o The Cycle of Assessment- Good assessment follows an intentional and reflective

process of design, implementation, evaluation, and revision. The Cycle of

Assessment relies on four simple but dynamic words to represent this process:
Teach, Measure, Reflect, and Plan & Improve.
 Assessment Cycle: Teach “Teaching” is the first phase of our assessment
cycle. We employ strategies to help our students learn the course
outcomes.
 Assessment Cycle: Measure “Assessing Student Learning” is the second
phase of our assessment cycle. We develop methods to assess whether
our students are learning the material.
 Assessment Cycle: Reflect “Reflecting” is the third phase of our
assessment cycle. We look back on whether our teaching strategies were
successful and what changes we can make improve to student learning.
 Assessment Cycle: Plan & Improve “Improving our instruction” is the fourth
phase of our assessment cycle. We refine our instructional strategies and
techniques to help all students achieve mastery of the course outcomes.
Different types of assessments can help you understand student progress in various
ways. This understanding can inform the teaching strategies you use, and may lead to
different adaptations.
In your classroom, assessments generally have one of three purposes:
1. Assessment of learning
2. Assessment for learning
3. Assessment as learning
Assessment of learning
You can use assessments to help identify if students are meeting grade-level
standards. This is a way to evaluate students’ learning and whether they align with the
grade standards or the curriculum. These assessments are generally grade-based and
include portfolios, exams, final projects, and standardized tests.

Assessments of learning are usually grade-based, and can include:

 Exams
 Portfolios
 Final projects
 Standardized tests
Common types of assessment of learning include:
 Summative assessments
 Norm-referenced assessments
 Criterion-referenced assessments
Assessment for learning
Assessments for learning provide you with a clear snapshot of student learning and
understanding as you teach -- allowing you to adjust everything from your classroom
management strategies to your lesson plans as you go.
Assessments for learning should always be ongoing and actionable. When you’re
creating assessments, keep these key questions in mind:
 What do students still need to know?
 What did students take away from the lesson?
 Did students find this lesson too easy? Too difficult?
 Did my teaching strategies reach students effectively?
Always remember that this assessment is not just for student only they’re to provide
you with actionable feedback to improve your instruction. Common types of
assessment for learning include formative assessments and diagnostic assessments.

Assessment as learning
 Assessment as learning actively involves students in the learning process. It
teaches critical thinking skills, problem-solving and encourages students to set
achievable goals for themselves and objectively measure their progress. They
can help engage students in the learning process. Some examples of
assessment as learning include ipsative assessments, self-assessments and
peer assessments.
6 Types of assessment to use in your classroom
1. Diagnostic Assessment
o The purpose of diagnostic assessment is to gauge students’ knowledge, skills,
strength, and weaknesses beforehand. The purpose of diagnostic assessments
is to help identify problems with a certain instruction style and provide insights
into improvement that can be done in the quality of delivery. Diagnostic
assessments in education help educators understand their students’ strengths,
weaknesses, knowledge level, and skillset prior to beginning instruction.
Diagnostic assessment examples include pre-assessment tests that give you a
 snapshot of or diagnose knowledge to screen students. Diagnostic assessments
collect data on what the students already know about a specific subject or topic.

Here are some more types of diagnostic assessments that can be used for
assessing students:

 Journals
 Quiz/test
 Student interviews
 Student reflections
 Graphic organizers (e.g., mind maps, flow charts, KWL charts)
2. Formative assessment
o “Formative assessments serve as practice for students, just like a meaningful
homework assignment. They check for understanding along the way and guide
teacher decision-making about future instruction; they also provide feedback to
students so they can improve their performance.” Formative assessments help
paint a portrait of what students know and understand, as well as topics that they
are having difficulty grasping. Serving as checkups, formative assessments give
you the chance to correct students’ mistakes and iron out any difficulties early in
the learning process.
Some examples of formative assessments include:
 Portfolios
 Group projects
 Progress reports
 Class discussions
 Entry and exit tickets
 Short, regular quizzes
3. Summative assessment
 Summative assessment is an assessment administered at the end of an
instructional unit in a course. These assessments are intended to evaluate
student learning by comparing performance to a standard or benchmark. They
are often high-stakes, meaning they have a high point value. Examples of
summative assessments include midterm exams, a final exam or a final project.
Summative assessments are given to students at the end of an instructional
period. They are evaluative rather than diagnostic and are used to measure
whether a course’s learning objectives were met. Unlike formative assessments,
 summative assessments are formal and involve clear instructions, expectations
and grading rubrics to measure student comprehension.
Examples of summative assessment include:
 End-of-unit or -chapter tests
 Final projects or portfolios
 Achievement tests
 Standardized tests
Formative assessment Summative assessment
Occurs throughout a chapter or unit Occurs at the end of a chapter or unit
Improves how students learn Evaluates what students learn
Covers small content areas Covers complete content areas
Monitors how students are learning Assigns a grade to students’
understanding
Focuses on the process of student Emphasizes the product of student
learning learning

