Assessment Overview

Summary

This webinar focuses on enhancing teachers' understanding of classroom assessment through various strategies. It introduces four models of assessment: an overview, assessment for learning, assessment as learning, and assessment of learning. The key takeaway is that assessment serves as feedback, driving student improvement and informing instruction. Teachers are encouraged to use backward planning, diverse assessment tools, and strategies like rubrics, checklists, and anecdotal records. The aim is to provide meaningful, varied, and timely feedback, ensuring assessments are manageable and aligned with learning goals for both students and teachers.

Takeaways

• 📚 Assessment is an integral component of instructional design, guiding teacher planning and instruction.
• 💡 The primary purpose of assessment is to promote learning for students, emphasizing feedback over final grades.
• 🔄 There are three key types of assessment: assessment for learning, assessment as learning, and assessment of learning.
• 🎯 Teachers need to use backward planning, starting with identifying the targeted understandings and skills based on curriculum expectations.
• 🧠 Effective assessment should be varied, balanced, flexible, and sensitive to student diversity and needs.
• 📝 Multiple assessment strategies, such as rubrics, checklists, anecdotal records, and numerical scoring, provide a more complete picture of student learning.
• 📊 Assessment tools should align with the complexity of tasks, using rubrics for performances and checklists for behaviors or skills.
• 🕒 Timely and specific feedback is essential for student progress and learning, far more valuable than report card marks.
• 👩‍🏫 Teachers must continually reflect on their practices, adjusting instruction based on formative assessment data and student progress.
• 🎓 Professional judgment is critical, guided by curriculum expectations, evidence of learning, and ongoing reflection.

Q & A

What is the main purpose of the assessment webinar mentioned in the transcript?

The main purpose of the assessment webinar is to help teachers enhance their understanding of classroom assessment, learn new strategies, and apply meaningful and well-organized approaches used by their peers.

How does the webinar structure its content regarding different types of assessment?

The webinar is structured into four models: Model 1 provides an overview of assessment, Model 2 focuses on assessment for learning, Model 3 discusses assessment as learning, and Model 4 covers assessment of learning.

Why is feedback considered a crucial part of assessment?

Feedback is considered crucial because it promotes learning for students. The primary purpose of assessment is to help every student improve their learning, and feedback plays a key role in achieving this.

What are some critical questions that assessment inspires teachers to ask?

Assessment inspires teachers to ask questions like: Are we teaching what we think we're teaching? Are students learning what they're supposed to be learning? Are we using the best teaching strategies to improve student learning?

How should effective assessment be designed, according to the webinar?

Effective assessment should be varied, balanced, and flexible, demonstrating sensitivity to student needs and diversity. It should be manageable, meaningful, and designed to provide optimal learning opportunities for students.

What are the three main roles of assessment outlined in the transcript?

The three main roles of assessment are: providing students with feedback on their work, helping students set learning goals and monitor progress, and evaluating and reporting their progress in the form of grades or marks.

How does professional judgment play a role in the assessment process?

Professional judgment is essential because it involves purposeful, systematic thinking, informed by teachers’ knowledge of the curriculum, learning context, evidence of learning, and assessment criteria. This judgment evolves through reflection and self-correction.

What is backward planning in the context of assessment?

Backward planning involves identifying targeted skills and knowledge from the curriculum, determining appropriate assessment strategies, and planning learning experiences that will enable students to succeed. It ensures that assessment is aligned with learning goals.

Why is it important for assessment strategies to match the intended criteria?

It is important because the right strategy ensures that the assessment accurately captures the intended learning outcomes. Using multiple opportunities and methods allows students to demonstrate their learning in different contexts, providing a clearer picture of their progress.

What types of tools are recommended for different assessment tasks?

