Intro to Assessment Alternative assessment methods work well in learner-centered criteria, such as qualifying for special education services.

, such as qualifying for special education services. This uses

Test classrooms because they are based on the idea that students can assessment (remember that an assessment may be a test) to make a
A method to determine a student's ability to complete certain evaluate their own learning and learn from the evaluation process. determination of qualification in accordance with a predetermined
tasks or demonstrate These methods give learners opportunities to reflect on both their criteria.
mastery of a skill or knowledge of content. Some types would be linguistic development and their learning processes (what helps Measurement
multiple choice tests, or a them learn and what might help them learn better). Alternative
weekly spelling test. While it is commonly used interchangeably assessment thus gives instructors a way to connect assessment with refers to the set of procedures and the
with assessment, or even review of learning strategies. principles for how to use the procedures in educational tests and
evaluation, it can be distinguished by the fact that a test is one form Features of alternative assessment: assessments. Some of the basic principles of measurement in
of an assessment. Assessment is based on authentic tasks that demonstrate educational evaluations would be raw scores, percentile ranks,
Non-test learners' ability to accomplish communication goals derived scores, standard scores, etc.
On going process Instructor and learners focus on communication, not on right Principles of Assessment
Gives feedback to help students improve their competence and wrong answers
1. The purposes for assessment should be clear. The purposes
Informal: Impromptu feedback, marginal notes Learners help to set the criteria for successful completion of
determine the frequency and types of assessment to be done.
Formal: Review of journal writing or students portfolio communication tasks
Assessment Learners have opportunities to assess themselves and their 2. Assessment should be tied to curricular practices that are
The process of gathering information to monitor progress and peers informed by second language theory and research and should
make educational decisions if necessary. As noted in my definition Kinds of Alternative Assessments support the goals and objectives of the instructional program as
of test, an assessment may Following is a list of possible alternative assessments. determined by the school, the district, and the state.
include a test, but also includes methods such as observations, o Performance-based assessments (projects, exhibitions, role
interviews, behavior playing, experiments and demonstrations) 3. Assessment should be developmentally appropriate.
monitoring, etc. o Open-ended questions
o Writing samples 4. Assessment should reflect student progress along a
Traditional Assessment vs. Authentic Assessment o Interviews continuum from simple to progressively more complex tasks. The
o Journals and learning logs designed tasks should be curriculum-embedded and part of the
Traditional o Story of text retelling teaching/learning process.
Selecting a Response o Cloze tests
5. Assessment should be both formative (to continually assess
Contrived o Portfolios
the degree to which shortterm objectives have been met so that
Recall/Recognition o Self and peer assessments
fine tuning can occur with instruction and learning) and
Teacher-structured o Teacher observations
summative (to assess the degree to which final objectives have
o Checklists
Indirect Evidence been met).
Authentic Assessment
In the TA model, the curriculum drives assessment. "The" Authentic assessment is an alternative assessment, it integrates 6. Assessment should allow students to demonstrate their ability
body of knowledge is determined first. That knowledge becomes the assessment of traditional academic content with the knowledge to function in a variety of cognitively engaging tasks. When
the curriculum that is delivered. and skills important to lifelong learning using a variety of assessment is performance-oriented, the students work will result
In the AA model, assessment drives the curriculum. That is, techniques, including "real world" situations. (McREL Institute, in a product, written or oral performance, or problem solving.
teachers first determine the tasks that students will perform to 1993).
demonstrate their mastery, and then a curriculum is developed that For an assessment to be authentic, the context, purpose, 7. Assessment employs a broad range of datagathering methods
will enable students to perform those tasks well, which would audience and constraints of the test should connect in some way to over time and should be based on multiple sources of evidence.
include the acquisition of essential knowledge and skills. This is real world situations and problems. Tests can be authentic. Multiple sources of evidence allow for assessing a students
"backwards design". Performance-Based Assessment progress in many areas and also take into account the different
But a teacher does not have to choose between AA and TA. It learning styles.
