Assessment for Learning

A Key to Motivation and Achievement

November 17, 2006

The purpose of Teaching is not to

cover the expectations but rather
to uncover understanding.
Rick Stiggins
Assessment to Improve Student Learning

This is our Context

Assessment to Improve Student Learning

Vision of the Catholic Graduate

When our students
graduate from a Catholic
school system we do not
ask merely what they have
learned, but more
importantly, what they
have become.
Sr. Claire Fitzgerald

Assessment to Improve Student Learning

The Christian vision

regarding the value of
the human person and
his/her journey is passed
on through community.
Therefore, it is imperative that everyone
in the Catholic community shares the
responsibility to educate our young
people.
Assessment to Improve Student Learning

Three Principles of Catholic

Social Teaching:
All people have dignity
The primacy of the
human person
A preferential option for
the poor
Assessment to Improve Student Learning

Principles for Catholic Teachers

Every child has a right to know he/she is
loved and accepted.

The most important concern

is always the child.
Emphasis should always be
placed on the needs of the
poor in our classrooms.
Assessment to Improve Student Learning

The role of schools has changed.

Previously schools sorted students from
the highest to the lowest achievers
that is, some succeeded at learning
while others tumbled into chronic
failure.
But schools have evolved into places
where all students are expected to
meet increasingly rigorous academic
standards.
Rick Stiggins

Assessment to Improve Student Learning

Our students have two very

basic needs:
The need to
feel that they
belong

Assessment to Improve Student Learning

and the need to feel competent.

Assessment to Improve Student Learning

Planning with the End in mind

What is it that my
students must know,
understand and be
able to do?

Assessment to Improve Student Learning

How will I know

that they know,
understand and
are able to do?

If students know what

they are to learn,
you increase the
chances that they will
learn.
Harry Wong

Assessment to Improve Student Learning

Planning Pyramid
Some
students
will learn these
concepts or skills
Most students will
learn these concepts or skills
All students will
learn these concepts or skills
Assessment to Improve Student Learning

The primary purpose of

assessment and evaluation is
to improve learning.
Program Planning and Assessment, 2000 p. 13

Assessment to Improve Student Learning

What is ASSESSMENT?
Assessment is the process of gathering
information from a variety of sources
(including assignments, demonstrations,
projects, performances, teacher observation
and tests) that accurately reflect how well a
student is achieving the curriculum
expectations in a course or subject. As part
of assessment, teachers provide students
with descriptive feedback that guides
their efforts towards improvement.
Assessment to Improve Student Learning

Big Ideas of Classroom Assessment

#1. Assessment serves different purposes at
different times:
it may be used to find
out what students
already know and can
do;
it may be used to help
students improve
their learning;
Assessment to Improve Student Learning

Assessment for learning

Assessment to Improve Student Learning

Assessment of learning
it may be used to let
students and parents
know how much they
have learned within
a prescribed period
of time

Assessment to Improve Student Learning

Assessment for Learning:

am I already doing it?
R = Rarely

S = Sometimes

Do I ?
1. Do I share learning goals with
my students so they know
where we are heading?

2. Do I communicate to
students the standards they
are aiming for before they
begin work on a task?

Assessment to Improve Student Learning

C = Consistently

R S C

Notes

Big Ideas of Classroom Assessment

#7. Performance
standards are an
essential component
of effective
assessment.

Assessment to Improve Student Learning

Assessment for Learning:

am I already doing it?
R = Rarely

S = Sometimes

Do I ?
3. Do I have self and peer
assess their work in ways that
improve their learning?

4. Does my questioning
technique include all students
and promote?

Assessment to Improve Student Learning

C = Consistently

R S C

Notes

Tips for Improved Questioning

Find alternatives to asking
questions of the whole class
Try not to always be the
quarterback

Conduct frequent checks for

understanding
Talk to students while they are
working
Regular one on one conferences
Assessment to Improve Student Learning

Assessment for Learning:

am I already doing it?
R = Rarely

S = Sometimes

Do I ?
5. Do I provide individual
feedback to students that
informs them how to improve?
6. Do I provide opportunities for
students to make use of this
feedback to improve specific
pieces of work?

