Assessment and Feedback

Formative assessment also know as assessment for learning is about the involvement of students in the learning process. It follows a loop of specific characteristics which starts with sharing the learning objectives or goals, followed by, effective questioning, self and peer assessment techniques and finally using marking and feedback techniques. Clarke (2005) and qcda.gov.uk

The following blog looks at assessment and feedback.
I will follow this posting with a blog on effective feedback.

I've just read an interesting article Peterson, E., & Irving, E. E. (2008). Secondary school students' conceptions of assessment and feedback. Learning and Instruction, 18(1), 238-250.
Peterson (2008) uses the work of Hornby to define assessment as having four main roles. Those of summative, formative, certificating and evaluative.
This evaluative assessment I interpret as being a way for parents, teachers schools students to judge the success of the system. accountability.
This New Zealand based article focused on Year 9 and 10 Secondary School students and their conception of assessment and feedback. A repeated theme in the article is that students think that assessment and feedback are inextricably linked and that assessment should be used for improving learning.

What is interesting in this article and relevant to this blog thread are the discussions that focus on "lack of student accountability and the impact of assessment".

This research concluded that although students understood that assessment could be used to help improve their learning, little evidence was found that they independently acted on it. (p244)
Instead of accepting responsibility for learning, students shifted the responsibility to the teacher by blaming or getting angry. Statements like "the teacher doesn't like me" and "being meant" were added to make the point.
Students measured their results against their friends and if the results were positive, they attributed it to their effort. (Not the teachers)
What I take as an important point here is that as teachers we must do something with the feedback we give our students. We must teach them the skills to act on the feedback we give them. Our responsibility and accountability is to give students process feedback, that is information that they can use to improve their work. We must then give the time to let students use that feedback.
"Grades are important but not enough" Students want outcome feedback along side corrective feedback that is constructive and guided. I take this on board and intend to slow my teaching down so students have time to appreciate my feedback and utilise it successfully.

What do you think? (This is good practice and should be happening!!!)

But alas to often Secondary School teachers are so pressured (teaching the knowledge) for the summative assessment they brush over the important stuff.
This knowledge drive is enhanced in Health and Physical Education as it is 100% internally assessed at Years 11, 12 13. That's Level 1, 2 and 3 of the Achievement Standard qualification system and Level 6,7,8 of NZC.

CHEERS SANDY

Assessment for Learning

As we near the end of this course and the end of my blogging on educational assessment, I will list the four characteristics of assessment for learning also know as formative assessment. Those of effective questioning, using marking and feedback strategies, sharing learning goals and peer and self assessment.
I reiterate the importance of ultisising assessment for learning as a means of teaching our students to learn. Finch A (2009) implied that in today's world where content knowledge is so easily attainable , what is important is, "learning to learn" . The 21st Century student needs to be self managing and able to learn for life. For this to happen we need to move a culture of effective assessment for learning into our classrooms. It involves:

• sharing learning goals with pupils
• helping pupils know and recognise the standards to aim for
• providing feedback that helps pupils to identify how to improve
• believing that every pupil can improve in comparison with previous achievements
• both the teacher and pupils reviewing and reflecting on pupils' performance and progress
• pupils learning self-assessment techniques to discover areas they need to improve
• recognising that both motivation and self-esteem, crucial for effective learning and progress, can be increased bye effective assessment techniques

When sharing these points with colleagues I am often met with, "isn't that just good teaching?"

Yes it is. My challenge then is to gain their reflective thoughts. How far are they taking the strategies.

For example: recognising motivation and self-esteem needs of individual students, how does it happen?

For example: when tests are marked or constructive comments make, are students given the time to act on those comments?

I sense their is a never ending loop to this assessment for learning. Let me think on that on and I'll get back to you.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I so often feel like I'm reflecting to myself. Hence the face to face contact has so much more impact. (I read that somewhere on receiving feedback, will see if I can find the article)

CHEERS SANDY

Motivation: One of the ten researched-based principles of 'Assessment for Learning' to guide classroom practice

Hi fellow readers

Assessment for Learning is the process of seeking and interpreting evidence for use by learners and their teachers to decide where the learners are in their learning, where they need to go and how best to get there. www.qcda.gov.uk/library/media/4031-afl-principles.pdf

Assessment for Learning details ten research-based principles to guide classroom practice.

As a follow on from my last posting, I will present one of the ten guiding principles which details taking account of the importance of learner motivation when assessing. That is assessment needs to focus on the students progress and achievement rather than their failures. Assessment methods need to protect the learners autonomy and provide choice while giving constructive feedback and creating opportunity for self-direction.

Margolis and McCabe (2004) link motivational levels to self-efficacy. They state, without sufficiently high self-efficiency or the belief that they can succeed on specific academic tasks like homework, many struggling learners will not make the effort needed to master academics.

They go on to recommend the following ways to improve motivation by increasing a students belief that they are capable of performing in a certain manner to attain certain goals. Teachers can help students by:

• matching task difficulty to learners individual levels
• linking new work to students recent success's
• teaching strategies that produce success
• reinforcing effort and persistence
• using peer model
• linking school work to personally important goals.