Rubrics are recommended for complex performances, checklists and rating scales for tasks like skill demonstrations and group participation, anecdotal comments for open-ended tasks like journals, and numerical scoring for more straightforward tasks like multiple-choice questions.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Importance of Assessment in Education

This paragraph introduces a webinar focused on classroom assessment, emphasizing its significance in promoting learning. It outlines the structure of the webinar, which is divided into four models: an overview of assessment, assessment for learning, assessment as learning, and assessment of learning. The primary message is that assessment serves as feedback to enhance student learning, and every student can improve. The paragraph also raises critical questions about teaching effectiveness and stresses the importance of varied, balanced, and flexible assessments.

05:01

🔍 Ongoing Assessment and Instructional Adjustment

This section highlights the role of formative assessments in monitoring student progress and adjusting instructional plans. It encourages teachers to provide timely and specific feedback while reflecting on their teaching practices when students are not learning as expected. The paragraph also discusses the importance of offering diverse methods for students to demonstrate learning and ensuring summative evaluations reflect what has been taught. It reiterates that assessment is a continuous cycle, where reflection and improvement are key to supporting student success.

10:04

📝 Effective Tools for Assessment

This paragraph delves into the specific tools and strategies used in assessments, such as rubrics, checklists, anecdotal records, and numerical scoring. It explains the importance of matching assessment tools to the task being evaluated, ensuring an accurate representation of student learning. Rubrics are ideal for complex performances, while checklists and rating scales work well for tasks like reading and problem-solving. The text emphasizes the need for flexibility in capturing both quantitative and qualitative data, depending on the task.

Keywords

💡Classroom Assessment

Classroom assessment refers to the various ways in which teachers gather information on student learning. In the video, it is presented as a critical tool for teachers to enhance their understanding of student progress, adjust instruction, and support learning. Classroom assessments are ongoing, and they serve as feedback mechanisms to inform both teaching practices and student learning strategies.

💡Assessment for Learning

Assessment for learning is one of the key types of assessment mentioned in the video. It involves using assessment as a tool to provide ongoing feedback to students, helping them improve during the learning process. This approach supports the idea that assessment is more valuable when it actively promotes learning, rather than simply measuring it.

💡Assessment as Learning

Assessment as learning focuses on students’ active role in assessing their own progress. The video emphasizes that through self-assessment, students can monitor their learning, set goals, and become more independent learners. This type of assessment helps foster metacognitive skills, encouraging students to reflect on their learning journey.

💡Assessment of Learning

Assessment of learning is the evaluation of student learning at the end of a period of instruction, typically in the form of grades or marks. In the video, this type of assessment is discussed as being less important for promoting learning compared to 'for' and 'as' learning but is still a necessary component of the overall educational assessment process.

💡Professional Judgment

Professional judgment refers to teachers' ability to make informed decisions about student progress based on their expertise and knowledge of the curriculum. The video highlights the importance of professional judgment in assessment, urging teachers to trust their own reflections and experiences while evaluating students' learning.

💡Backward Planning

Backward planning is a teaching strategy that starts with identifying the desired learning outcomes and then planning instruction accordingly. In the video, backward planning is described as essential for aligning assessment strategies with learning goals. Teachers first identify what students need to know, then determine how to assess these skills, and finally plan instructional activities.

💡Formative Assessment

Formative assessment refers to the ongoing evaluation of student learning during the instructional process. The video emphasizes its role in providing timely and specific feedback to help students improve before a final evaluation. Formative assessments allow teachers to adjust their instruction based on real-time data about student understanding.

💡Summative Evaluation

Summative evaluation is the final assessment of a student’s learning, usually through tests or exams, which provide a grade or mark. In the video, it is discussed as a necessary, but limited, part of the learning cycle, as it occurs after the learning process and doesn’t offer opportunities for immediate improvement.

💡Rubrics

Rubrics are assessment tools that outline criteria for performance at varying levels of quality. The video explains that rubrics help communicate expectations and provide a structured way to evaluate complex tasks such as projects or essays. They are especially useful for aligning assessments with the four categories of learning established by the Ministry of Education.

💡Differentiation

Differentiation is the practice of tailoring instruction and assessment to meet the diverse needs of students. The video highlights the importance of understanding students’ readiness levels, interests, and learning styles to design activities and assessments that optimize learning for each individual. Differentiation ensures that all students can demonstrate their learning in ways that are meaningful and appropriate.

