Evaluating Student Learning: Chapter 11

Evaluating Student Learning

Making Accommodations for Classroom Tests:

Before, During, and After

Before:

Per-pare a study guide

Give a practice test

Offer tutoring

Teach test-taking skills

Demonstrate memorization techniques

During:

Use alternative forms of questions

Accept alternative forms of responses

Use alternative ways to administer tests

Use alternative test sites

After:

Change letter or number grades

Change grading criteria

Using alternatives to letter or number grades (such as a competency checklist)

IEP Objectives Grading:

Focuses on how goals are addressed in classroom

Informs students, parents, and teachers

Identifies important objectives and supports

Reflects progress on skills important to student

Eliminates redundancy of separate reporting

Improves communication about grades

Carries risk that criteria will be unrelated to general ed expectations

Two Kinds of Assessments

Formative evaluation is a process of ongoing feedback on performance. The purposes are to identify aspects of performance that need to improve and to offer corrective suggestions. The formative version of learning assessment, deals with the different ways teachers can evaluate students based on the material presented in class. The students themselves get to see where they need to concentrate more efforts on then use the information collected from this type of assessment. The teachers can also use the results to focus in on the areas where extra time should be spent on instruction.

Summative evaluation is a process of identifying larger patterns and trends in performance and judging these summary statements against criteria to obtain performance ratings. You must rely upon your evidence and perceptions to justify ratings. The summative version of assessment of learning gives teachers the opportunity to grade work that evaluates the quality of the student’s work through different assignments. Not only is this data graded for accuracy but also how well the student translates their knowledge of the subject matter at hand. 

The primary purpose of evaluating student learning is to assign grades. However, well-designed and well-executed evaluation can also incentive students and support self-regulated learning strategies. Research shows that properly used evaluation strategies can encourage students to keep up with the material and enhance students' academic engagement and achievement in college. Therefore, evaluation of student learning is a very important component in course design and requires a lot of careful thought in planning.

Websites

https://tlt.stonybrook.edu/FacultyServices/CDD/Evaluation/Pages/default.aspx

http://cstl.syr.edu/msache_resources/S3.htm

http://ed.fnal.gov/lincon/el_assessment.shtml