To help us work towards our school goal of improving our understanding and practice of assessment, my principal has provided our staff with a copy of Classroom Assessment for Student Learning: Doing it Right - Using it Well, by Jan Chappuis, Rick Stiggins, Steve Chappuis, and Judith Arter. As I make my way through the book, I will be summarizing my learning as a means of organizing my thoughts and getting clarification on particular ideas.
Chapter 7 - Performance Assessment
* see
Chapter 4 for the most appropriate times to use selected response assessments
* before you begin, use the assessment development cycle and make a blueprint (
Ch. 4)
* remember to not confuse activities with learning targets!
Determine Sample Size with Performance Assessment
1 ) Complexity of the Target
- the more complex, the more evidence required
(ex) reading rate = less complex, reading fluency = more complex
2 ) Decision the Evidence will Inform
- for learning requires low level of evidence
3 ) Consistency of Performance
- use professional judgement
- gather more evidence for students with high fluctuations
- make sure any applicable
biases are addressed first
4 ) Proximity to the Cutoff Mark
- gather more evidence for those students who fall close to grade-divides
(ex) students who are between a 3-4 on the provincial report cards
Selecting, Revising, or Developing the Task
1 ) The Content
- what learning target is demonstrated?
2 ) Target Alignment
- content validity
- only assess aspects of the learning target; NOT things like neatness
3 ) Authenticity
- realistic context as close to real-life as practical
4 ) Choice
- use cautiously as choices need to fit the target, not vary in difficulty & ensure validity
5 ) Level of Scaffolding
- point the way to success without doing the thinking for the students
6 ) Interference
- make sure aspects of the task do not interfere with achieving the actual learning target
(ex) too high of reading level in the instructions, situations requiring specific cultural/linguistic backgrounds
Structure of the Task
- be as specific as possible and ensure students know:
- what knowledge they need (the target)
- what they need to accomplish
- what they are creating
- what materials they need
- how much time they have
- what conditions need to be met
- what help is allowed
- what scoring criteria will be used
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Chappius, et al. (2012). Figure 7.8 Characteristics of a Good Rubric. Classroom Assessment for Student Learning, pg 231. |
* make sure scoring rubrics only include info on the qualities of the task; NOT directional instructions like word limits
Process for Developing Rubrics
1 ) Establish a Knowledge Base
- work with those knowledgeable in the area
- determine what quality looks like
- review existing rubrics for inspiration
2 ) Gather Samples of Student Performances/Rubrics
- familiarize yourself with a range of quality
- student work, provincial examples, peer examples, self created, hard copy, video, audio
- at least 20 pieces
3 ) Sort Work by Level of Quality
- sort into weak, medium & strong
- write specific descriptions as to why its sorted that way
- relate descriptions back to learning target
4 ) Cluster Descriptions by Trait
- combine similar descriptions
- omit repeats
- separate those that cannot be linked
5 ) Identify Samples that Illustrate Each Level
- will be used as models/examples
- which are strong? weak? start with the extremes
- have multiple examples for each level
- try to include those that identify common misconceptions
6 ) Test & Revise as Needed
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I WANT TO KNOW:
I found this chapter very confusing as it seemed to focus more on rubrics (in general) than anything else....
Please leave your thoughts below :)