Evaluation Techniques

Under what circumstances would it be reasonable to use summative assessments for instructional planning?

It would be appropriate to use summative assessments if the scores were disaggregated to show specific strengths and weaknesses, were clearly related to subsequent learning, and were confirmed by other sources of information.

What does it mean when we say that assessment is not just and "add-on" or "end -of-instruction" activity?

"Add-on" means assessment that occurs at the end of an instructional unit, for example, the midterm or final exam. However, the teacher also assesses students before and during instruction. Assessment should not be thought of as testing only at the end of instruction; it is conducted continuously as students learn.

#3 Chapter 6

1. d 2. a 3. e 4. a 5. b 6. e

Chapter 12 #2

1. e 2. c 3. b 4. b 5. a 6. g 7. f 8. a 9. c 10. b or e

What is the difference between a test and an assessment?

A test is only one part of assessment. Assessment refers to measuring something, evaluating what is measured, and then using the information for decision making. A test is on way to measure.

How does authentic assessment differ from performance assessment?

Authentic assessment refers to the nature of the task that approximates what is done in the real world. Performance assessment involves the construction of responses by students - it may or may not be authentic.

How is it possible for all school districts in a state to be able the 50th percentile on a standardized norm-refrenced test?

Because norms are established in on year and then used for several more years, and current scores are compared to the 2014 norms. Before new norms are established, all the school districts may target skills assessed on the test.

Why may Bloom's original taxonomy of educational objectives not be the best source for identifying classroom learning targets?

Bloom's taxonomy is not aligned very well with more recent research on learning and motivation

What is the relationship between teacher decision making, complex classroom environments, and assessment?

Complex classroom contexts that are different for each teacher influence the nature of instructional decision making, and information from assessment tailored to the context is needed to make good decisions.

What is the primary difference between content and performance standards?

Content standards describe the nature of the material that is to be learned, whereas performance standards indicate levels of achievement on the content that must be met

Give at least three reasons why using public criteria that are shared with students before instruction is an effective teaching/learning tool for evaluation student work.

Could have selected from several reasons: communication goals and different levels of work to parents, documenting judgments, helping students evaluate their own work, motivating students, providing targeted feedback.

Why is it important to include criteria in learning targets and standards?

Criteria are needed to completely understand the nature of the target and what it takes to achieve different levels of performance. Without criteria, targets are statements similar to simple behavioral objectives.

How do assessments communicate expectations for students learning?

Expectations are set by the nature of the standards and criteria used in the assessments and the wya teachers provide feedback and otherwise respond to students.

Give original examples of at least one knowledge and one deep understanding learning target that could be stated for you concerning the content of this chapter.

Knowledge: Students are able to recall and write accurately 80% of the definitions of key terms in the chapter. Deep Understanding and Reasoning: Students are able to analyze five examples of learning targets and modify them in writing so that they correspond better to the criteria in the chapter.

Chapter 12 #3

Look @ book

Why, according to recent research on learning, is performance assessment well suited to effective instruction?

Recent learning research has shown the importance of connecting new to existing information, of applying knowledge, and developing thinking skills. Performance assessments foster these skills by relating content and processes to problem solving in meaningful contexts.

Explain how each of the following words is important in describing the nature of performance assessment: explain, reasoning, observable, criteria, standards, engaging, and prespecified

Students are required to explain their responses as well as to produce them; reasoning targets are usually assessed, students use reasoning skills to demonstrate their proficiency; student performance is judged by what is directly strate their proficiency; student performance is judged by what is directly observable; criteria are used to judge the adequacy of the performance on the basis of prespecified standards that relate a description of the performance to a statement of worth; good performance tasks are those that are engaging for students

Evaluate the planning that illustrated by the teacher in the following example. Is what she has planned consistent with what a portfolio is all about? Why or why not? Is her planning adequate? What else does she need to do? Ms. Taylor has decided to implement a mathematics portfolio in her sixth-grade classroom. She believes the portfolios will increase student learning. She provided manila folders for the students and tells them that they will keep all their math worksheets and tests in them. She tells the students that they will be talking to her periodically about what is in the folder.

