Category 1
Paper-pencil assessment - The most
broad definition of a paper-pencil assessment is one that students must write
with, well, a pencil and paper. I thought on this one for a while, to give a
somewhat non-stereotypical answer, and I believe a daily (or close to it)
journal would be appropriate. In the first few minutes a class, students would
be required to free-write, in order to build up their writing abilities. I
could read these entries and find ways to improve aspects of each student's
writing, and see where they stand at any individual point. Within the context
of lessons, I could specify a specific topic, rather than a freewrite, ask them
what the students think about a particular character or the story itself.
Truly, this type of assessment is versatile, and I would use it to gauge a
student's understanding of writing conventions.
Performance Assessment - For the
performance assessment, I would find allowing student's free reading time
throughout the week (and mandate some time at home) to complete a book. After a
specified amount of time, students would need to explain the book's plot and
anything else they may find important to me individually or in front of the
class. I find it hard to describe where it would fit in my lesson, as in a way,
the assessment itself is the lesson. While I am not intimately familiar with
Common Core standards, I do believe that this sort of assessment may fit within
the window of it, at least if paired with other activities. I would use this
assessment to check reading comprehension and assist with their public speaking
abilities.
Category 2
Standardized Test - To implement
standardized test results within my classroom, I would imagine using the
results to create groups. In most assessments, they come with a base score, but
sometimes they are organized according to proficiency in a particular area.
Whatever the case may be, re-organizing seating or groups could prove to be
beneficial. In addition, if one class section does better than another, perhaps
I should go faster with my lesson plan with them than I initially planned. I
can also adjust the speed if need be for the class that scored lower. I would
use this assessment in order to make classroom interaction as equal as
possible.
Teacher-developed assessment - With
this type of assessment, the most obvious answer is to create paper-pencil
assessment of some sort for use in the classroom. However, rather than a
multiple choice test, students could be required to write a brief essay on a
book we have been reading for class. I would use this assessment in order to
test a student's understanding of the book as well as see their ability to
follow the rules of writing.
Category 3
Criterion-referenced assessment - For
a high school English class, the most obvious criterion reference to me seems
to be a multiple choice, essay, and short answer mixup for a test. This type of
assessment would require students to really know the material of a given book
and not only know the basic plot, but also explain any themes I expect them to
know or any sort of thing like that. Some of these questions may be harder than
the others, but with the essay I could have key points I am looking for in
order to ensure fair grading. I would use this assessment to test a student's
knowledge of the material and also check their essay writing skills.
Norm-referenced assessment - Without
making this a nationwide event, all of the English teachers in a particular
grade at a school could develop a test on grammar rules and then let all of the
students take that test. While the results won't be as broad as a true
norm-referenced test, this seems to be fitting to compare students to each
other within a single grade. I would use this assessment to see how my class
has developed their grammar skills compared to other classes in the school.
Category 4
Traditional Assessment - While
sort of contrived, I think a test of say, 20 items, featuring sentences with
varying degrees of wrongness and some with some accuracy, would fit the formula
of a traditional assessment. Each student would have to identify what is
right/wrong in a sentence. I would use this assessment in order to determine
how well students understand how sentences should be structured with regards to
grammar rules.
Authentic Assessment - The most
glowing example of this for me would be writing a future letter to yourself.
This may work best for those students that are graduating (8th grade or 12th),
but could be used for any level. Each student would have to format it like a
real letter and then I could give it to them on the last day of class or
organize to send it the in a year's time. I would use this type of assessment
to integrate a real world activity that is slowing dying out, letter
formatting, within the classroom.
Category 5
Informal Assessment - Going along
with the idea of daily journals previously mentioned, I could go around asking
students occasionally on what they are writing about, and why. Doing so would
give me an insight into why they are writing what they are writing. This time
could also be used to address any concerns they may have with really anything
about the class. Again, I would use this assessment within the context of
lessons by focusing the "freewriting" topics on particular subjects
related to books we are reading, or topics we are covering. Beyond that, if I
want to make it freewriting, I could make them use a particular grammatical
rule I have introduced.
Formal Assessment - A simple
formal assessment would see if a student can properly apply a grammar rule that
has been presented, such as how commas are to be used in particular situations.
I would use this assessment to make sure students have comprehended a
particular grammatical rule.
*sorry about the lack of a vlog, Labor Day wasn't very conducive to that for me, I plan on one next time!*
Regarding your position on putting students into groups during standardized testing, when do plan on reorganizing the seating? Do you aim to do this before the exam to facilitate the distribution and monitoring of the test? Or do you wish to reorganize them after the assessment based on test scores. If you take the latter position, I have to question the effects that would have on the students. I like your ideas for the paper-pencil assessment section. Allowing students to free write then hone in on specific ideas would be a great technique to help with creative writing and critical thinking skills. For your authentic assessment, you could supplement your letter idea with an email to a state official regarding educational policies. This would teach the students how to both write with professional language and address contemporary concerns in a formal arena.
ReplyDeleteRegarding your first point, I definitely meant the latter. Before the exam would be rather arbitrary, as this sort of test is a very individual activity. (That being said, redistribution of the room could prove to be beneficial, just perhaps not based on scores). As to the latter point of after the assessment, if your qualm is that I would group only high performing and low performing students together, I was thinking more of a mixed assortment of students. This can somewhat be achieved by randomly choosing names, but can fail in some instances.
ReplyDeleteI really like your suggestion for the letter writing. Would be a great follow-up that could have some real life applicability (political advocacy). Perhaps tying in that particular lesson with a History/Government teacher at the high school level would be ideal?
I was really interested in your ideas for authentic assessments. It's true that we never write letters anymore and to be honest I don't think I remember the correct format to use when writing letters. That would be a fun and one day memorable assignment. I was also interested in your ideas concerning standardized testing. I could really see how it would be beneficial to group different students up according to their scores. I actually learned in a class last semester about a teacher doing just that. The students who did poorly, after being grouped with students who did well improved their scores and students who did well sometimes further improved theirs as they were helping their fellow students and it gave them more time to go over the subject and offered different ideas. Great idea, Travis!
ReplyDeleteWow Travis, I really liked your idea about getting the kids to write a letter to themselves and liked even more that you would send it to them a year later so they could see it! That is just a really good idea, but I wonder if it could be done even a few more years like 4-5? If possible that is!?! That would give them more time to get into college and see what their goals and ambitions were in high school and compare them to what they are really doing now. I also agree with Caitlin about kids these days don't know how to write a letter. I remember in elementary school our teacher made us write a letter to our moms and address it, seal it, stamp it, and send it. Then, we got to see the other side of it in a few days when it arrived at our house. That kind of showed us the full process of writing a letter. I also agreed with you about the journal entries and thought it was a good idea to get them to start free writing or write about something specific. Anyway, I like your ideas and keep up your creativity!
ReplyDeleteThe only real issue with sending physical letters much into the future is changing addresses.
DeleteThanks for your comment.