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Minutes with Charlie 1
By Charlie | December 10, 2007
In the landmark study of 1998 on Assessment and Classroom Learning, Black and Wiliam posed three important questions. The first question was “Is there evidence that improving formative assessment raises standards?” The answer was a resounding “yes”. The second question was “Is there evidence that there is room for improvement?” Again the answer was an unequivocal “yes” and identified three primary problem areas: 1) the assessment methods that teachers use are not effective in promoting good learning, 2) grading practices tend to emphasize competition rather than personal improvement, and 3) assessment feedback often has a negative impact, particularly on low-achieving students. However, for the third question, “Is there evidence about how to improve formative assessment?” the answer was not so clear. In the nine years since the study considerable progress has been made in addressing this crucial question of how to improve formative assessments.If it is true that quality formative assessment FOR learning has a great impact on improving student performance, and if it is true that there is room for improvement, then it is imperative that we embark upon the mission of improving our classroom formative assessments. As in many adventures, the embarkation is often accompanied with both excitement and trepidation, but the success of the mission is determined by reaching the destination.In order for us as a district, and we as individual educators, to improve our formative assessments thus, and increasing our assessment competency we must also increase our assessment literacy.
In an effort to increase our district assessment literacy leading to a greater assessment competency, I am going to start sharing some thoughts, facts, and truths about assessments on a regular basis. My intention is to keep them short and to the point so it will take less than five minutes to read. I of course welcome any thoughts others have to share with me and any dialogue that might ensue.
A necessary stage in improving our “assessment literacy” is knowing and understanding the essential components of any quality assessment. There are five keys to developing and evaluating a quality assessment. A quality assessment must include:
- A Clear Purpose,
- Clearly defined, articulated, and understood Learning Targets,
- A Sound Assessment Design,
- Element(s) of Good Communication, and
- Student Involvement
When any of these five is either absent or weak, the quality of the assessment and the potential impact on student learning is lessened. During the next few “Minutes with Charlie” I will share some thoughts on each of these key points so that we can begin to view our assessments, summative and formative, as to how they measure up on these keys.
Personal Reflection: At my current stage of assessment literacy, can I describe these keys to quality assess-ment and can I identify them in the assessments I use in my classroom?
Topics: Minutes with Charlie, Quality Assessment Components |
July 6th, 2009 at 1:46 pm
Hi! I like your srticle and I would like very much to read some more information on this issue. Will you post some more?