AssessAct Reflection: Performance Assessments/ Rubrics
a) Evaluation on project: strengths & weaknesses
My Infogrpahic for this project was clear and covered a variety of ways each is used and I included strengths and weaknesses of each type of assessment, when each can be used, as well as appropriate uses for each and what the essential features they include are.
One thing I could have done differently was incorporating the SMP and NCTM Process Standards. I incorporated them throughout and on some occasions in the process of saying what a part of rubrics or performance assessment connects to, I lost my train of thought. If I had the chance to redo the video, I would explain fully rubrics and performance assessments, then pick out certain points of each and explain how they relate to SMP or Process Standards. I did not illustrate each through specific examples but I connected them to a part of the content I researched.
b) Reflection on academic language & assessment questions from class
Words that were common among the videos and discussion in class included "authentic" and "understanding". These two words are crucial to assessment because in order to assess what students know, it needs to be authentic. What you want to know about what the students know needs to be the focus of the assessment. I have been in classrooms and my CT includes other information not discussed in class on the assessments, and it is unfair to the students and the teacher because what is being assessed is not a concept the students are familiar with. Assessment should not include information irrelevant to the topic or that has not been discussed in class. Assessment measures what the students understand from what was taught in class.
We also focused on why different types of assessments are important to include in lessons. There are different situations when assessment is necessary. Sometimes assessment happens with little planning because students perform a different way than anticipated (either better or worse) and in order to know if it is time to move on or not, assessment is necessary to measure what students understand.
c) Reflection about my learning on my topic
My articles included information I was not previously aware of, such as the different types of rubrics and the reason why performance assessments are so important. I learned how rubrics are a great tool to utilize when assessing students. I learned the difference between holistic (point scale, not weighted, if students include everything required they get full points but if not points are docked), and analytic (different categories are weighted and this way is essentially more fair because if students lack in one area their overall grade does not suffer). I had previous experience creating rubrics but it never crossed my mind that there are different types- I have only ever created analytic rubrics. Students can help create rubrics so they know specifically what is expected of them and they can also use it as a guide to completely answer a problem or create a project. I learned one of the biggest benefits of rubrics to students is that they get immediate feedback and can see exactly where they lack information, structure, or details and this feedback allows them to go from one level of understanding to the next.
Performance assessments are important because teachers can gauge what students have learned throughout a period of time. Performance assessments can be administered once a month, once a semester, or once a year depending on the skill they are assessing. The same question is asked over the course of time, but if it is asked more frequently then the question changes and the concept remains the same. After evaluating their performance, you can see where they stand in understanding of the concept and with the evaluations, make lessons to give students a better understanding of the concept if they struggle too much.
d) Reflection on learning about other assessment types from the presentation
I learned something about each type of assessment discussed. There are different types of assessments that should be administered at different times. Some types that should be used to assess what students understand over a short period of time include quizzes, formative assessment, homework, small group or class discussion, and observations made in the classroom. Quizzes and formative assessment can be brief, as simple as one question and assess a particular aspect of what students understand. I learned that homework needs to be more than worksheets- it can be interactive online or require a variety of ways to represent answers to questions. Observations can be made during small group discussion as students discuss a prompt given by the teacher or in a whole group discussion.
In between finishing a lesson and beginning a new one, a teacher could assess what students know by assessing their problem solving ability and students can be put strategically in small groups so they can contribute to a discussion facilitated by the teacher.
Types that would be used to assess long-term knowledge include learning logs or journals, rubrics and performance assessments, and portfolios. Learning logs can show what students know at the beginning and the end of a unit. Rubrics can be used when looking for a specific answer from students and you can assess them based on a scale. Performance assessments can show teachers what improvements students make from semester to semester or year to year.
Each type of assessment can be used in a different situation and multiple types can be used in one unit or even in one day. It is important teachers know the options they have available to them so they can have different forms to measure understanding and so students do not get bored with one type.
e) Why it is important to use different and varied types of assessment
It is important to use different and varied types of assessment because we cannot always measure what we are looking for in our students' performance with just one type of assessment. Assessment helps educators measure what the students know or do not know. In the case of looking for what students know or learned from a unit, summative assessment, portfolio building, or rubrics may be necessary. When you are looking for what students have learned during or previously in one particular lesson, formative assessment, quizzes, or observations may be used. Reinforcing a new concept can be done through homework. Students can show what they have learned over a long period of time with learning logs/ journals and performance assessments. Teachers also use small group or class discussion for students to assess and critique reasoning of others after solving problems. ELL students may require accommodations for these assessments, but in any scenario, the content would be graded and not their language. Each type serves a different purpose and different time frames require a different form of assessment so it is important teachers have a variety of assessments to utilize.
My Infogrpahic for this project was clear and covered a variety of ways each is used and I included strengths and weaknesses of each type of assessment, when each can be used, as well as appropriate uses for each and what the essential features they include are.
The content I gathered was combined in a way that explained why one type of rubric is more beneficial in certain scenarios and can even be applied to performance assessments. I understood and explained the use of each type of assessment and the process used in each. I believe I did not have a sufficient explanation for performance assessment because I had a difficult time figuring out how to explain it using another example or applying it to another situation other than the one used in the article. I also lacked in explaining the reason why performance assessment is used across grade levels.
