Assessment

Assessment system

all the systematic methods and procedures that are used to obtain information about behaviors and upon which educational decisions are based

Performance-based assessment

an assessment activity that provides direct observation of student performance; usually an authentic assessment; also known as performance assessment

Alternative assessment

any assessment not considered to be traditional; helps overcome the limitations of traditional assessment

Objective assessment

assessment methods that have only one correct answer; the judgment of the scorer has no influence on the student's score; answers are selected from a set of options.

Subjective test items/Subjective assessment

assessment methods that have several possible correct responses, or those which may have only a single correct response but several possible ways to arrive at that answer; the judgment of the scorer can have influence on the student's scores

Authentic assessment

assessment methods that involve the real application of a skill beyond its instructional context; facts and concepts are applied in an attempt to solve real-world problems

Qualitative assessment

assessment methods that result in verbal descriptions of a student characteristic or behavior

Norm-referenced assessment

assessment methods that show where an individual student's performance lies in relation to other students

Standardized assessment

assessments that are administered, scored, and interpreted in identical fashion for all examinees, regardless of when or where they were assessed

Criterion-referenced assessment

Assessment methods that compare a student's performance to some pre-established criteria or objectives.

Quantitative assessment

Assessment methods that yield numerical scores that serve as estimates of a student characteristic or behavior

Blooms Taxonomy

Classification system for instructional objectives and subsequent student behaviors; includes the cognitive, affective, and psychomotor domains

Standards

Common core

Traditional assessment

Pencil-and-paper methods of assessment, such as tests and quizzes; specific item types include multiple-choice, short answer, and essay

Evaluation

the use of assessment information to make judgments about students, teachers, or educational programs

Test

A formal set of questions or tasks, often administered to a group of students, that address particular cognitive capabilities learned in a specific course or subject area

Formative Evaluation

A process that leads to decisions that occur during instruction, for the purpose of determining what adjustments to instruction should be made; typically based on informal assessments.

Unit Plan

An outline or overview of a rather large section of content material to be covered during instruction

Informal assessment

Assessments that are not planned in advance and are very spontaneous

Formal assessment

Assessments that are planned in advance of their administration; they lack spontaneity

Student reflections

Brief narratives or self-reports written by students concerning the subject matter being studied

Lesson Plan

Detailed plan for each individual lesson to be taught

Portfolio Assessment

Purposeful, organized collection of student work that can be used to describe students' efforts, progress, and/or achievement in a subject area

Instructional objectives

Statement that clearly describes what students are expected to learn or to be able to do following instruction

Validity

The degree to which evidence and theory support the interpretations of test scores entailed by proposed uses of tests.

Grading

The process of using a formal system for purposes of summarizing and reporting student achievement and progress

Checklist

a list of behaviors or student outcomes, where the teacher simply indicates whether each behavior or outcome has been observed

summative evaluation

a process based on assessments that occur after instruction, for the purpose of determining achievement of instructional objectives; consists solely of formal assessments

Rubrics

a scoring guide, consisting of specific pre-established performance criteria used in evaluating student work on performance assessments

Anecdotal notes

a short, written record of student behavior, including the context in which the behavior occurred

Teacher questions/questioning

informal assessment characterized by unplanned and spontaneous oral inquires posed by the teacher to be answered by the students

Observation

informal method of assessment that involves watching an/or listening to students as they carry out some activity

Nonstandardized assessment

teacher-made assessment methods developed for use within a single classroom and with a single set of students

Reliability

the consistency of measurements when the testing procedure is repeated on a population of individuals or groups