Republic of the Philippines MINDANAO STATE UNVERSITY GSC Graduate Program

ASSESSMENT OF MATHEMATICS/SCIENCE SKILLS

By: JUMAR C. MONTERO

What is Assessment?

Assessment is a systematic process of gathering, interpreting, and acting upon data related to student learning and experience for the purpose of developing a deep understanding of what students know, understand, and can do with their knowledge as a result of their educational experience; the process culminates when assessment results are used to improve subsequent learning. Huba and Freed, 2000

Key Points
Assessment is an ongoing process aimed at understanding and improving student learning Multiple methods Criteria and standards Evidence Students know, can do and understand Its more than just collecting data

Sequence in Preparing Instructionally Relevant Assessment

INSTRUCTION Indicates the learning outcomes to be attained by students

Is there close agreement ?

LEARNING TASK Specifies the particular set of learning task(s) to be assessed.

ASSESSMENT Provides a procedure designed to measure a representative sample of the instructionally relevant learning tasks.

What is the Assessment Process?

AIMS

ADJUSTMENT

ACTION

ASSESSMENT

Importance of Assessment

To find out what the students know (knowledge) To find out what the students can do, and how well they can do it (skill; performance) To find out how students go about the task of doing their work (process) To find out how students feel about their work (motivation, effort)

What is Student Assessment for?

To help us design and modify programs to better promote learning and student success. To provide common definitions and benchmarks for student abilities that will enable us to act more coherently and effectively to promote student learning.

What is Student Assessment for?

To provide feedback, guidance, and mentoring to students so as to help them better plan and execute their educational programs. To provide improved feedback about student learning to support faculty in their work.

Functions of Assessment

Diagnostic: tell us what the student needs to learn Formative: tell us how well the student is doing as work progresses Summative: tell us how well the student did at the end of a unit/task

What can be assessed?

Student learning characteristics -Ability differences -Learning styles Student motivational characteristics -Interest -Self-efficacy -goal orientation

What can be assessed? Cont.

Learning

Content knowledge Ability to apply content knowledge Skills Dispositions and attitudes Performances

How should we assess?

True False Item Multiple Choice Completion Short Answer Essay Practical Exam Papers/Reports Projects Questionnaires

Inventories Checklist Peer Rating Self Rating Journal Portfolio Observations Discussions Interviews

Criteria In Choosing an Assessment Method

It should be reliable. It should be valid. It should be simple to operate, and should not be too costly. It should be seen by students and society in general. It should benefit all students.

Who should be involved in assessment?

The teacher The student The students peer Administrator Parents

What should we do with the information from our assessment?

Use it to improve the focus of our teaching (diagnosis) Use it to focus student attention of strengths and weaknesses (motivation) Use it to improve program planning (program assessment) Use it for reporting to parents

Classroom Assessment
Paper and pencil assessments: Ask students to respond in writing to questions or problem -Item level: Assessing lower vs. higher skills -Knowledge vs. application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation -Authentic tasks e.g. multiple choice, T/F, matching (recognition), short answer, essay (recall)

Paper and Pencil Assessment

Strengths -Can cover a lot of material reasonably well -Fair -Effective in assessing declarative knowledge of content - Easier to construct and administer than performance assessments Weaknesses -Require forethought and skill -Less effective in assessing procedural knowledge and creative thinking -Construction of good higher level recognition items is difficult -Recall items that do a good job of assessing higher level thinking (essay questions) are difficult to score.

Performance Assessments
- assessment that elicits and evaluates actual student performances Types of Performances: Products: drawings, science experiments, term papers, poems, solution to authentic problems Behavior: time trial for running a mile, reciting a poem, acting tryouts, dancing

1.

2.

Performance assessments

Strengths -Effective for assessing higher level thinking and authentic learning -Effective for assessing skill and procedural learning -Interesting and motivating for students Weaknesses -Emphasize depth at the expense of breadth -Difficult to construct -Time consuming to administer -Hard to score fairly

How can we assess student learning?

Traditional assessment: assess student knowledge and skills in relative isolation from real world context. Traditional assessment practices reflect what students are able to recall from memory through various means, such as, multiple choice, true/false, fill in the blank, and matching questions.

How can we assess student learning?