Highlights

The importance of classroom assessment and how teachers gather daily information to enhance their teaching strategies.

The webinar modules aim to solidify teacher understanding of various assessment approaches, enhancing their ability to use these methods effectively.

Four models of assessment are discussed: assessment overview, assessment for learning, assessment as learning, and assessment of learning.

Assessment is feedback with the primary goal of promoting student learning, based on the belief that every student can improve.

Teachers need shared understandings about assessment and its integration into instructional design, informing teaching strategies at every stage of the learning process.

Effective assessment is varied, balanced, and flexible, considering student diversity and providing optimal learning opportunities.

Assessment should be meaningful for students, teachers, and parents, with communication that is timely, descriptive, and aligned with student needs.

The three roles of assessment are providing feedback, helping students set learning goals, and evaluating progress through marks or grades.

Assessment for and as learning provide students with valuable day-to-day feedback, which is more impactful than final report card grades.

Teachers’ professional judgment is key, informed by curriculum expectations, evidence of learning, and methods of instruction and assessment.

Using backward planning, teachers start by identifying learning goals and then determining appropriate assessment strategies to track student progress.

Planning for assessment involves considering how students will demonstrate knowledge and skills and adjusting instruction based on formative feedback.

Assessment tools like rubrics, checklists, and anecdotal records help capture an accurate picture of student learning through varied strategies.

Different assessment tasks require specific tools, such as rubrics for complex performances and numerical scoring for isolated skills.

Teachers must use their professional judgment to select manageable assessment tools that are aligned with targeted learning expectations.

Transcripts

Welcome to at pose sharing an assessment website  and webinar ed fo has a strong position on the  

importance of classroom assessment and the  information that teachers gather on a daily  

basis this is an opportunity to help teachers  enhance their understanding of assessment  

learn new strategies and proaches that are  meaningful well organized and utilized by  

their peers in the classroom the modules of  the webinar provide information to solidify  

and enhance teacher understanding and use of a  variety of assessment approaches there are four  

models this one will give an overview  of assessment model two will focus on  

assessment for learning model three assessment  as learning and model for assessment of learning

For everything there is a time and place  we need to remember that assessment is  

feedback and its primary purpose is  to promote learning for students it  

has to be underpinned by the notion that  every child can improve their learning

Assessment inspires us to ask hard questions  are we teaching what we think we're teaching  

our students learning what they're supposed to be  learning are we using the highest quality teaching  

strategy to improve student learning we have to  have shared understandings about assessment and  

there are basically four assessment is an integral  component of the instructional design process in  

forming teacher planning and instruction  at every stage of the learning experience  

effective assessment is varied balanced and  flexible demonstrating sensitivities to student  

needs and diversity and providing the necessary  conditions for optimal learning opportunities  

effective assessment has to be manageable and  meaningful for students teachers and parents  

communication about student learning should be  timely descriptive and meet the various needs  

of students and parents it should include  strengths learning needs and next steps  

growing success clearly tells us the three roles  of assessment most importantly providing students  

with feedback about their work helping students to  set learning goals and monitor their own progress  

evaluation and reporting of progress in the form  of grades or marks it's important to understand  

that both assessment for and as learning provides  students with timely day-to-day feedback on their  

work and are far more valuable to the learning  process than a final mark on a report card  

professional judgment we are teachers because  we are professional and we need to value our  

professional judgment that judgment is informed  by our professional knowledge of the curriculum  

expectations the context for learning evidence of  learning methods of instruction and assessment and  

the criterion standards that indicate success  in student learning in professional practice  

judgment involves a purposeful and systematic  thinking process and we need to accept that it  

will evolve in terms of our accuracy and insight  with our ongoing reflection and self correction

assessment needs to inform our instruction and  that begins with using the backward planning  

module stage 1 we will identify the targeted  understandings and skills based in the curriculum  

expectations that will be the focus of student  learning we will then determine the appropriate  

assessment strategies and tools that will allow  us as teachers to know when the students have  

