Assessment by Nicola Jones

Nickij — 2014-03-06 18:24:31 UTC

Nickij — 2014-03-06 18:28:29 UTC

assessment:

The evaluation or estimation

of the nature, quality, or ability of someone or something.

Nickij — 2014-03-06 18:35:51 UTC

When teachers are given the opportunity to collaborate - to look at assessment through different lenses - assessment practices become less subjective and more objective.

Let`s watch this video clip and then discuss how you think it could relate to assessment and students.

Nickij — 2014-03-06 18:57:00 UTC

As essential steps in assessment "for learning and as learning" ...

• plan assessment concurrently and integrate it seamlessly with instruction;

• share learning goals and success criteria with students at the outset of learning to ensure that students and teachers have a common and shared understanding of these goals and criteria as learning progresses;

• gather information about student learning before, during, and at or near the end of a period of instruction, using a variety of assessment strategies and tools;

• use assessment to inform instruction, guide next steps, and help students monitor their progress towards achieving their learning goals;

• analyse and interpret evidence of learning;

• give and receive specific and timely descriptive feedback about student learning;

• help students to develop skills of peer and self-assessment.

Ontario Ministry of Education’s assessment, evaluation and reporting guideline, Growing Success, 2010

Nickij — 2014-03-06 19:00:21 UTC

The primary purpose of assessment is to improve student learning.

Workshops

Nickij — 2014-03-06 19:25:36 UTC

Author, Jennifer Serravallo speaks about the value of student-teacher conversations in small groups or individually.

Teachers often call these student-conversation times workshops, guided reading, guided writing, or conferences.

Meeting with students to guide them and give feedback is an example of a critical assessment practice.

Nickij — 2014-03-06 20:01:34 UTC

We know that parents have an important role to play in supporting student learning.

Studies show that students perform better in school if their parents or guardians are involved in their education.

Nickij — 2014-03-06 20:21:09 UTC

Nickij — 2014-03-06 20:22:16 UTC

Nickij — 2014-03-06 20:23:59 UTC

The Ontario Ministry of Education’s new assessment, evaluation and reporting guideline, Growing Success (2010a), emphasizes that teachers enhance the reliability of the data they are using to inform instructional decisions when assessment is based on a combination of:

• observation

• student-teacher conversations

• student products

Primary Assessment, Capacity Building Series, Secretariat Special Edition #15, September 2010

Nickij — 2014-03-07 01:20:47 UTC

Assessment can be categorized by four processes which support teachers in capturing student understanding and moving their learning forward.

The 4 categories are:

Observation:

Observation is a purposeful means of gathering data/evidence of student learning that involves listening to, watching and interacting with students engaged in intellectually worthy and authentic tasks and conversations.

Documentation:

Documentation is the process of recording descriptive information from a variety of sources that accurately reflects student learning through what children say, do and represent. It provides a well-organized record of student thinking and learning that is collected over time.

Analysis and interpretation:

Once evidence of student learning has been documented with an appropriate tool, it can be used to identify “pupils’ particular constellation of understandings, misconceptions, gaps or strengths in skills and their position in the process of connecting and organizing the pieces into more automatic and purposeful learning schema” (Earl 2004, p. 41).

Responding - taking informed action:

Teachers respond in a variety of ways to what they learn from their analysis of student data/work regarding student strengths, needs and interests.

Primary Assessment, Capacity Building Series, Secretariat Special Edition #15, September 2010

As educators, we are constantly reflecting upon practice and assessment so we are meeting the needs of our students and they are achieving success.

Nickij — 2014-03-07 01:54:06 UTC

Assessment practices are a topic of complexity.

Nickij — 2014-03-07 01:56:08 UTC

Teachers participate in a variety of professional development to improve teaching practices and therefore student learning.

The teaching-learning critical pathway (TLCP) is one model for learning and inquiry that holds a great deal of promise for improving student learning.

The TLCP draws on a number of evidence-based practices, including:

• setting high expectations for students • using assessment for learning to guide instruction • providing frequent, useful and useable student feedback • creating effective classroom discussions which elicit evidence of learning

(Viewer`s guide Teaching Learning Critical Pathways.)

Building lines of communication with our parent / guardian community is a foundational aspect of the education of our primary learners.

Nickij — 2014-03-07 01:58:44 UTC

Teachers communicate key messages about assessment practice to parents/guardians, so they might have a deeper understanding of assessment practices and the relationship to increased achievement.

Nickij — 2014-03-07 02:00:47 UTC

Examples of lines of communication ...

Nickij — 2014-03-07 02:16:12 UTC

- monthly newsletters

- classroom website

- interviews/meetings

- phone calls

- positive notes home, often in student agenda

- achievement certificates/character awards

- assessed student work with attached rubrics or success criteria

- student performance recordings in the form of audio files, video clips, photographs, and teacher created test or standardized assessments

Nickij — 2014-03-07 02:37:13 UTC

Creating success criteria together!

Nickij — 2014-03-07 03:31:31 UTC

Further details on the assessment cycle if we have extra time...

Nickij — 2014-03-07 14:30:56 UTC

Nickij — 2014-03-07 14:34:22 UTC

Assessment:

Nickij — 2014-03-07 14:45:48 UTC

To improve student learning