Margolis, H., & McCabe, P. (2004). Self-Efficacy: A key to improving the motivation of struggling learners. The Clearing House, 77(6), 241-249.

Do we employ all these strategies?

As 'learning to learn' become more important then the knowledge, we as professionals should be self-encouraged to gain up to date knowledge on all strategies that will help our student learn at their own levels and to their abilities. This sounds like good teaching practice, we have the time, resourcing, professional learning assistant and school support structures to allow this to happen, or do we?

More thinking. Will get back to you before the month is up as an end to this course is approaching tooooooo fast.

CHEERS

THANKS FOR YOUR THOUGHTS

Motivation and educational assessment

Hi fellow readers
Lets start some sharing of ideas on motivation and assessmemnt. I would like to share thoughts on a posting from a friend, regarding assessment and student motivation at secondary level.
..."education in a teenager's life has to compete with social interaction, which has been made all the more immediate due to rapid advents in communications technology. Students really value having their own cell phone(s), access to Facebook, Twitter, Bebo, and so on. How does solving a dozen quadratic equations compete with that?"...

Our school recently had a professional learning day on "assessment for learning". Two points were highlighted for me, that of ,Clarity of instructions and Relevance to students.
All too often as teachers we know why we are teaching content and why we are setting tasks but in the rush to cover it all, we forget to tell the student why we are doing it. That is we are not clear in the path we are taking and why we are working towards the end result. Setting clear lesson objectives and allowing classes to set their own success criteria were important factors in gaining student attention.

Formative assessement is one teaching tool the teacher can utilise to get students to the end result. I have found myself to be much more reflective on the reasons for setting various class tasks and expecting more from my students in terms of learning for lifeskills. One of the NZC key competencies looks at students, Managing Self. As part of this I believe students need to complete class and homework tasks so they can be purposeful contributors to group discussions. Students can learn off each other and can learn more thoroughly by engaging in conversation or coaching their peers. Unfortunately this requires student motivation. If students have not completed their part of the homework tasks so they have relevant information to discuss, it can be left up to the same conscientious students to lead the group work.
All to often I am asked, "is this worth credits", "Do we have to do this?"
Gaining credits is a form of extrinsic motivation.
Points,tokens, parties, or other tangible reinforcers are also employed by parents and teachers as extrinsic motivators (Cameron, 1996).
Fulk (1994), reports research showing students are more willingly engaged in academic tasks and have an increased effectiveness in their learning when they are intrinsically motivated.

So the question is how do we do this? Is the answer CHOICE?
How are we going to compete with... cell phone(s), access to Facebook, Twitter, Bebo, and so on.

I would be keen on hearing how you have motivated your students to take part in formative assessment tasks. Are your teaching tools extrinsicly or intrinsically motivating?

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF TEACHERS with respect to GOOD ASSESSMENT PRACTICES

Blogg 2
Examining Assessment Conference Proceedings October 1999
Compiled by Bev Webber
NZCER

Hi fellow readers. I've been reading over the weekend, inparticular the above titled document. One of our recommended readings (yeah)
I'd like to entice comment from one of the concluding paragraphs.... about professional development and assessment practices.

"It is also clear that the nation's teachers need continuous training, guidance and assistance in deriving, applying and interpreting good assessment practices, whether these have formative or summative purposes...As the array of assessment tasks becomes ever larger, and the responsibilities of teaching become greater, the professional development of teachers is cruical to their understanding and use of good assessment. (Webber 1999 p.107)

As I sit here and reflect on my own professional development and assessment practices, I can say that through our schools (secondary school) professional learning time we have been developed to some extend. In a full staff we had fellow colleagues from a range of departments present the sorts of formative assessment that made their teaching and students learning journey successful. The tasks ranged from a simple 'fist of 5' feedback to the collation and tabled record keeping of student voice answers. Whaow. There was alot of positive, constructive and directed 'assessment' happening that had a purpose. Following a full staff meeting we returned to smaller cluster groups and reflected on our departments formative assessments. The next step could/should have been to choose an assessment task that we hadn't used before, applly it and give feedback on how it went.

The first question to my readers is, "When was the last time your knowledge of assessment practices was professionally developed?"

When have you had the opportunity to share the types of assessment you present to your students, or work with fellow colleagues to develop assesment tasks that work for your area of education or when was the last time you were critiqued for the assessment processes you present in your class?
(Is this too much in one sentence?)

Webber (1999) writes, "it is impossible to spearate good formative assessment from good teaching and learning"

How do we as professionals know when our assessments wether they be formative or summative are 'good'?

CHEERS I look forward to your comments

SANDY

Educational Assessment: How much pressure are we putting on our students

Hi readers
Just a thought to see if I get any replies.
Educational Assessment, how much pressure are we putting on our students?
As a secondary school teacher, assessing to the NCEA, I am often frustrated by the responses I get when summative assessments are required. There is such a range of responses/attitudes from student, I wonder if there is too much or too little pressure going on them. One example, perhaps because of a lack of pressure taken by some students is a 'who cares attitude'. "I'll do as much as I need to to pass (That is get an Achieved), its worth the same credits as an excellence".
These days our students appear not to put education at the top of their priority, rather it is balanced between, sports, afterschool jobs for money and socialising.