Authentic assessment: assess students ability to use what theyve learning in tasks similar to those in the outside world. Occurs when the authenticity of student learning has been observed. It requires information from a variety of source such as content work samples, observation during class activities, and conferences with students.

Classroom Assessment
Informal Assessment: teachers spontaneous, day to day observations of student performances. Examples Verbal -Asking questions -Listening to student discussions -Conducting student conferences

Informal Assessment-cont.

Nonverbal -Observing -Task performances -On-and off-task behavior -student choices -student body language

Informal Assessment

Strengths -Facilitates responsive teaching -Can be done during teaching -Easy to individualize Weaknesses -Requires high level of teacher skill -Is vulnerable to -Bias -Inequities -Mistakes

Classroom Assessment
Formal assessment: assessment that is planned in advance and used to assess a predetermined content and/or skill domain. Strengths -allows the teacher to evaluate all students systematically on the important skills and concepts -helps teachers determine how well students are progressing over the entire year -provides useful information to parents and administrators.

Portfolios

A collection of student samples representing or demonstrating student academic growth. It can include formative and summative assessment. It may contain written work, journals, maps, charts, survey, group reports, peer reviews and other such items. Portfolios are systematic, purposeful, and meaningful collections of students work in one or more subject areas.

Importance of Portfolios
For Students Shows growth over time Displays students accomplishment Helps students make choices Encourages them to take responsibility for their work Demonstrates how students think

Importance of Portfolios
For Teachers Highlights performance-based activities over year Provides a framework for organizing students work Encourages collaboration with students, parents, and teachers Showcases an ongoing curriculum Facilitates student information for decision making

Importance of Portfolios
For Parents Offer insight into what their children do in school Facilitates communication between home and school Gives the parents an opportunity to react to what their child is doing in school and to their development Shows parents how to make a portfolio so they may do one at home at the same time

Importance of Portfolios
For Administrators Provides evidence that teacher/school goals are being met Shows growth of students and teachers Provides data from various sources

What do portfolios contain?

Three basic models: Showcase model, consisting of work samples chosen by the student. Descriptive model, consisting of representative work of the student, with no attempt at evaluation. Evaluative model, consisting of representative products that have been evaluated by criteria.

Disadvantages of Portfolio

Require more time for faculty to evaluate than test or simple-sample assessment. Require students to compile their own work, usually outside of class. Do not easily demonstrate lower-level thinking, such as recall of knowledge. May threaten students who limit their learning to cramming for doing it at the last minute.

Rubric

It is a scoring guide that seeks to evaluate a students performance based on the sum of a full range of criteria rather than a single numerical score. It is a working guide for students and teachers, usually handed out before the assignment begins in order to get students to think about the criteria on which their work will be judged.

Rubrics are scoring criteria for

Free-response Questions Scientific reports Oral or Power point presentations Reflections/Journals Essay Laboratory-based performance tests Article review or reactions Portfolios Many others

Open-ended Question During a storm, Wendy noticed that she always heard thunder shortly after she saw a flash of lighting. Explain why there is a difference a time between seeing lightning and hearing thunder.

Level of Performance 4

Criteria
Response include the fact that light travels faster than sound; makes the connection with scenario Response only mentions the fact that light is faster than sound; does not relate the concept of hearing and seeing Response is scientifically incorrect

Sample Answer
Light is faster than sound. You can see the lightning bolt before sound reaches you.

Sound travels slower than light

2
1

Sound is faster than light

Thunder follows lightning

Question or parts of question restated

No answer or answer erased

Concept Mapping

It requires students to explore links between two or more related concepts. When making concept maps, they clarify in their minds the links they have made of the concepts and having visual representation of these links, they are better able to rearrange of form new links when new concepts are introduced.

Laboratory Performance

In this format students and teachers know the requirements in advance and prepare them. The teacher judges the student performance within a specific time frame and setting. Students are rated on appropriate and effective use of laboratory equipment, measuring tools, and safety laboratory procedures as well as a hands-on designing of an investigation.

Inventories

Diagnostic Inventories: Student responses to a series of questions or statements in any field, either verbally or in writing. These responses may indicate an ability or interest in a particular field. Interest Inventories: student responses to questions designed to find out past experience and or current interest in a topic, subject or activity.