This is not really portfolio assessment, at least not in the way portfolios have been discussed in this chapter. Neither the teacher nor the students select anything, and there is no indication that any performance products are included. There is a lack of specification about the purpose of the portfolio. Folders will be used, but we don't know where they will be placed. There is no indication that student self -reflection guidelines and scoring criteria have been developed.

What are some reasons that most teachers don't systematically assess non-cognitive disposition and trait targets?

Three reasons were given in the chapter: Noncognitive takes second seat to cognitive outcomes; assessing dispositions is difficult to do well; and teachers do not want to put up with controversy.

What kind of information would lead one to conclude that a student has clear weaknesses in a particular skill?

When the information from several different sources suggests the same conclusion, when there is a pattern of performance for several years, and when your own informal assessment coincides with what is in school records.

Should teachers be concerned about relatively technical features of assessments such as validity and reliability/precision? Why or why not?

Yes, but not in the way psychometricians do with published, standardized tests. Validity and reliability/precision are essential to fairness, being aware of potential error, proper interpretation of assessments, and teacher decision-making. Both validity and reliability/precision for classroom assessments are best estimated by teacher judgment and logical analysis, not statistically. With the growing use of standardized testing understanding of validity and reliability/precision is essential to test interpretation.

Which of the following are considered standardized tests? a. Common Core State Standards assessments b. Iowa Test of Basic Skills c. essay test given in Mrs. Brown's class d. nine weeks test given in Hanover County Public Schools to all ninth graders e. Dunlap Test of Mental Abilities

a, b, d, e

Indicate whether each of the following is an advantage or disadvantage of using portfolio assessment: a. collaboration between student and teacher b. student selection of contents c. scoring d. continuous monitoring of student progress e. training teacher to do portfolios f. generalizability g. student self-evaluation

a. A b. A or D c. D d. A e. d f. D g. A

Identify each of the following as an advantage or disadvantage of performance assessment: a. resource intensive b. integrates instruction with assessment c. student self-assessment d. scoring e. reasoning skills f. active learning g. use of criteria h. length

a. D b. A c. A d. D e. A f. A g. A h. D

Identify the thinking or reasoning skill illustrated by each of the following examples, using this key (p. 489) a. suppose you were President Trump and had to decide whether to send more troops to Afghanistan. What would you do? Why would you do it? b. state your reasons for agreeing or disagreeing with the following statement: Religious people are more likely to help others. c. Given what you know about sailing, what would most likely occur if a novice sailor tried to sail directly into the wind? d. Examine three different human cultures. What is common in all three cultures, and what principal about being human does this suggest? e. Examine four recent presidential speeches. Is any part of the speeches the same? f. how can the United States reduce the rate of teenage pregnancies? g. suppose you had to choose between increasing taxes to reduce the U.S. budget deficit or decreasing federal spending to reduce the deficit. Which would you choose? Why? How would your choice affect retired persons? h. examine the data on birth rates. what is likely to happen to the birth rate by the year 2020? Why?

a. D b. C c. I d. S e. A f. P g. C h. I

Chapter 11 #4

a. D b. E c. C d. A e. B f. B g. D

Identify each of the following descriptions as declarative or procedural and as knowledge or understanding a. define procedural knowledge b. what is the sequence of steps in preparing an objective test? c. give an example of a multiple-choice item that measures application d. list three suggestions for constructing matching items e. predict whether students will have questions about how to answer the items in the test f. review the strategy a teacher has used to construct binary-choice test items to determine if they can be improved

a. DK b. PK c. DU d. DK e. DU f. PU

Identify each of the following as an effective or ineffective instructional adjustment: a. Mr. Nail decided to give a struggling student a new app to focus on mastering the third stage of geometry learning progression b. Ms. Hernandez instructed three of her students who did not understand noun-verb agreement to review both appropriate and inappropriate example sentences and identify why each was correct or incorrect c. Mr. Cotter decided to form six small groups of students and give each group a challenging problem that matched their current level of understanding d. Mr. Xu saw that some of his students did not fully comprehend macro economic theory and indicated that they needed to study harder