4. Ipsative assessments
 Ipsative assessments are one of the types of assessment as learning that
compares previous results with a second try, motivating students to set goals and
improve their skills. Ipsative assessment is an assessment based on a learner’s
previous work rather than based on performance against external criteria and
standards. Learners work towards a personal best rather than always competing
against other students. When threshold standards must be met for an award,
ipsative feedback could be combined with traditional grades.
You can incorporate ipsative assessments into your classroom with:
 Portfolios
 A two-stage testing process
 Project-based learning activities
5. Norm-referenced assessments
 Norm-referenced assessment is a type of standardized test that compares
students’ performances to one another. Norm-referenced assessments compare
a student’s performance to the course median. The “norming process” refers to
calculating norm-referenced scores and the “norming group” refers to the group
that a student is compared against while a professor assigns grades.

 Norm-referenced assessment refers to an assessment that ranks students on a
“bell curve” to determine the highest and lowest performing students. This
 method is used to understand how students’ scores compare to a predefined
population with similar experience. For instance, a student’s assessment score
could be compared to scores of students who took the same course in previous
years.
Types of norm-referenced assessments include:
 IQ tests
 Physical assessments
 Standardized college admissions tests like the SAT and GRE
Norm-referenced assessments are most useful when measuring student achievement
to determine:
 Language ability
 Grade readiness
 Physical development
 College admission decisions
 Need for additional learning support
6. Criterion-referenced assessments
 Criterion-referenced tests and assessments are designed to measure student
performance against a fixed set of predetermined criteria or learning standards—
i.e., concise, written descriptions of what students are expected to know and be
able to do at a specific stage of their education. In elementary and secondary
education, criterion-referenced tests are used to evaluate whether students have
learned a specific body of knowledge or acquired a specific skill set. For
example, the curriculum taught in a course, academic program, or content area. If
students perform at or above the established expectations—for example, by
answering a certain percentage of questions correctly—they will pass the test,
meet the expected standards, or be deemed “proficient.” On a criterion-
referenced test, every student taking the exam could theoretically fail if they don’t
meet the expected standard; alternatively, every student could earn the highest
possible score. On criterion-referenced tests, it is not only possible, but desirable,
for every student to pass the test or earn a perfect score. Criterion-referenced
tests have been compared to driver’s-license exams, which require would-be
drivers to achieve a minimum passing score to earn a license. Criterion-
referenced tests may include multiple-choice questions, true-false questions,
“open-ended” questions (e.g., questions that ask students to write a short
response or an essay), or a combination of question types.
 ADVANCED PLACEMENT EXAMS:
 Advanced placement is a college-level curriculum and examination program
offered to high school students in the US by the College Board. Students who
 perform well in the exams may be given placement and course credit by
American colleges and institutions. A panel of specialists and university teachers
in that field of study creates the AP syllabus for each of the various topics for the
College Board. To earn the certification, a high school course must be audited by
the College Board to ensure that it meets the AP curriculum as outlined in the
Board’s Course and Examination Descriptions (CED).

LESSON PLAN FORMAT

o Teaching and learning progresses through five phases: Engage, Explore,

Explain, Elaborate and Evaluate.
ENGAGE
o In the first phase of the learning cycle, the teacher works to gain an
understanding of the students’ prior knowledge and identify any knowledge gaps.
It is also important to foster an interest in the upcoming concepts so students will
be ready to learn. Teachers might task students with asking opening questions or
writing down what they already know about the topic. This is also when the
concept is introduced to students for the first time.

