Continuum of Assessment

“Effective assessment is more like a scrapbook of mementos and pictures than a single snapshot.  Rather than using a single test, one type, at the end of teaching, effective teacher-assessors gather lots of evidence along the way, using a variety of methods and formats.” –Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe

Below is the diagram we used to talk about assessment last week.  It was “heavily borrowed” from Wiggins and McTighe, as is the rest of this memo. 

Their argument is that if understanding is our real goal, students must be taught how to understand through effective instruction, including modeling and practice, and continuously assessed in ways that measure the depth of understanding.  With these thoughts in mind, below is information about different types of assessment as described in the second edition of Understanding by Design:

• Informal Checks for Understanding, Observations, and Dialogues: These are often called “Formative Assessments” and consist of on-going assessment of student progress and understanding.  They provide feedback to students about their progress and to teachers about how to adjust instruction.  They are not typically scored or graded.  If they are, the scores usually don’t “count.”  Examples include questioning, observations, examining student work in progress, exit tickets, class discussions, conferencing, quick writes, and think-alouds.
• Tests and Quizzes: These are what we (and students) usually think of when we hear the word assessment.  They consist of content-focused items that assess for information, concepts, and discrete skills.  They usually have selected-response choices or short-answer formats, often with a single best answer.  They are typically “secure,” so the items are not known to the students in advance.
• Academic Prompts: These are open-ended questions or problems that require a student to think critically, not just recall knowledge.  Students must prepare some kind of response or product.  They typically do not have a single best answer and require higher level thinking and an explanation or defense.  These prompts may or may not be secure, but they are often questions typically asked only of students in school.
• Performance Tasks: Wiggins and McTighe define performance tasks as complex challenges that mirror the issues and problems faced by adults.  They range in length from short-term tasks, to long-term, multi-staged projects.  They are typically not secure, and evaluative criteria are known in advance.  Students have greater opportunity to personalize the task and yield one or more products and/or performances.  Important Note: Performance tasks are evaluative.  A performance task is different than assigning an “interesting project.”  Of course, interesting is good, but the performance tasks need to give conclusive evidence about the depth of student understanding of important concepts and skills.

Remember that the sign of true understanding is the ability to transfer knowledge and skills to new situations.  Authentic performance tasks as assessments are a necessity, not a frill, according to the UbD framework.  All of the other assessments listed above can provide evidence of knowledge.  Until students put the knowledge into action, however, we won’t know if they truly understand because we won’t be able to assess their ability to transfer.

Think About It 

This is lots of information.  Let it sit for a while.  Think about the assessments you use in your classes and about possible performance tasks.  By their very nature, you can’t have many, and to be effective, they must be well designed and thoughtful.

Coming along shortly, maybe even next week, will be a chance for you to experience two hypothetical assessments.  No need to cram.  No need to stay up late studying.  Just ponder what you now know about UbD.  And think about how we as a school might be able to report to central office our progress on this specific district initiative.  If you had to assess our school progress on UbD, how might you do so?  I hope to explore some options.

Have a great week, HSE.  Enjoy the snow and cold.  Today’s biting winds and arctic temperatures will make spring feel all the more wonderful.

Phil

A few extra words of wisdom that caught my attention this week:

“The test of a good teacher is not how many questions he can ask his pupils that they will answer readily, but how many questions he inspires them to ask him which he finds hard to answer.” 

                                                                                                  --Alice Wellington Rollins

Listen to the MUSTN’TS, child.

Listen to the DON’TS.

Listen to the SHOULDN’Ts

The IMPOSSIBLES, the WONT’S.

Listen to the NEVER HAVES.

Then listen close to me—

Anything can happen, child.

Anything can be

--Shel Silverstein