Assessment Basics

Assessment is a major, essential and integrated part of teaching and learning

Assessment is ongoing:
a) Use assessment information is a timely manner to assist students and families in
understanding student progress in meeting learning goals. (TPS 5.5)
b) Use assessment data to establish learning goals and to plan, differentiate, make
accommodations and/or modify instruction (TPE 5.8)
Varied types: diagnostic, formative, etc.

Formative assessment
Assessment for learning
Assist learning, guides instructional decisions, and provides information and
feedback throughout the teaching and learning process, such as:
Are students processing adequately toward achieving the standards-
based goals
Is re-teaching or an alternate approach needed?
Flexible grouping?
Time allocation?
Do I need more resources? Maybe a learning center?
Who is at mastery?
Assessment Tools
Teachers can collect information from observations and records such things as
reading fluency, word knowledge and comprehension:
Checklists, anecdotal records and running records
Questioning, problem solving
Provide corrective feedback to students in real time
White board responses
Signal cards, fingers, thumbs up, down, sideways
Can also include:
Students self-assessments and conference and conversations with students
to monitor progress.
 Portfolios-collection of student work over time (pg 171)
Teacher made quizzes and incorporating technology such as Kahoot or
Quizlet
Summative Assessments
Method examples: The list is long, but here are some examples of summative
assessments:
State assessments
District benchmark or interim assessments
End-of-units or chapter tests
End-of-term or semester exams
Culminating activity or project: use of rubric
The more reliable and valid the test, the more likely it is to measure what it says it
does. (includes common source or bias) handout
Inferences made by teachers from the results of these assessments are used to make
decisions about student placement, instruction, curricula, interventions, and to
assign grades.
A Balanced Approach
Assessments are clearly matched to standards and criteria (learning outcome) is
communicated prior to students beginning the task.
Establish and communicate learning goals ties to grade level CCSS standards, in
kid-friendly language
Address the needs of all learnings: Special Ed, ELL, At Risk, etc. through
differentiation, alignments with IEP goals.
Be aware of common sources of bias in classroom assessment Handout
Demonstration, presentation, investigation or performance
Drama reenactment or retelling a story handout
Sharing a book report
Involve students: Encourage and guide students to engage in discussion and
reflection and provide opportunities to revise or their work based on feedback (TPE
5.3)
Use tools such as scoring guides and rubrics
Engage in discussion through writing conferences; self-editing handout

2
 Have students to reflective journal writings
Make assessment an interactive process with KWL charts
Assessing Student Work
What does the student seem to understand and what is the evidence>?
What, in their work, shows this understanding?
What does the students seem to be struggling with?
What does the student seem to be confused about?
Is there partial understanding?
What will be the next steps?