is likely that some mix of the two will best meet your needs. Performance-based assessment is an alternative assessment, it
Alternative Assessment requires students to construct a response, create a product, or
Alternative assessment uses activities that reveal what students demonstrate application of knowledge in authentic context 8. Assessment should be conducted regularly and frequently.
can do with language, emphasizing their strengths instead of their (Authentic Assessment for English Language Learners, p. 239).
weaknesses. Alternative assessment instruments are not only Performance-based assessment requires the development of new 9. Assessment is authentic in that it reflects what students do in
designed and structured differently from traditional tests, but are assessment tools and scoring rubrics. the classrooms on a regular basis. The relationship between
also graded or scored differently. Because alternative assessment is Evaluation instruction and assessment is constant. Teachers should assess the
performance based, it helps instructors emphasize that the point of effectiveness of what they teach and use the results to improve
language learning is communication for meaningful purposes. Procedures used to determine whether the subject (i.e. student) instruction.
Alternative Assessment meets a preset
 10. Assessment activities should be contextualized and include Principle 7 Assessment as teaching and learning. Assessments Valid Inferences
practical contexts and culturally appropriate situations. and instruction can be one and the same, if and when we want Validity is closely tied to the purpose or use of an assessment.
them to be. DONT ASK: Is this assessment valid?
11. Assessment should encourage students to reflect on their ASK: Are the inferences Im making based on this assessment
own progress. For this reason, it is essential to design assessments Levels of Measurement valid for my purpose?
which are learner-centered and to share assessment expectations Refers to the precision of data collected for a research Evidence-Centered Design
with students. study Validity is about providing strong evidence
Has implications for types of statistical procedure that Evidence-centered design boosts validity
12. Assessment results should be reported in a variety of ways can be done What do you want to know?
depending on the target audience. 13. Educators should use Important foundation knowledge for statistics How would you know?
assessment efficiently so that demands on instructional time are Four Levels of Measurement What should the assessment look like?
reasonable. Nominal Important distinction!
Ordinal The term validity is used in two different ways
14. A wide range of factors should be taken into account when
Interval
assessing students language, including their maturation level,
Ratio
learning styles, learning disabilities, physical disabilities, and other 1. Validity of an assessment or method of collecting data
Nominal
characteristics affecting their performance. The validity of a test or questionnaire or
Classifies elements into two or more mutually
7 Principles of Student Centered Classroom Assessment interview
exclusive categories
(Rick Stiggins) 2. Validity of a research study
Categories should exhaustive (include all possibilities)
Principle 1 Assessments require clear thinking and effective Was the entire study of high quality
Examples of nominal variables include sex, race, and
communication. Those who develop and use high quality Did it have high internal and external
Nominal Level Example 1
assessments must share a highly refined focus. They must be clear validity
Sex is a nominal level variable
thinkers, capable of communicating effectively, both to those being 1. Referring to entire studies or research reports:
A person can be either female or male
assessed and those who must understand the assessment results. OK: We examined the internal
Nominal Level Example 2
Principle 2 Classroom assessment is the key. Teachers direct validity of the study.
A person could be either European American, Asian
the assessments that determine what students learn and how those OK: We looked for the threats to
American, or African American
students feel about the learning. Nearly all of the assessment validity.
Ordinal Level Data
events that take place in students lives happen at the behest of OK: That study involved randomly
Classifies and ranks elements or scores
their teachers. assigning students to groups, so it had strong
Definite order to categories
Principle 3 Students are assessment users. Students are the internal validity, but it was carried out in a
Examples include socio-economic status and difficulty
most important users of assessment results. Students are consumers special school, so it is weak on external
of care
of assessment results right from the time students arrive at validity.
Ordinal Level Data Example 1
school, they look at their teachers for evidence of success. If that 2. Referring to a test or questionnaire or some
Categories of socio-economic status (SES) can be
early evidence suggests they are succeeding, what begins to grow assessment:
low-income, middle income, and high income.
in them is a sense of hopefulness and an expectation of more OK: The test is a widely used and
success in the future. Defining Validity well-validated measure of student
Principle 4 Clear and appropriate targets are essential. The achievement.
quality of any assessment depends first and foremost on the clarity Validity refers to the accuracy of inferences drawn from an OK: The checklist they used seemed
and appropriateness of our definition of the achievement target to assessment. reasonable, but they did not present any
be assessed. It is the degree to which the assessment measures what it is information on its reliability or validity.
