Culminating Views on Assessment

Ladies and gentlemen, brothers and sisters, comrades and friends, today's post will reflect on everything to do with assessments! What is my definition of assessment? How I determine lesson objectives on which an assessment is based? What type of assessment is best? What effort grades are and if they should be used? What is student self-assessment, how should they be utilized, and my stance on students developing assessments? What are student growth portfolios, as well as their positives and negatives? How do figures aid in the assessment process? And, on top of all of that, I will even leave you my final thoughts on assessments!

Definition and Lesson Objectives

Starting off with a definition of assessment, mine is "The process of collecting data in order to categorize it, or use it to inform future decisions." In recent years, assessments in practice have been gradually shifting away from only boasting the purpose of ranking students to that of also helping them succeed moving forward based on their results (Stiggins, 2008). Such a shift, is only beneficial, as it will allow for teachers to use students improve, as opposed to just providing students with a measurement of their understanding (Stiggins, 2008; see also Stiggins, 2014; Stiggins, 2018).

In order to determine lesson objectives (on which assessment is based), I look to my state's Model's curriculum, in addition to previously collected student data. Looking up the state's model curriculum is easy for Ohio, but student data? Well, now that can be a bit difficult! Most often objectives are based on lack of student understanding, where if everyone is not understanding something, then it is retaught in a different manner, as opposed to moving on. Such a practice helps ensure that students are receiving quality lessons based on their unique learning needs, and those mandated by the state, which ultimately boosts performance on relevant assessments in the process (Saeed et al., 2018).

Best Assessment Type?

In my humble opinion, the best type of assessments are open-ended, because it allows for one to express knowledge without any scaffolding, they are more practical than performance assessments, and they are able to boast elements of authentic assessment (Koh, 2017). For example, an open-ended assessment does not allow students to guess, they are much easier to distribute on a mass scale, and they may involve higher-order thinking to boast elements of authentic assessment (Koh, 2017). Overall, while I would argue that in an ideal world, all forms of assessment should be used, if I had to pick, then I would have no choice but to go with open-ended assessments.

Effort Grades?

Effort grades are when students are not graded for the content of their work, and instead graded on how much effort they put forth on the assignment (May et al., 2023). For example, if a student did not do things perfectly, but had tried their absolute hardest, then they would still get a perfect score. While effort assessments sound all warm and fuzzy, students still need to be assessed for the quality of their work, making it the primary focus of grading in order to mirror that of the working-world. Ideally, I would not dispense with effort grading, however, and instead just use it as a portion of an assignment's grade in order to help bolster student self-efficacy, but still assess work for its quality (Stiggins, 2008). For example, 10% of a student's could always be based on effort, if it is possible to assess in an objective manner, such as an effort rubric. See an effort rubric pictured below.

Student Self-Assessment

Student self-assessment is when students assess their own performance. Self-assessments are a great way to prompt retrospective evaluations of performance, as well as formulate pathways forward that are more conducive to success (Bleach, 2014). In order to best foster self-assessment, students should be provided with time to reflect, as well as a rubric to quantitatively assess their work in a manner that is not different from that of their peers. It is vital that students be provided with time to reflect, because in that reflection, they need to not only understand why they earned the score they did, but also develop a plan for future improvement (Bleach, 2014).

Regarding student participation in developing assessments, I vehemently disagree with such a practice for all K-12 students, as the teacher is the licensed professional who knows what will be assessed by the state, unlike the students. While the students should certainly be involved in the assessment process, and particularly the portion dealing with feedback and reflection, allowing them to assess themselves is a grave error on behalf of the teacher. Now, I must add that student input should be considered in order to effectively differentiate lessons, but their influence should be minimal in comparison to the teacher. For example, students may decide what project to undertake or project topic, but at the end of the day, it was the teacher who developed the assessments.

Student Portfolios

Student portfolios are a collection of student accomplishments. Student portfolios allow for students to explicitly showcase their skills and ability to complete projects, which may be of benefit to admissions committees at colleges/universities, as well as potential employers. As for shortcomings, however, student portfolios will be extremely time-consuming for students, especially if the accomplishments are digital in nature, resulting in students becoming unmotivated during its compilation. The lack of motivation during its compilation will result in students compiling portfolios with less utility in relationship to the job market or higher education admissions.

Figures

Figures aid in the assessment process by making data less abstract for students, allowing them to visualize their performance comparatively. An example of a useful figure is provided below, where Jose Ramirez's scores are compared to himself overtime, as well as the class average.

Final Thoughts

In conclusion, assessments should be used to both rank students and help them improve their performance and understanding moving forward, regardless of content. For example, behavior should be assessed just as critically as academics. Students can be improved in more ways than one, and not only should the teacher help them achieve set goals, but also other stakeholders involved in the student's education. For example, parents should be constantly engaged with the student's education, helping them succeed in collaboration with the teacher, especially since they are with their child for more hours of the day than teachers are, and can make a bigger impact if they put forth the effort.

Thank you all for reading my blog post!

Best, Ian E. Phillips, M.Ed.

References

Bleach, J. (2014). Developing professionalism through reflective practice and ongoing professional development. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 22(2), 185-197.

Koh, K. H. (2017). Authentic assessment. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Education.

May, J., Kidd, J., Kaufman, J., Baker, P., O'Shea, P., Allen, D., & Old Dominion University Students. (2023). Foundations of education and instructional assessment. Old Dominion University: LibreTexts.

Saeed, M., Tahir, H., & Latif, I. (2018). Teachers' perceptions about the use of classroom assessment techniques in elementary and secondary schools. Bulletin of Education & Research, 40(1), 115-130.

Stiggins, R. (2008). Assessment manifesto: A call for the development of balanced assessment systems. ETS Assessment Training Institute.

Stiggins, R. (2014). A new vision of excellence in assessment. Google LLC.

Stiggins, R. (2018). Better assessments require better assessment literacy. Educational Leadership, 75(5), 18-19.