From
experience, collegial sharing and attendance at professional
development opportunities in search of what “effective assessment” looks
like, here is a combination of principles, experiential anecdotes and
actual classroom practice I use to assess students effectively for
learning.
I refer heavily to materials and discussions from Ken O’ Connor’s
workshop on “Classroom Assessment FOR Student Learning” held at an
international school in Bangkok last few years in this article. The
principles discussed in that workshop are strong affirmations of what I
live by as an educator for years. And this material I present here are a
testimony as to what research looks like in actual classroom practice
and how the principles have shaped the assessment programs I have set up
for my own students.
By ‘assessment’, we mean “the process of gathering information about
students or program”. And by ‘assessment FOR learning’, we refer to
formative assessment, which is “designed to provide direction for
improvement and/or adjustment to a program for individual students or
for a whole class”. The following material therefore, are for teachers
who want to know what are the ways to gather information about students’
learning and how best to communicate such information to students so
they improve and achieve success in learning.
1. Know your students well and how they interpret errors.
For instance, “For Americans, errors tend to be interpreted as an
indication of failure in learning the lesson. For Chinese and Japanese,
they are an index of what still needs to be learned.”(Stigler and
Stevenson, American Educator, Spring 1991).
Such different interpretations result in a variety of reactions to
the display of errors, which in turn have implications on how teachers
use errors as effective means of instruction.
Since my learners are all Asian, I find that they respond positively
to error correction. The attitude they generally exhibit is on of quiet
acceptance of their mistakes and a willingness to do better next time.
And if given a chance to modify, add on or take out errors from
assignments, my Japanese students would willingly do so 100% of the
time. Based on observation, they also exhibit a better understanding of
the material modified, added on or changed. Proof that in this case,
such kind of feedback contributes to their learning, and it is not
merely seen as a way to improve on grade.
2. Be clear with your expectations, whether they are products, performance or any other evidence of learning.
The use of rubrics to define tasks and to communicate learning
outcomes to students, is something I have come to rely on heavily in the
classroom over the years. From experience, I find it an objective means
to assess students’ work.
Along the course of a task or a project, the rubric becomes a tool to
guide and direct a student’s progress. It gives a clear picture of what
‘success’ looks like. And if changes have to be made along the way, it
specifies which area/s to work on, thus contributing to student
confidence and motivation to work harder towards achievement of the task
or project.
Another positive aspect of using rubrics is as a means of
communication of expectations between school and home. At the start of a
project/task, I ask students to show the rubrics to their parents and
have it signed by them. This way, accountability rests on all three: the
teacher, the students and the parents.
3. Involve students in the assessment process.
According to Covington (1992), “the process of engaging in
self-assessment increases students’ commitment to achieving educational
goals.” And as to how to do this, Rick Stiggins has the contention that
they should be involved in all three processes in assessment, namely;
a. in the construction of assessment and in the development of the criteria for success.
b. in the keeping of records of their own growth and achievement through such strategies as portfolios.
c. in communicating their achievement through such vehicles as student-involved parent conferences.
In my Writing for College class, students were asked, in small
groups, to come up with what “good writing” looks like. Their work was
then put up in posters in the classroom, and constantly referred to
while working on tasks, or during the design and development of a
rubric.
4. Be a motivator.
Stiggins (Student-Involved Classroom Assessment, 2001) contends,
“those (students) who experience success gain the confidence needed to
risk trying… (while those) who experience failure lose confidence in
themselves, stop trying and… fail even more frequently. Confidence
therefore, is the key to student success in all learning situations.”
By motivation here, we mean intrinsic motivation – one that comes as a
result of students gaining confidence in themselves by knowing what is
expected of them, what evidence/s is/are required to show success and
what kind of activities and/tasks will get them there.
In order for all these to happen, the teacher has yet another responsibility. And that is…
5. Give effective feedback. Praise less and describe expected results more.
Just recently, a discussion from a former student shed more light as
to what “quality” feedback means. She could not have emphasized its
value in learning more than when she said that she wished she was back
in my class, where she was told ways to improve her skills. She said she
gets tons of work now, but the teacher does not give feedback as to
which area she needs to improve on, and how.
Butler and Neuman (1995), Cameron and Pierce (1994) and Kluger and
deNisi (1996) make a case for the use of descriptive, criterion-based
feedback as opposed to scoring or letter grades
without clear criteria.
Cameron, Pierce, Kluger and deNisi further add that “feedback that
cues the individual to direct attention to self (praise, effort, etc)
rather than to the quality of the task appear to have a negative effect
on learning. Many studies speak to effective teachers praising less than
average.”
6. Use triangulation of evidence to base feedback on.
“There are three general sources of assessment evidence gathered in
classrooms: observations of learning, products students create, and
conversations – discussing with students.
When evidence is collected from three different sources of time,
trends, patterns and become apparent…This process is called
triangulation” Davies, Anne (Making Classroom Assessment Work, 2000).
7. Be a reflective practitioner who is involved in professional dialogue.
There are two important opportunities I find helpful to improve my
practice on assessment at my school. One involves a chance to “grade”
students’ writing with other language teachers. The purpose of which was
to assess our students using the 6+1 Traits rubric and see where we
teachers needed to work more on to improve students’ writing skills.
As it involves teachers comparing the grades we give to the same
written piece on each trait, it gives me a chance to adjust the way I
grade (where necessary), based on discussions with other teachers’
perspectives. This happens when there are big differences to the grades
we assign any particular trait.
The other opportunity I have to improve on assessment practice is the
chance to present an assessment task to a small group of colleagues at
school. Other teachers get a chance to “work” on the task and give
feedback afterwards on the following areas: whether the students were
properly prepared for the task or not, given the language skills and
assumed prior knowledge of the target group; were directions clear;
whether the task addressed the standards and benchmarks it was designed
for or not, etc.
From these discussions, I have the chance to make changes to the task
where necessary. It also allows for an avenue to see other teachers’
perspective on things without fear of ridicule, focusing only on how to
make assessment better for students.
According to Schmoker, 2001, as quoted from Ken O’ Connor, “When
teachers collaboratively review assessment data for the purpose of
improving practice to reach measurable achievement goals, something
magical happens.”