Classroom Assessment

Presentation: a presentation by one student or by a group of students to demonstrate the skills used in the completion of an activity or the acquisition of curricular outcomes/expectations. The presentation can take the form of a skit, lecture, lab presentation, debate etc. Computers can also be used for presentation when using such software as Hyperstudio, Powerpoint or Corel presentations. Peer Evaluation: judgments by students about one anothers performance relative to stated criteria and program outcomes

Journal Assessment

This refer to students ongoing record of expressions experiences and reflections on a given topic. There are two types: one in which students write with minimal direction what he/she is thinking and or feeling and the other requires students to compete a specific written assignment and establishes restrictions and guidelines necessary to accurately accomplish the assignment. Journals can evolve different types of reflecting writing, drawing, painting, and role playing.

REFLECTIVE JOURNAL
What happened? How do I feel about it? What did I learn?

SYNTHESIS JOURNAL

What I Did?

What I learned?

How I can Use It?

SPECULATION ABOUT EFFECTS JOURNAL

What happened?

What could happen because of this?

Summary

A fair assessment is one in which students are given equitable opportunities to demonstrate what they know and can do. Classroom assessment is not only for grading or ranking purposes. Its goal is to inform instruction by providing teachers with information to help them make good educational decisions. Assessment is integrated with students day-to-day learning experiences rather than a series of an endof-course tests.

Why link assessment with instruction?

Better assessment means better teaching.

Better teaching means better learning.

Better students mean better opportunities for a better life.

Better learning means better students.

(Read and Take Joy in being a Teacher)

THE CREATION OF A TEACHER

Anonymous
The Good Lord was creating teachers. It was His sixth day of overtime and He knew that this was a tremendous responsibility for teachers would touch the lives of so many impressionable young children. An angel appeared to Him and said, You are taking a long time to figure this one out. Yes, said the Lord, but have you read the specs on this order? TEACHER: must stand above all students, yet be on their level must be able to do 180 things not connected with the subject being taught must run on coffee and leftovers, must communicate vital knowledge to all students daily and be right most of the time

The Creation of a Teacher

must have more time for others than for herself/himself must have a smile that can endure through pay cuts, problematic children, and worried parents must go on teaching when parents question every move and others are not supportive must have 6 pair of hands. Six pair of hands, said the angel, thats impossible Well, said the Lord, it is not the hands that are the problem. It is the three pairs of eyes that are presenting the most difficulty! The angel looked incredulous, Three pairs of eyeson a standard model? The Lord nodded His head, One pair can see a student for what he is and not what others have labeled him as. Another pair of eyes is in the back of the teachers head to see what should not be seen, but what must be known. The eyes in the front are only to look at the child as he/she acts out in order to reflect, I understand and I still believe in you, without so much as saying a word to the child. Lord, said the angel, this is a very large project and I think you should work on it tomorrow.

The Creation of a Teacher

I cant, said the Lord, for I have come very close to creating something much like Myself. I have one that comes to work when he/she is sickteachers a class of children that do not want to learn has a special place in his/her heart for children who are not his/her ownunderstands the struggles of those who have difficultynever takes the students for granted The angel looked closely at the model the Lord was creating. It is too soft-hearted, said the angel. Yes, said the Lord, but also tough, You can not imagine what this teacher can endure or do, if necessary. Can this teacher think? asked the angel. Not only think, said the Lord,. but reason and compromise. The angel cam closer to have a better look at the model and ran his finger over the teachers cheek. Well, Lord, said the angel, your job looks fine but there is a leak. I told you that you were putting too much into this model. You can not imagine the stress that will be placed upon the teacher. The Lord moved in closer and lifted the drop of moisture from the teachers cheek. It shone and glistened in the light. It is not a leak, He said, It is a tear.

The Creation of a Teacher

A tear? What is that? asked the angel, What is a tear for? The Lord replied with great thought, It is for the joy and pride of seeing a child accomplish even the smallest task. It is for the loneliness of children who have a hard time to fit in and it is for compassion for the feelings of their parents. It comes from the pain of not being able to reach some children and the disappointment those children feel in themselves. It comes often when a teacher has been with a class for a year and must say good- bye to those students and get ready to welcome a new class. My, said the angel, "The tear thing is a great ideaYou are a genius! The Lord looked somber, I didnt put it there.

Maraming salamat po!

THANK YOU VERY MUCH!
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