Through my research and reading the assigned articles, I learned more about rubrics and performance assessment than I had known before. I explained the information I thought was important that I gathered from the articles in the video I created. I fully explained the different types of rubrics and when it is appropriate to use them and why one type may be better than another in certain situations. I partially explained what performance assessments are and the use of them. Again, I lacked in this area because only one example was given and I had no previous knowledge on the topic. Something I need to improve on is how visually and audibly pleasing my video is. My visuals in the video were kept simple and were from my Infographic. One thing I could have added were pictures of the examples I was referring to while I was talking. I only included one picture of a rubric I was talking about in my video. My video would have been more engaging if I showed specific examples used in the articles or that I discussed.One thing I could have done differently was incorporating the SMP and NCTM Process Standards. I incorporated them throughout and on some occasions in the process of saying what a part of rubrics or performance assessment connects to, I lost my train of thought. If I had the chance to redo the video, I would explain fully rubrics and performance assessments, then pick out certain points of each and explain how they relate to SMP or Process Standards. I did not illustrate each through specific examples but I connected them to a part of the content I researched.
b) Reflection on academic language & assessment questions from class
Words that were common among the videos and discussion in class included "authentic" and "understanding". These two words are crucial to assessment because in order to assess what students know, it needs to be authentic. What you want to know about what the students know needs to be the focus of the assessment. I have been in classrooms and my CT includes other information not discussed in class on the assessments, and it is unfair to the students and the teacher because what is being assessed is not a concept the students are familiar with. Assessment should not include information irrelevant to the topic or that has not been discussed in class. Assessment measures what the students understand from what was taught in class.
We also focused on why different types of assessments are important to include in lessons. There are different situations when assessment is necessary. Sometimes assessment happens with little planning because students perform a different way than anticipated (either better or worse) and in order to know if it is time to move on or not, assessment is necessary to measure what students understand.
c) Reflection about my learning on my topic
My articles included information I was not previously aware of, such as the different types of rubrics and the reason why performance assessments are so important. I learned how rubrics are a great tool to utilize when assessing students. I learned the difference between holistic (point scale, not weighted, if students include everything required they get full points but if not points are docked), and analytic (different categories are weighted and this way is essentially more fair because if students lack in one area their overall grade does not suffer). I had previous experience creating rubrics but it never crossed my mind that there are different types- I have only ever created analytic rubrics. Students can help create rubrics so they know specifically what is expected of them and they can also use it as a guide to completely answer a problem or create a project. I learned one of the biggest benefits of rubrics to students is that they get immediate feedback and can see exactly where they lack information, structure, or details and this feedback allows them to go from one level of understanding to the next.
Performance assessments are important because teachers can gauge what students have learned throughout a period of time. Performance assessments can be administered once a month, once a semester, or once a year depending on the skill they are assessing. The same question is asked over the course of time, but if it is asked more frequently then the question changes and the concept remains the same. After evaluating their performance, you can see where they stand in understanding of the concept and with the evaluations, make lessons to give students a better understanding of the concept if they struggle too much.
d) Reflection on learning about other assessment types from the presentation
I learned something about each type of assessment discussed. There are different types of assessments that should be administered at different times. Some types that should be used to assess what students understand over a short period of time include quizzes, formative assessment, homework, small group or class discussion, and observations made in the classroom. Quizzes and formative assessment can be brief, as simple as one question and assess a particular aspect of what students understand. I learned that homework needs to be more than worksheets- it can be interactive online or require a variety of ways to represent answers to questions. Observations can be made during small group discussion as students discuss a prompt given by the teacher or in a whole group discussion.
In between finishing a lesson and beginning a new one, a teacher could assess what students know by assessing their problem solving ability and students can be put strategically in small groups so they can contribute to a discussion facilitated by the teacher.
Types that would be used to assess long-term knowledge include learning logs or journals, rubrics and performance assessments, and portfolios. Learning logs can show what students know at the beginning and the end of a unit. Rubrics can be used when looking for a specific answer from students and you can assess them based on a scale. Performance assessments can show teachers what improvements students make from semester to semester or year to year.
Each type of assessment can be used in a different situation and multiple types can be used in one unit or even in one day. It is important teachers know the options they have available to them so they can have different forms to measure understanding and so students do not get bored with one type.
e) Why it is important to use different and varied types of assessment
It is important to use different and varied types of assessment because we cannot always measure what we are looking for in our students' performance with just one type of assessment. Assessment helps educators measure what the students know or do not know. In the case of looking for what students know or learned from a unit, summative assessment, portfolio building, or rubrics may be necessary. When you are looking for what students have learned during or previously in one particular lesson, formative assessment, quizzes, or observations may be used. Reinforcing a new concept can be done through homework. Students can show what they have learned over a long period of time with learning logs/ journals and performance assessments. Teachers also use small group or class discussion for students to assess and critique reasoning of others after solving problems. ELL students may require accommodations for these assessments, but in any scenario, the content would be graded and not their language. Each type serves a different purpose and different time frames require a different form of assessment so it is important teachers have a variety of assessments to utilize.
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