achieved these skills and knowledge stage 3 we  will plan learning experiences and instructions  

that enable our students to be successful when we  look at the backwards planning module we always  

begin with a clear understanding of our learning  goals what are the big ideas and essential skills  

from this learning experience what do my students  need to know and be able to do to be successful it  

is also critically important that we are aware  of our students readiness levels interests and  

learning styles so that the activities we choose  will optimize student success when we plan for  

assessment we think about what will it look  like when my students demonstrate this required  

knowledge and skill what enabling lessons do I  need to teach for my students to be successful  

how am I going to monitor my student learning  on an ongoing basis and make adjustments to our  

instructional plan using formative assessment data  will I be providing timely and specific feedback  

to my students how will I adjust my instruction  if my students are not learning despite our best  

efforts there will be times when student learning  is not happening as we would like and we need to  

reflect and change how we are approaching it  how will my instruction provide multiple and  

varied ways for students to work with their new  learning and demonstrate it over time does my  

summative evaluation reflect what has been  taught and practice how will I adjust future  

instructional plans as a result of my student  learning patterns evaluation and reporting is  

just one part of the cycle because we are always  reflecting on how our practices can be improved  

to support our students assessment is varied  and balanced no.1 assessment tool or strategy  

can accurately capture a clear and comprehensive  picture of all student learning we need to provide  

multiple opportunities for students to show  what they know and can do it's important that  

the strategy we use matches our intended criteria  we then need to be sure that the assessment tool  

that captures the assessment information is the  one that will allow us to do so most effectively

strategies are the specific ways for students to  demonstrate their learning as teachers we will  

provide students with multiple opportunities  to demonstrate their learning in different  

contexts over time using a variety of assessment  strategies we will capture an accurate picture  

of student learning strategies incorporate a  variety of se right do the tools that we use  

include rubrics checklists anecdotal records  and numerical scoring you will find a wide  

variety of samples of each of these tools on  the website when we are designing our assessment  

tasks and choosing our assessment tools it is  important that there is a good match when we  

are assessing tasks such as those on your left  hand side of the screen which are more complex  

performances rubrics are the ideal tool a rubric  will communicate the attributes of performance  

of increasing quality it will provide standard  criteria that reflects the four categories of  

learning in each of the ministry documents it  will help the teacher in identifying next steps  

when we are looking at tasks such as reading or  problem-solving behaviors skill demonstrations  

the process of completing a task or group  participation checklists and rating scales can  

provide the information we require they will guide  observations of specific behaviors or skills they  

will indicate whether desired skill or behavior  is or is not demonstrated and generally to what  

extent they can provide a cumulative demonstration  of performance competency tasks such as response  

journals learning logs conferences and oral  communication are best captured using antidotal  

comments these are flexible and open-ended we  can describe performance qualitatively we can  

capture unanticipated elements it's important that  these comments be analyzed with reference to the  

expectation or the learning goals that are the  focus for student learning when we are looking  

at things like short answers multiple choice true  or false skill drill numerical scoring is the most  

efficient tool it will provide a number which  directly relates to quantity of right or wrong  

it will indicate proficiency level of an isolated  skill application it should be related to a rubric  

of performance we use numerical scoring it usually  only reflects data in the knowledge category how  

do we manage assessment well there are four types  of evidence that should be collected thinking  

evidence work samples in the classroom benchmarks  and achievement tests classroom observations your  

professional judgment and knowledge of your  students and your context for learning will  

guide your assessment practices and the data you  collect make sure that you are specific in your  

plans ahead of time limit the number and types of  tools to make it manageable think about what is  

the best way to gather the evidence I need check  that you have a variety observational checklist  

quiz written response make sure that you are  guided by your targeted learning expectations  

and clear criteria decide ahead of time what is  really important to know and do ensure that you  

monitor ongoing learning over time taking notes  of student performance and adjusting your teaching  

and differentiation as you go whatever method  you use as a teacher for assessment you must  

be guided by the questions why am i assessing  this how does this improve student learning

you