Assessment FOR Learning Ch 2, 4

Notes from text
An Introduction to Student-Involved Assessment FOR Learning
Stiggins and Chappius

Chapter 2: Understanding Why We Assess

One must always start the assessment process with a clear answer to the question, Why am I assessing?

Assessments at each of these levels can serve either of two purposes: they can support student learning (formative applications) or verify that learning has been attained (summative applications).

The evidence generated must reveal how each student is doing in mastering each standard. Assessments that cross many standards and blend results into a single overall score will not help, due to their lack of sufficient detail.

Teachers ask, Did the student make progress toward mastery of the standard? School leaders ask, Did enough students achieve mastery of the standard?

Formative assessments have no place in the determination of report card grades. They are the continuous assessments that we conduct while learning is happening to help students see and feel in control of their ongoing growth.

Use classroom assessment to keep students believing they are capable learners.

Chapter 4: Designing Quality Classroom Assessments
Four Categories of Assessment Methods
1. Selected response
2. Essay
3. Performance
4. Direct personal interaction

Our goal in assessment design is to use the most powerful assessment option we can; maximum information for minimum cost.

Selected response items can assess recall, classification, analytical and comparative reasoning and even draw conclusions but not evaluative reasoning because students must express and defend a position.

We always need to know why a student failed. Choosing the wrong assessment method can obscure the 'why'.