Student Assessment

2014-2015
CERRA National Board Candidate Support
Workshop Toolkit

WS5
2014
 Essential Questions
• How do I use a variety of valid assessments,
including summative and formative
assessments?
• How do my assessment practices provide
students with a variety of opportunities to
demonstrate what they know?
• How do I use student assessment to drive
instruction?

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 Unit Planning: Basics
• Units of study are the vehicles for delivering learning
opportunities.
Consider the following: standards, student knowledge
and abilities, student interests, and student needs.
• Begin with an assessment of student knowledge and
determine what students need to know (ex. diagnostic
test, class discussion, survey, standardized scores).
• Focus on identified, measurable learning goals, not
generalities.

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 More of Unit Planning:
Basics
• Include differentiated learning and student
investigative opportunities.
• Demonstrate on-going and varied assessments.
• Clearly define and address standards.
• Assess knowledge and application of that
knowledge.

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 Questions for Unit Planning
1. How does this unit promote rigorous study?

2. How do activities in this unit relate to real life?

3. How does this unit reflect the personal, social,

or global issues of students?

4. What activities engage students?

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 More Questions for Unit
Planning
5. What activities demand higher level thinking skills and
encourage students to ask questions?
6. How will I inform students in the beginning of the unit
about how they will be assessed?
7. What standards or curriculum requirements are
addressed in this unit?
8. What learning questions are developed for this unit?

9. In what ways is this unit age-appropriate?

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 Student Assessment within a
Unit of Study
• Assessment of students after a previous unit
of study (their new skills and levels, learning
continuum, current abilities)
• Assessment of contextual factors (student
backgrounds, prior knowledge, needs,
differentiated instruction)
• Identification of standards and curriculum
requirements (NBPTS standards, state/district
guidelines)

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 Student Assessment with a
Unit of Study (cont.)
• Selection of unit (theme, life issues, problems)
• Determining questions for learning
• Designing assessments that support the plan of
instruction, including rubric design (if used as part of
assessment)
• Instructional activities and resources
• Analysis and reflection
• Additional assessment(s) of student learning within
the continuum based on students’ new set of skills &
knowledge

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 Assessment and Evaluation
Compared
Assessment focuses on learning, teaching, and outcomes. It
provides information for improving learning and teaching.
Assessment is an interactive process between students and
faculty that informs faculty how well their students are learning
what they are teaching. The information is used by faculty to
make changes in the learning environment and is shared with
students to assist them in improving their learning and study
habits.
Evaluation focuses on grades and may reflect classroom
components other than course content and mastery level. These
could include discussion, cooperation, attendance, and verbal
ability.
• http://web.duke.edu/arc/documents/The%20difference%20between%20assessment%20and%20evaluation.p
df

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 Formative Assessment
• Provides feedback to students about their learning
progress
• Informs teachers of areas of mastery and areas for
growth
• Occurs during the unit of learning; is ongoing
• Can include self-assessment and teacher observation
• May be informal (ex. exit slip, log, discussion)
• Shapes future learning

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 Summative Assessment
• Provides evaluation at the conclusion of a course of
study (ex. chapter, unit, book, broad topic)
• Judges students’ skills or knowledge
• Evaluates degree to which course met its goals
• May determine whether student earns credit for a
course
• May include final exams, culminating projects,
portfolio
• Sums up learning within a time period (ex. unit, year)

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 Design Assessments that Support
the Instructional Plan
• What formative assessments will I plan that will provide my students
and me with feedback about their learning in progress?
• What might these assessments look like?
• How will I develop the types and frequency of formative assessments
that will allow me to adjust the lessons to accommodate differentiated
learning?

• What summative assessment(s) will I develop that will showcase

student learning with regard to the standards?
• What product(s) will I ask my students to provide that will provide an
opportunity for them to apply their new learning?

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 Authentic and Traditional
Assessments
• Authentic—related to real-world tasks (ex.
students write an item such as a letter or short
story, create a product, do a performance,
demonstrate a skill, offer solutions to a
problem)

• Traditional—based more on teacher-

produced assessment such as objective
questions, standardized tests

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 Rubric Design
• In what ways does the rubric serve to inform
my students of the standards on which they
will be assessed?
• How have I created distinct and describable
differences between levels on the rubric?
• Do I have at least one criteria for each
targeted standard?
• In what ways might I have my students help to
develop and apply the rubrics?

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 Internet Resources for
Creating Rubrics
• teAchnology:
http://www.teach-nology.com/web_tools/rubrics/

• Rubrics4Teachers:
http://www.rubrics4teachers.com/

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 Bloom’s Taxonomy: Keep in
Mind for Questions and Tasks

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 Gardner’s Multiple
Intelligences

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 One Way to Look at It …
Instructional Possible Level on Possible Multiple
Activity/Summative Bloom’s Taxonomy Intelligences
Product or
Performance
Design an ad
Create a musical
presentation about …
Create a comic strip
Create a classroom
museum
Draw a map
Write in a learning log

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 Pulling It All Together
Planning for Student Assessment in Instruction

Unit Theme: __________________________________

Unit Goals:
1.
2.
3.
Standard to be Learning Assessment Blooms/MI
addressed Questions
(Include NBPTs)

Formative:

Summative:
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 Feedback as Part of
Assessment
Feedback should —
• Be timely (early, ongoing, often).
• Come in different formats (ex. check lists, rubric,
teacher comments, peer evaluations, etc.).
• Be specific and tailored to the student.
• Be understandable to the student.
• Allow for student self-adjustment.
• Enable students to identify strengths and areas of
growth.

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 In Summary: Purposes of
Assessing Student Work
• Determine what students are learning;
determine what students have learned
• Shape the next instructional steps
• Indicate students’ strengths and weaknesses
to address areas for growth
• Motivate students to work, build confidence,
create self-awareness, develop skills
• Make learning rigorous and relevant to real-
world situations
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 Resources
• www.boardcertifiedteachers.org
• www.nbpts.org
• Assessment Center Policy and Guidelines
• Guide to National Board Certification
• Scoring Guide for Candidates
• NB Customer Support 1-800-22TEACH
(83224)
• www.cerra.org; NB link

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