Chapter 1 - Part 1:Testing, Assessing and Teaching

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• Day-to-day work of teachers is multifaceted.• No responsibility is more important than assessing

student performance.• Teachers must be able to communicate academic

and social performance and progress to a variety of audiences (including students, parents, administrators, the general public, etc.).

• Assessments and evaluative judgments must be accurate in order to prevent communication of misinformation to audiences.

INTRODUCTION

• Assessment system: All systematic methods and procedures used to obtain information about students; basis for decisions.

• Evaluation: Use of assessment information to make judgments.

• Measure: Process involving a structured situation where specific characteristics are sampled; results in a numerical or narrative score (also known as assessment method).

• Test: Formal set of questions or tasks that address particular cognitive capabilities learned in specific subject areas.

SOME BASIC DEFINITIONS

SOME BASIC DEFINITIONS

Administration of tests and use of other assessment

methods

result in the accumulatio

n ofassessment results,

which provide information

forevaluatio

n.

Formal Assessment Methods:• planned in advance of their administration lack spontaneity• typically occur at the end of instruction• students are aware of these methods• examples include chapter tests, final exams, graded

homework, etc.

Informal Assessment Methods:• more spontaneous; less obvious• typically occur during instruction• examples include teacher observations and questions

ASSESSMENT METHODS

Quantitative Assessment Methods:• yield numerical scores• major types include teacher-constructed tests,

standardized tests, checklists, and rating scales

Qualitative Assessment Methods:• yield verbal descriptions of characteristics• main types include teacher observations,

anecdotal records, and informal questions

QUANTITATIVE VS. QUALITATIVE

Formative Evaluation• decision making that occurs during instruction for purposes of

making adjustments to instruction• more of an evaluation of one’s own teaching rather than of

students’ work• may be based on formal or informal methods

Summative Evaluation• occurs at the end of instruction (e.g., end of chapter, end of unit,

end of semester)• typically used for administrative decisions (e.g., assigning grades,

promoting/retaining students)• based solely on formal assessment methods

FORMATIVE VS SUMMATIVE

Standardized Assessment Methods• administered, scored, and interpreted in identical fashion for

all examinees• purpose is to allow educators to compare students from

different schools, states, etc.• examples include SAT, GRE, ITBS, Cambridge Language

Assessments, TOEFL

Non-standardized Assessment Methods• typically made by teachers for classroom use• purpose is to determine extent to which subject matter is

being taught and learned

STANDARDIZED VS. NON-STANDARDIZED

Norm-Referenced Assessment Methods• show where an individual student’s performance lies in relation to

other students• standardized tests are usually norm-referenced• results are quantitative• student performance is compared to norm group

Criterion-Referenced Assessment Methods• compare student performance to preestablished criteria or

objectives• results are quantitative, qualitative, or both• also known as mastery, objectives-referenced, or competency

tests

NORMED REFERENCED VS. CRITERION REFERENCED

Traditional Assessment Methods• procedures such as pencil-and-paper tests and quizzes• only one correct response to each test item• easily and efficiently assess many students

simultaneously• encourage memorization of facts, etc.

Alternative Assessment Methods• more appropriate for hands-on, experiential learning• include authentic assessment (involve real application of

skills beyond instructional context)

TRADITIONAL VS. ALTERNATIVE

Objective Assessment Methods• “objective” refers to method of scoring (no judgments)• contain only one correct answer• examples: multiple-choice, true-false, matching items• also known as structured-response, selected-response, teacher-

supplied items

Subjective Assessment Methods• scoring involves teachers’ subjective judgments• several possible correct responses or single correct response with

several ways to arrive at that answer• examples: short-answer and essay items• also known as open-ended, constructed-response, supply-type items

OBJECTIVE VS. SUBJECTIVE