Do not on any account attempt to write on both sides of the paper at once.

W.C.Sellar

English Author, 20 th Century

Session #4 Traditional Assessments

Assessment

is the gathering of reliable information pertaining to students’ knowledge and understanding of critical concepts, or a program’s effectiveness.

Phases

of assessment include: diagnostic, formative and summative.

Evaluation

is the process of making judgments, based in part on assessment data in order to quantify achievement or progress.

Alternative Assessments

(Authentic, Portfolio, Performance-based)

+

Traditional Assessments

Objective Tests

(True/False, Multiple-Choice, Matching items)

&

>“showing” >“knowing”

Constructed-Response Items

(Fill-in-the-blank, Short-Answer, Essays)

=

Multiple Assessment Methods

Criteria

– subsets of the knowledge and skills that define each category and identify the aspects of student performance that are assessed and/or evaluated (Criterion is singular form)

Descriptors

– characteristics of the students’ performance with respect to a particular criterion

Qualifiers

- define each level of achievement

•Writing teaching: Traditional Assessments requires the same skills as good -Know the subject matter -Have clear learning outcomes -Know your students -Have good judgment -Have a touch of creativity -Know some technical skills

Item Analysis

- analysis of how many students got a question wrong - identify questions that were answered well and ones that were answered poorly - facilitates the teacher’s judgment about the source of the problem and how to handle it

-Ask yourself, “Who is at fault when students misinterpret an item?” “Are wrong answers the result of faulty items or a lack of pupil learning?” “Since the test scores should reflect students’ achievement, do the test scores deal only with the topics that were taught and with items that were clearly written?” “Based on my scoring decision, have I uniformly applied the outcome to all students?”

Objective Tests

Selected-Response Items -

students attempt to choose a pre-determined correct answer

The Pros & Cons of Traditional Assessments…

True/False Items

 Pros

and

 Cons

Tips for True/False Items :

- Phrases with double negative terms should be avoided - All phrases should be definitely correct or incorrect to avoid ambiguity - Avoid broad, general statements and long, complex sentences - Avoid opinionated statements

Tips for True/False Items :

-Underline any negative words -Make use of popular misconceptions as false answers -Avoid superlatives such as, “all,” “always,” “never” (which are associated with false statements) and “possible,” “sometimes,” or “generally” (which are associated with true statements)

Matching Items

 Pros

and

 Cons

Tips for Matching Items:

- Guessing can be reduced by using more options than items - In the directions specify the basis for matching, whether the responses can be used more than once and where to write the answers - Use only homogeneous items in both columns

Tips for Matching Items:

- Ensure that all items and options are of the same tense and equally plausible - Give thorough instructions as to how many times an option may be used - Keep the list of items to be matched brief (8-12 items) - Put list of shorter responses on the right and all items on the same page - Arrange the options in a logical manner

Multiple Choice Questions

As an educator, Glenda believes that individuals learn best when they actively construct knowledge and understanding in light of their own experiences. Glenda is a: STEM a. Behaviorist b. Constructivist c. Socialist d. Evolutionist OPTION: Distractor OPTION: Answer OPTION: Distractor OPTION: Distractor

Multiple Choice Tests

 Pros

and

 Cons

Tips for Multiple Choice Tests: -To test understanding and interpretation, ask questions of “How?” and “Why?” rather than “Who?” and “When.” -To construct a stem, write a sentence that expresses a necessary skill or fact and then change this sentence into a question. -Include in the stem any words that would be repeated in each option.

Tips for Multiple Choice Tests: -Write completion items with the blank at the end rather than the beginning. -Present items in analogy form: “a is to b as 1 is to _____.” -To write a distractor, speculate how students might respond to a stem.

-Common sense answers or misconceptions are plausible distractors. -3-option, 4-option and 5-option items are equally reliable.

Constructed-Response Tests

Fill-in-the-blank

 Pros

and

 Cons

Tips for Fill-in-the-blank:

-Word the question so that the answers will be simple and limited to as few words as possible.

-Word the question so that only one answer is correct, yet be prepared to give credit for unexpected but correct responses.

-Do not take wording directly from the textbook.

Tips for Fill-in-the-blank:

- Do not use too many blanks in one question. - Consider how you will score exceptions (spelling, abbreviations) and inform students.

- Articles such as “a” and “an” should be written as “a/an.”

Short Answer Tests

 Pros

and

 Cons

Tips for Short Answer Tests:

-Consider whether you will score holistically (provide a single grade based on an overall impression of the response) or analytically (provide separate scores for each component of the response).

-When scoring holistically, use a rating scale that offers a continuum to qualify the response. Points on the scale should be described as explicitly as possible.

Tips for Short Answer Tests:

-When scoring analytically, begin with a checklist that simply indicates the presence or absence of components in the response.

-Consider how you will score exceptions (spelling, abbreviations) and inform students.

Essay Tests

 Pros

and

 Cons

Tips for Essay Tests:

- When using the word, “Discuss” in the question, provide a basis for the focus for the discussion.

-Use question starters such as, “Give the reasons for….” “Present arguments for and against…” “Give original examples of…” “Explain how or why…” -Suggest a time limit for answering each question and specify a point value

Tips for Essay Tests:

-Consider whether you will score holistically or analytically and prepare a model answer or a tentative rubric -Try out the model on an assortment of answers as a preliminary check -Score all the answers to one question before going on to the next question -Periodically recheck papers that you graded earlier

Tips for Essay Tests:

-Score the questions as anonymously as possible.

-Consider how you will score in light of influences such as: handwriting, writing style, grammar, spelling.

-Rearrange the stack of papers so that the papers are not graded in the same order.

- Perhaps, have another teacher grade the papers to increase the reliability .