to the dialogue around it; it also, however, allowed me to address their needs in my next lessons. This shows that I can "identify learning targets, select appropriate research-based instructional strategies, and implement instruction to enhance learning outcomes" (Performance Indicator A). Not only did I respond to their work and hand it back to them the next day, I also addressed the most commonly asked questions or most insightful questions in a short discussion the next day. I used excellent student work to model appropriate reading strategies and highlight the major ideas of the text. All students received individualized written feedback from me. I found the worksheet to be very helpful in assessing how well students understood the material we were covering, and it was also very conducive to providing immediate feedback to the students and changing my lessons to address specific needs.
The artifact embedded above reflects Illinois Professional Teaching Standard Seven, which requires teachers to "[understand] and [use] appropriate formative and summative assessments for determining student needs, monitoring student progress, measuring student growth, and evaluating student outcomes." This worksheet was a formative assessment, illustrating my understanding of "progress monitoring techniques to assess the effectiveness of instruction for each student" (Knowledge Indicator I). By incorporating reading comprehension strategies into the assessment, I demonstrate my ability to "select, construct, and use assessment strategies and instruments" (Knowledge Indicator E). I wanted the worksheet to have two distinct parts: one, where students pick out an important quote (or one that really speaks to them) and in which students write down a summary of the reading's main themes. The second section is for them to write down questions, main ideas, connections, more quotes, etc. In this way, I can monitor and respond to their individual, specific questions as well as their overarching needs (about the major themes of the unit). The purpose of this formative assessment was to help students understand the material, clarifying the main ideas and asking them to contribute to the dialogue around it; it also, however, allowed me to address their needs in my next lessons. This shows that I can "identify learning targets, select appropriate research-based instructional strategies, and implement instruction to enhance learning outcomes" (Performance Indicator A). Not only did I respond to their work and hand it back to them the next day, I also addressed the most commonly asked questions or most insightful questions in a short discussion the next day. I used excellent student work to model appropriate reading strategies and highlight the major ideas of the text. All students received individualized written feedback from me. I found the worksheet to be very helpful in assessing how well students understood the material we were covering, and it was also very conducive to providing immediate feedback to the students and changing my lessons to address specific needs.