EDU6945 Helping
Students Kick Assessment in the A** Ian
Lewis
Throughout the school year assessments are not simply at set
intervals, after a lesson sequence or unit, to test recall. No, it is far more
complex than this. Assessment is embedded and interwoven throughout each
segment of a lesson, both formative and summative assessment having key roles,
to not only provide quick assessment on the go to guide instruction and gauge
student learning, but formally/summatively to track student growth points
across time. This is exactly what is expressed in Seattle Pacific University
program standard 6. Assessment.
Within the internship experience at Narrows View
Intermediate, it has been present since the start that Narrows View students
are held to exceptionally high standards, and the formal standardized tests, if
you agree with the idea that they are an adequate measure of student growth and
success, would suggest NVI students consistently surpass state standards. Certainly
though, there are other venues with which students may prove they have
understanding of what is the central focus for assessment. Thus, as with many
situations where it seems there are but two options, the best option could be a
hidden (or obvious) third: a combination. Whichever way though, it is
important to integrate formative and summative assessment to monitor students
and guide practice. With the central focus and end goal in mind first,
assessment can be built and/or planned around that which is necessary for
students to comprehend in order to be successful. To begin with, plan
pre-assessment that will provide information about student background knowledge
and allow for measuring student progress and skill acquisition.
At the beginning of the year in social studies we
administered a social studies skills pre-assessment. The assessment utilized a
student atlas, which students would later use in coursework, but from a section
they would not normally experience. The corresponding battery of test questions
resembled those that would be encountered on a standardized test, including the
multiple choice, true/false, and short response, geared around reading and interpreting
text, text features, and primary/secondary source material. The results of the
pre-assessment revealed that students
needed most practice with interpreting text features and visual aids, such as
maps, charts/tables, and graphs, as well as differentiating primary and
secondary source material. As a result of this pre-assessment data, these
skills have been continually emphasized and monitored throughout the year, and
incorporated across each lesson sequence. The seventh grade classroom based
assessment (CBA) we have yet to complete places emphasis on differentiating and
effectively utilizing primary and secondary source materials, as do Social
Studies CCSS, and therefore it has been of utmost importance to continually
monitor student progress in this area. Therefore formative assessment in
lessons on multiple occasions, for example, has been geared at student
differentiation and interpretation of sources (e.g.: The caption for the graphic aid says, “Miraculously embroidered on soiled
dressings in 1428 by a triple amputee soldier in a field hospital during the
Battle of Orleans (1428-1429), this medieval tapestry depicts the horrors of
medieval combat”, so it must be what type of source?). Informal summative assessments
throughout the year have also focused on utilizing multiple source materials. So
far students have shown much growth in this area, and come time for CBA, they’ll
be ready to kick some assessment a**.
While pre-assessment may be utilized at set points, such as
an entry task that serves as a lesson/lesson sequence pre-assessment, other formative
assessment must be integrated throughout daily lessons. After all, students
(and adults alike) lose attention after a set amount of time (~7 minutes), and therefore, in most instances,
stop learning the desired material. Therefore, it is important to consistently
and periodically utilize a vast array of formative assessment. By breaking
apart lessons into scaffolded segments of direct instruction and associated
learning activities interspersed with formative assessment (there’s a reason
the SPU standard lesson plan outline is written the way it is…alternating
instruction/learning activity and formative assessment), the effect of students’
natural loss of attention is mitigated; the periodic integration of formative
assessment helps to keep students engaged in learning while checking loss of
natural focus and allowing for continual monitoring of student learning. Examples
of formative assessment could include pair/group sharing and then calling on
students who raise hands, or randomly selecting a student for response after a
pair share, thus practicing ways of covert engagement of all students. Students
can physically engage in formative assessment, for example from one lesson in
WA state history this quarter, by making a wave motion with a hand to represent
a natural boundary or a gaveling motion to represent a political boundary.
Choral response can be used as formative assessment and simply traveling
amongst students and monitoring their work is also formative assessment. All of
these methods have been used successfully throughout the year. Not only do
these critically integrated assessments help keep student focus and provide practice,
but they allow for on-the-spot feedback for guiding the lesson further, as well
as guiding next lessons for the benefit of the teacher.
Regarding summative assessment, the internship has provided
much experience in planning and creating assessments (especially in collaboration
with staff PLC members), as well as tracking and analyzing student data, and
finally reflecting on assessments and student growth. As mentioned earlier,
assessment should align with the central focus and goal of any lesson sequence
or unit. Prior to giving the last unit assessment, the PLC edited existing test
questions and incorporated more questions about Native American spatial
patterns and geography, as that was the central focus of the unit.
Pre-assessment questionnaire results from the start of the unit about two Native
American groups’ spatial patterns could be compared with data from the
summative unit assessment to monitor whether students gained proper understanding
of the learning targets aligned with the overall focus of the unit. Student
responses to questions related to interpreting graphic aids and source
materials were monitored to note overall improvement in this area, as was a
focus for the year as mentioned prior. Assessment data from classes was also
discussed and analyzed at the PLC meeting, at which point reflecting on the
data and the test led to more editing. For example, an entire page was rearranged
to make a caption clear, as it seemed it had been viewed as a separate, short article,
unrelated to its image simply based on poor location. A final means for
reflecting and adjusting for the future as a result of assessment came from the
end of unit student voice questionnaire; the questions were as follows:
1.
What do you wish would have been asked on the
test that you knew about Native Americans, their associated spatial patterns,
or the formation of Washington territory?
2.
What instructional strategies and/or activities
helped you best understand Native Americans, their associated spatial patterns,
or the formation of Washington territory?
3.
Would you change anything if you could, regarding
how you engaged in learning/studying about Native Americans, their associated
spatial patterns, or the formation of Washington territory?
Results from this survey were quite beneficial for planning
the next unit. The questions about beneficial instructional strategies and
changes, in particular, revealed interesting information. While many students
mentioned the usefulness of the guided and cloze notes for use while reading
the lessons in the textbook, a few students explicitly mentioned they did not prefer
this method because it was too constraining, slow, and/or not stimulating,
nothing we want for our students. Therefore, for the next lesson, multiple
styles of note handouts were provided so students could choose how to take
notes to better fit their own needs. One student was incredibly appreciative to,
“Not be bored”, and I was certainly glad to remedy that with a more engaging
instructional tool.
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| Student suggestion against using cloze notes (red), an example of response from unit end student voice questionnaire. |
From pre-assessment to
post-assessment, and all the formative in between, assessment is an integral
and staple part of any teaching experience. The internship experience at NVI
has allowed for much practice with formative and summative assessment
methods/strategies, as well as the creation of assessments, analysis and
reflection of assessment data, and use of student voice in assessment to better
guide overall teaching and assessment practice.