EXPLORE
o During the exploration phase, students actively explore the new concept through
concrete learning experiences. They might be asked to go through the scientific
method and communicate with their peers to make observations. This phase
allows students to learn in a hands-on way.

EXPLAIN
o This is a teacher-led phase that helps students synthesize new knowledge and
ask questions if they need further clarification. For the Explain phase to be
effective, teachers should ask students to share what they learned during the
Explore phase before introducing technical information in a more direct manner,
according to “The 5E Instructional Model: A Learning Cycle Approach for Inquiry-
Based Science Teaching.” This is also when teachers utilize video, computer
software, or other aides to boost understanding.

ELABORATE
o The elaboration phase of the 5E Model focuses on giving students space to
apply what they’ve learned. This helps them to develop a deeper understanding.
 Teachers may ask students to create presentations or conduct additional
investigations to reinforce new skills. This phase allows students to cement their
knowledge before evaluation.

EVALUATE

o The 5E Model allows for both formal and informal assessment. During this
phase, teachers can observe their students and see whether they have a
complete grasp of the core concepts. It is also helpful to note whether students
approach problems in a different way based on what they learned. Other helpful
elements of the Evaluate phase include self-assessment, peer-assessment,
writing assignments, and exams.

CONCEPT FORMATION- In a concept formation lesson, the teacher uses carefully

chosen examples to help students develop their own meaning of a concept before the
teacher defines the concept for the students. This strategy allows students to engage
in a more in-depth investigation of a concept than they might otherwise do. Concept
formation lessons are particularly useful in world history as a way of highlighting large
global patterns and connecting them to local or regional cases. For example, teachers
can help students form the concept of political revolution when teaching pivotal events
in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in order to see patterns and connections
among examples in the United States, France, and Haiti.12 Teachers can also use
concept formation to help students detect global patterns in historical processes, such
as the Agricultural Revolution, that developed independently in different parts of the
world. Focusing on key concepts in a world history allows students to tie together
pieces of knowledge and facilitates future learning of related historical events.

Concept Attainment- is designed to clarify ideas and to introduce aspects of content.

It engages students in formulating a concept through the use of illustrations, word
cards or specimens called examples.

“First the teacher chooses a concept to developed. (i.e. Math facts that equal 10)
Begin by making list of both positive “yes” and negative ” no” examples: The examples
are put onto sheets of paper or flashcards.
Positive Examples: (Positive examples contain attributes of the concept to be taught)
i.e. 5+5, 11-1, 10X1, 3+4+4, 12-2, 15-5, (4X2)+2, 9+1
Negative Examples: (for examples choose facts that do not have 10 as the answer) i.e.
6+6, 3+3, 12-4, 3X3, 4X4, 16-5, 6X2, 3+4+6, 2+(2X3), 16-10
Designate one area of the chalkboard for the positive examples and one area for
negative examples. A chart could be set up at the front of the room with two columns –
one marked YES and the other marked NO.
Present the first card by saying, “This is a YES.” Place it under the appropriate column.
i.e. 5+5 is a YES
Present the next card and say, “This is a NO.” Place it under the NO column. i.e. 6+6 is
a NO
Repeat this process until there are three examples under each column.
Ask the class to look at the three examples under the YES column and discuss how
they are alike. (i.e. 5+5, 11-1, 2X5) Ask “What do they have in common?”
For the next tree examples under each column, ask the students to decide if the
examples go under YES or NO.
At this point, there are 6 examples under each column. Several students will have
identified the concept but it is important that they not tell it out loud to the class. They
can however show that they have caught on by giving an example of their own for each
column about how to teach. At this point, the examples are student-generated. Ask the
class if anyone else has the concept in mind. Students who have not yet defined the
concept are still busy trying to see the similarities of the YES examples. Place at least
three more examples under each column that are student-generated.
Discuss the process with the class. Once most students have caught on, they can
define the concept. Once they have pointed out that everything under the YES column
has an answer of 10, then print a new heading at the top of the column (10 Facts). The
print a new heading for the NO column (Not 10 Facts).”