Assessment to Improve Student Learning

C = Consistently

R S C

Notes

Big Ideas of Classroom Assessment

#2. Assessment
must be planned
and purposeful.

Assessment to Improve Student Learning

assessment which is explicitly

designed to promote learning is the
single most powerful tool we have for
both raising standards and
empowering lifelong learners.
Paul Black & Dylan William

Assessment to Improve Student Learning

Research on Effective Assessment

The provision of effective feedback to students

The active involvement of students in their own

learning

Adjusting teaching to take account of the results

of assessment

Recognition of the profound influence

assessment has on motivation and self-esteem

The need for students to be able to assess

themselves and understand how to improve
Paul Black & Dylan William

Assessment to Improve Student Learning

Assessment for learning

Diagnostic
Self and peer
Formative

Assessment to Improve Student Learning

Diagnostic assessment
Marks the starting point of the
assessment journey
Prior knowledge and skills
Attitudes
Personal experience

Assessment to Improve Student Learning

Big Ideas of Classroom Assessment

#6. Assessment is a
collaborative
process that is
most effective when
it involves self,
peer, and teacher
assessment.
Assessment to Improve Student Learning

Self and Peer Assessment

Self-assessment by pupils, far from being
a luxury is, in fact, an essential component
of formative assessment.
Black & William 1998

Assessment to Improve Student Learning

Self Assessment is a
Learned Process
Students need to:
Know and understand how their teachers define
quality
Know the expectations with regard to quality
Be trained in the use of assessment tools
Be coached in the processes
Be constantly reminded that the purpose for
completing work is to improve learning
Assessment to Improve Student Learning

Peer Assessment is a
Learned Process
Another opportunity
for feedback

Not group work

Not evaluation

Assessment to Improve Student Learning

Formative Assessment
This is the feedback piece
This is where the learning
happens
In the teach, reflect/process,
practice, feedback LOOP, this
is Form-ative
Assessment to Improve Student Learning

Classroom assessment for

student learning turns the
classroom assessment
process and its results into an
instructional intervention
designed to increase, not
merely monitor, student
learning, confidence and
motivation.
Rick Stiggins
Assessment to Improve Student Learning

if assessments are to support

improvements in student learning, their
results must inform students how
to do better the next time.
Rick Stiggins

Assessment to Improve Student Learning

Big Ideas of Classroom Assessment

#5. For assessment to be
helpful to students, it must
inform them in words, not
numerical scores or letter
grades, what they have
done well, what they have
done poorly, and what
they need to do next in
order to improve.
Assessment to Improve Student Learning

When the classroom culture

focuses on rewards, gold
stars, grades, or class ranking,
then (students) look for ways
to obtain the best marks rather
than to improve their learning.
One reported consequence is that, when they
have any choice, (students) avoid difficult tasks.
They also spend time and energy looking for clues
to the right answer.
Paul Black & Dylan William
Assessment to Improve Student Learning

If we assess to
motivate students to try,
assessment for
learning enables
students by helping
them watch themselves
grow
Rick Stiggins

Assessment to Improve Student Learning

The important lesson is

that the students emotional
reactions to assessment
results will determine what
the student thinks, feels,
and is motivated to do in
response to those results.
Rick Stiggins
Assessment to Improve Student Learning

Assessment Requires a Team Effort

Assessment is not something
that we do to kids
assessment is a collaborative
and ongoing process that
involves students, their
teachers, and parents.
Hold students accountable
for their part in the process.
Assessment to Improve Student Learning

To increase student
learning and
achievement, increase
the amount of time the
student is working.
Harry Wong

Assessment to Improve Student Learning

Big Ideas of Classroom Assessment

#3. Assessment must
be balanced,
including oral,
performance, and
written tasks, and
be flexible in order
to improve learning
for all students.
Assessment to Improve Student Learning

Big Ideas of Classroom Assessment

#4. Assessment and
instruction are
inseparable because
effective assessment
informs learning.

Assessment to Improve Student Learning

Learning has nothing

to do with what a
teacher covers.
Learning has to do with what the
students accomplish.
Harry Wong

Assessment to Improve Student Learning

Whats next?

Today
Feb 2
Feb 23
Subject Council meetings
School-based meetings
Next year and
beyond..

Assessment to Improve Student Learning