Assessment+Course+Info

On this page you will find important tips to help you get started in your online course. Be sure to scroll to the bottom to view all the contents of this page. What comes to mind when you think about assessment? Do you equate it with state tests and accountability measures? Is it something that brings anxiety to you and/or your students? With today’s focus on high-stakes tests, it is no wonder that teachers feel the need to “cover” extensive content that may be on the test and that they often view assessment as a burdensome, high-pressure activity. In this course you will discover how assessment can and should be a powerful tool //for teaching and// learning, not just a measure //of// learning. To begin the course, you will explore the basic principles of Understanding by Design, a framework for designing curriculum, instruction, and assessment that will facilitate your students’ deep understanding of the content you teach. You will then consider the historical and contemporary perspectives on assessment which includes a discussion of the various types and purposes of assessment, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. As you delve deeper into the Understanding by Design framework, you will learn how to match learning goals to appropriate assessment methods that will not only measure but also promote student learning. You will consider the principles of effective assessment, including the importance of having a balanced assessment plan in which student learning is measured before the learning experience with diagnostic assessments, during the learning with formative assessments, and after the learning with summative assessments. The discussion of summative assessments encompasses a myriad of assessment types from performance tasks to the often misunderstood standardized tests. As part of your learning about summative assessments you will discover how to design a high-quality rubric. Teacher-created pencil-and-paper tests can provide valuable information about student learning, and you will learn how to create effective and efficient tests that reveal useful data about your students. You will learn ways to think about and analyze data from various sources in order to make instructional decisions that are in the best interest of student learning. You will also learn ways to communicate data to students, families, and other stakeholders to reflect student progress. You will examine the role of assessment in self-directed learning, and discover how to develop assessments that provide consistent, meaningful feedback that empowers students.

As you will learn throughout this course, assessment and instruction are inextricably linked. The theories and strategies you learn about in this course may be a dramatic shift from the practices currently in use in your school or district. Tradition and long-held beliefs may be challenging to change, but gaining a clearer understanding of effective assessment could help lead to greater student achievement.

Course Presenters
**Ellen Goldring, PhD**

Dr. Goldring is Professor of Education Policy and Leadership in Peabody College at Vanderbilt University. She currently serves as the coeditor of //Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis//. She is also a member of the Task Force on Developing Research to Improve Educational Leadership, cosponsored by the American Educational Research Association, the Laboratory of Student Success, and the University Council for Educational Administration. In addition to more than 60 journal articles and book chapters, she has published two books: //Principals of Dynamic Schools: Taking Charge of Change// (coauthor, 2000) and //School Choice in Urban America: Magnet Schools and the Pursuit of Equity// (coauthor, 1999). She has also served on numerous editorial boards, commissions, and design teams. Her research focuses on understanding school reform that connects families, communities, and schools. She emphasizes the changing role of school leaders in complex community and organizational contexts.

**Jay McTighe**

Jay McTighe has a rich and varied career in education. He served as director of the Maryland Assessment Consortium; was involved with school improvement projects at the Maryland State Department of Education; and coordinated statewide efforts to develop instructional strategies, curriculum models, and assessment procedures for improving the quality of student thinking. He is the coauthor of //Assessing Learning in the Classroom//, //Assessing Student Outcomes: Performance Assessment Using the Dimensions of Learning Model//, and //Understanding by Design//.

**Richard J. Stiggins, PhD**

Dr. Richard Stiggins is founder and president of the Assessment Training Institute in Portland, Oregon, a company devoted to helping educators balance classroom and standardized assessments and to supporting teachers as they face the challenges of day-to-day classroom assessment. Dr. Stiggins has worked with the American College Testing Program to create a guide that helps teachers align what they teach with the content covered by the ACT test. He has published numerous articles and is the author of //But Are They Learning?: A Commonsense Parents’ Guide to Assessment////and////Grading in Schools// and //Student-Involved Assessment for Learning//. The fundamental purpose of assessment is “the improvement of student achievement, teaching practice, and leadership decision-making” (Reeves, 2007 p. 1).

**Understanding by Design**

The idea of backward design is grounded in decades of history. More than 50 years ago, Ralph Tyler made the case for educators to design curriculum with the end in mind:

“Educational objectives become the criteria by which materials are selected, content is outlined, instructional procedures are developed, and tests and examinations are prepared. . . . The purpose of a statement of objectives is to indicate the kinds of changes in the student to be brought about so that instructional activities can be planned and developed in a way likely to attain these objectives” (as cited in Wiggins & McTighe, 2005, p. 20).

<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe continue to advocate for a backward approach in the 21st century learning environment by encouraging teachers to ask the question: “What would we accept as evidence that students have attained the desired understandings and proficiencies—before proceeding to plan teaching and learning experiences?” (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005, p. 17)

<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Assessment Principles and Practices**

<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">High-quality assessments have a clear purpose with clear learning targets, are based on sound assessment design, provide effective communication of results, and involve students whenever possible (Chappuis, Chappuis, & Stiggins, 2009). As Jay McTighe and Ken O’Connor (2005) contend, there are seven assessment practices that can enhance teaching and learning: <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Black, Harrison, Lee, Marshall, & Wiliam (2004) document the benefits of diagnostic and formative assessments of student learning. When students receive continual feedback and are able to monitor and adjust their learning, achievement improves. Research shows that when students are involved in the assessment process before, during, or after the learning and assessment, they learn more, achieve at higher levels, and are more motivated (Crooks, 1988; Black & Wiliam, 1998; Davies, 2004; Stiggins, 2006 as cited by Davies in Reeves, 2007). An added benefit of continuous assessment and feedback is the ability for students to become more self-directed (Costa & Kallick, 2004). <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Performance Assessments and Rubrics**
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Using summative assessments to frame performance goals
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Showing criteria for assessment in advance
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Pre-assessing before teaching
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Offering options for demonstrating knowledge
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Providing frequent feedback
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Encouraging students to self-assess and monitor progress
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Replacing old evidence with new evidence

<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Judith Arter and Jay McTighe (2001) promote implementing a balanced assessment program that includes both selected response and constructed response. Selected response assessments are useful for efficiently assessing students’ knowledge of facts and basic concepts. Constructed response assessments are ideal for application of knowledge and measuring the deepest understanding. Rubrics or other scoring criteria are required with authentic, performance-based assessments “to provide clear and consistent targets for students, parents, teachers, and others” (Arter and McTighe, 2001, p. 15).

<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Using Assessment Data**

<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Today’s teachers are increasing the amount of data they collect about student learning. However, unless they have a well-planned process for analyzing data with the intention of driving instruction decisions, the benefits of data analysis remain elusive (Ainsworth, as cited in Reeves, 2007). To maximize the usefulness of data, teachers should “intentionally align assessments //of// and //for// learning so that they are measuring the same student progress” (Ainsworth, as cited in Reeves, 2007, p. 82). When teachers are coached and encouraged to analyze student assessment data, they are better able to engage in the kind of “analysis of progress that helps them build bridges between data and instructional decision making (Bernhardt, 2004, Glickman, 2002)” (Buhle & Blachowicz, 2008/2009, p. 43).