May 1, 2009

Below is our newsletter for the week. Remember, we are not the end-all, be-all! We are just teachers sharing our thoughts and ideas with you. Feel free to modify strategies you receive from us to fit you and your classroom.

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Weekly Tip: Ideas for Assessing Student Learning

Evaluating student knowledge and mastery of skills is a vital part of the learning process. First, we need to determine the level of student knowledge and skill ability prior to teaching a unit so the lessons may be tailored to help each student gain that next level of mastery. Throughout the unit we need to evaluate student progress to make sure everyone is moving forward towards a mastery level. Lastly, we need to assess students at the end of the unit to determine the success of the lessons and the level at which individual students are performing.

Is this a pattern you follow regularly when teaching, or do you find that you only assess students at the end of each unit? Pre-assessments are equally important in planning and executing lessons, especially when you are concerned with learner differentiation – that is meeting individual learner needs – throughout the unit. Without determining what individual students already know about a subject or skill set, how can you know what knowledge or skills should be taught, reinforced, and practiced? Below are a few strategies for evaluating student prior knowledge and abilities:

K-W-L Chart

Students create a chart of three columns. The first is labeled “K” for knowledge. Within this column students write what they already know about the topic, skill, or concept. The second column is labeled “W” for what do I want to know? Within this column students list questions they have about the topic. The last column is labeled “L” and is not used until near the end of the unit. Here students write what they have learned about the topic.

When using the K-W-L chart, be sure to have a list of objectives, skills, or facts you will be teaching throughout the unit. Check student charts against this list and record the missing objectives, skills, or facts not included in the “K” column. This information will help you determine which students are at an entry level, near mastery, or have mastered the concept/skill. Those who are at a mastery level should be encouraged to review the basics quickly. The majority of their time during the unit of study should be spent completing assignments which help them think about the topic at higher levels, including synthesis and evaluation (Bloom’s Taxonomy). Those students at the entry level need to receive full instruction and evaluation at the Knowledge, Comprehension, and Application levels of Bloom’s.

Venn Diagram

Students compare the concept or topic of study to one studied previously. This allows those students who are operating at a mastery level to show the depth of their understanding about the topic. It is very difficult to compare a concept of which you know very little. This particular activity also allows you to evaluate how much information students have retained about the other topic as well.

Basic Paper/Pencil Pre-Test

This test should include fill-in-the-blank and essay questions. Multiple choice questions will not help you determine student mastery for a pre-assessment as students have the opportunity to make good guesses without really understanding the information. Be sure to create test items that directly reflect objectives for the upcoming unit of study and/or apply the skills to be taught. Student answers to essay questions should be thorough, thoughtful, and complete. Students scoring 95 or higher can be considered at a mastery level. Students scoring an 85-94 can be considered at near mastery and students scoring less than 85 are still in need of basic knowledge and skills.

            The next type of evaluation occurs throughout the unit of study and should be conducted frequently, if not daily. These assessments of student progress are often called “checking for understanding.” While some teachers solely check for understanding through oral questioning at the end of a lesson, this is not the only method available. Below are a few additional strategies you can use to determine student mastery of individual objectives and skills taught throughout the unit.

Index cards and Post-it notes

Pass out colored index cards or post-it notes to students near the end of the lesson. Have students write down three things they’ve learned in class or demonstrate a single skill (such as a math problem) if possible. You can also have students use index cards to create a “postcard” to send to a friend, a younger student, parents, or even an alien that explains what was learned during the lesson. Again, write down specific elements you want to see that reflect comprehension and/or application of the topic/skill taught that day. This will help you better determine which students have mastered the knowledge or skills.

Learning Chain or Notebook

Pass out strips of lightly colored construction paper. Students write one fact, explain one concept, or demonstrate one skill learned during class on each strip. These are kept and added to throughout the unit. At the end of the unit each student has a study guide of sorts to help them prepare for the end of unit assessment. If paper chains are too unwieldy for your classroom, you can also use small notebooks with brightly colored card stock paper as the front and back cover. Creative teachers might consider making these small notebooks in a shape that represents the topic being taught.

Tell Me

As students are leaving the classroom (or lining up to leave), have them each tell you one thing they learned in class. This is a very informal evaluation and should be used as a way to generally check for understanding rather than assess individual student mastery of a concept.

            The last evaluation of student learning should occur at the end of the unit. At this time you want to assess student mastery of the topic or skill. You can assess students using a formal end of the unit test or another alternative form of assessment. No matter what type of evaluation tool you use, it should progress from the basic levels of Bloom’s to the higher levels. Basic knowledge, comprehension, and application should occur near the beginning of the assessment with questions or activities demonstrating the ability to analyze, synthesize, and evaluate information near the end, possibly as bonus items depending on the skill levels of your class. Below are a few ways you can assess student mastery at the end of a unit.

Looks like, Sounds like, Feels like

Students use a three column chart similar to the K-W-L in which they show what the concept, skill, or topic looks like, sounds like, and feels like. This is harder to do than it sounds because students must truly know and understand the topic or skill in order to address these three questions in a thorough manner.

K-W-L chart

Students finish the “L” column of their K-W-L chart.

End of Unit Project

This project should include activities that show student mastery at each level of Bloom’s Taxonomy, starting with Knowledge and Comprehension. You may want to include several activities at each level and require students to finish between one and three at each level depending on age and ability levels. Older students and gifted or honors students should be able to complete multiple activities at each level to show full depth of the knowledge gained. Younger students, those with learning disabilities, or students with language issues may be required to complete just one activity per level. As the teacher you should be familiar with the ability levels of each student in order to customize the project for the individuals in your class.

Demonstration/Modeling

Students must demonstrate or model the concept or skill as a presentation to the class. You may allow for student creativity in determining how they will model or demonstrate. This allows for individuality among students. Again, be sure you have a checklist of requirements to show mastery. Make sure you give students this checklist ahead of time so they are able to meet these requirements.

Website or PowerPoint

Students create a website or Power Point presentation that shows the knowledge and skills learned during the unit. Create a checklist of required information or skills to be included along with optional additional information or skills that show extended learning.

Formal Paper/Pencil Test

When using a formal test, be sure your questions are all valid and reliable. Make sure your questions accurately reflect what was actually taught in class. If the concept or skill was in your lesson plans but you never actually taught it, don’t test it. This is not a valid assessment of student knowledge learned in class. Again, be sure your assessment starts with knowledge, comprehension, and application level questions before moving on to the higher levels.

            Assessment is not just a matter of taking a test at the end of a unit to get a grade. It is a tool we use to evaluate student learning, level of knowledge and skills, and mastery of objectives. Pre-assessments help us evaluate the mastery level of students prior to planning. This evaluation then helps us make better decisions in terms of curriculum goals and objectives for daily lessons. It also helps us meet individual needs within the classroom. We can use daily assessments to help us determine what skills or concepts need to be re-taught, reinforced, or practiced before moving on to the next skill. Lastly, end of the unit assessments help us to determine the overall mastery level of students after formal teaching of the concepts and skills. Keep these thoughts in mind as you continue through the school year and evaluate the learning that has taken place in your classroom.