a. E b. E c. E d. IE

Refer to Table 1.2. Identify each of the following examples as preassessment, formative assessment, or summative assessment. a. Giving a pop quiz b. Giving a cumulative final exam c. Praising students for correct answers d. Using homework to judge student knowledge e. Reviewing student scores on last year's standardized test f. Changing the lesson plan because of student inattention g. Reviewing student files to understand students' cultural background

a. F b. S c. F d. F e. P f. F g. P

Identify each of the following quotes as referring to one of the four components of classroom assessment: purpose, measurement, interpretation, and use.

a. I b. P c. I d. M e. U

Identify each of the following as a knowledge target or deep understanding/reasoning target. a. recalling historical facts from the Revolutionary War b. comparing vertebrates to invertebrates c. identifying the organs in a dissected frog d. explaining how and why recent U.S recessions affected the world economy

a. K b. DU c. K d. DU

Indicate which of the following characteristics of assessments would be summative and which would be formative: a. to certify student learning b. structured c. mastery oriented d. after instruction e. student feedback f. individualized

a. S b. S c. F d. S e. F f. F

Indicate whether each of the following describes a pretest, structured exercise, homework, or seat work: a. students are asked to define and give examples in new sentences of five new vocabulary terms. b. students start a new lesson by taking 15 minutes to answer seven constructed-response items about the Civil War, in preparation for a new unit on middle 19th century US history. c. an elementary teacher asks students to write a paragraph about their most interesting summer experience. d. at the end of the day the teacher gives students 10 new math problems that will be checked first thing the next day. e. the Lincoln consolidated school district decides to prepare and administer the same the same 30-item test to all fifth graders during the first week of school.

a. SE b. PT c. S or SE d. H e. PT

Indicate whether each of the following practices is desirable or undesirable in putting summative test together. a. plan on students completing at least four multiple-choice questions per minute b. tell students to work as quickly as possible c. arrange items so that the most difficult are first d. keep items with the same format together e. be sure to keep white space on pages to a minimum

a. U b. U c. U d. D e. U

Which of the following statements is correct, and why? a. content-related b. criterion-related c. consequential

a. Yes; if the score is not consistent or stable, with much error, the influence will be inaccurate and invalid. b. Yes; a measure of the circumference of your big toe is very reliable/precise but not very valid for measuring your ability to read. c. No; tests are not valid or invalid, only inferences from scores are. It would be better to say "A valid inference is based on reliable/precise scores."

Indicate whether it would be best to use a celebration, competence, growth, or project portfolio for each of the following purposes: a. to show examples of a student's work b. for the student to demonstrate his or her best work c. to show what students in a class are capable of doing d. to indicate the progress of the class on an important target e. for grading f. to show a student's progress

a. all b. CE c. CO or P d. G e. CE f. G

Indicate whether each of the following suggested activities help or hinder student performance on a standardized test. a. tell students their futures depend on their scores b. to avoid making students anxious, do not tell them very much about the test c. make sure the room temperature is about right d. arrange desks so that students face each other in groups of four e. give students a practice test that is very similar in format f. tell students they probably won't be able to answer many of the questions g. teach to the test h. tell students you think the test is taking away from class time and student learning

a. hinder b. hinder c. help d. hinder e. help f. hinder g. help h. hinder

What is standard error of measurement most related to? a. validity b. reliability/precision c. fairness d. alignment

b - a large standard error of measurement means less reliable, a small standard error of measurement means more reliable

Which of the following are characteristics of an interim test? a. given at the end of the school year b. typically contains less than 10 items c. is intended to be used to assess student progress toward achieving outcome standards d. is administered a few times a year e. shows what a teacher may need to emphasize in instruction for selected students

c, d, e