Principle 5 High quality assessment is a must. High quality intended to measure. NOT: The test lacked internal validity.
assessment is essential in all assessment contacts. Sound Validity refers to accuracy (This sounds very strange to me.)
assessments must satisfy five specific quality standards: 1) clear Is the measure accurate? Types of validity
targets; 2) focused purpose; 3) proper method; 4) sound sampling; Are we really measuring what we want? Validity the extent to which the instrument (test,
and 5) accurate assessment free of bias and distortion. questionnaire, etc.) is measuring what it intends to
Principle 6 Understand the personal implications. Assessment Types of Validity measure
is an interpersonal activity. The principle has two important Construct validity- the assessment actually measures what it Examples:
dimensions. The first has to do with the important reality of life in is designed to measure. Math test
classrooms: Students are people and teachers are people, too, and Concurrent validity- the assessment correlates with other is it covering the right
sometimes we like each other and sometimes we dont. Second, assessments that measure the same construct content and concepts?
assessment is very complex in that it virtually always is Predictive validity- the assessment predicts performance on a
accompanied by personal anecdotes and personal consequences. future assessment.
 is it also influenced by
reading level or
background knowledge?
Attitude assessment
are the questions
appropriate?
does it assess different
dimensions of attitudes
(intensity, direction,
etc.)
Validity is also assessed
in a particular context
A test may be valid in some contexts and not
in others
A questionnaire may be useful with some
populations and not so useful with other
groups
Not: The test has high validity.
OK: The test has been useful in assessing
early reading skills among native speakers
of English.
Types of validity
Content validity
The extent to which the items reflect a
specific domain of content
Is the sample of items really
representative?
Often a matter of judgment
Experts may be asked to rate the relevance
and appropriateness of the items or
questions
e.g., rate each item: very
important / nice to know / not
important
Face validity refers to whether the items
appear to be valid (to the test taker or test
user)
Criterion-related validity
Concurrent validity
agreement with a separate measure
common in educational assessments
e.g., Bayley Scales and S-B IQ
test
Complete version and screening
test version
Issue: Is there really a strong existing
measure, a gold standard we can use for
validating a new measure?
Predictive validity
agreement with some future measure
SAT scores and college GPA
GRE scores and graduate school performance
Construct validity
Does the measure appear to produce results that are
consistent with our theories about the construct?
Example: We have a stage-model of
development, so does out measure produce
scores/results that look like stages?
Convergent validity
Does out measure converge or agree with
other measures that should be similar?
And . . .
Discriminant validity
Does our measure disagree (or diverge)
where it should be different?
Defining Reliability
Reliability refers to consistency and repeatability.
A reliable assessment provides a consistent picture of what
students know, understand, and are able to do.
Reliability refers to consistency
Are we getting something stable over time?
Internally consistent?
Remember!
An assessment that is highly reliable is not necessarily
valid. However, for an assessment to be valid, it must also
be reliable.
Considerations
Using what you have
Is it carefully aligned to your purpose?
Purchasing a new assessment
Is it carefully matched to your purpose?
Do you have the funds (for assessment,
equipment, training)?
Developing a new assessment
Do you have the in-house content knowledge?
Do you have the in-house assessment
knowledge?
Does your team have time for development?
Does your team have the knowledge and time
needed for proper scoring?
Improving Validity & Reliability
Ensure questions are based on taught curricula
Ensure questions are based on standards
Allow students to demonstrate knowledge/skills in multiple
ways
Ensure a variety of item types (multiple-choice, constructed
response)
Ask questions at varying Depth of Knowledge levels
Ensure accurate test administration
Include items that address the full range of standards
Include multiple items that assess the same standard
Review scorer reliability, when necessary