how can we make assessments meaningful

8/13/2019 How Can We Make Assessments Meaningful

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How Can We Make Assessments

Meaningful?

I think meaningful assessments can come in many shapes and sizes. It fact, to be thoroughlyengaging and to draw the best work out of the students, assessments should come in different

formats.

Thankfully, with the Common Core standards exemplifying the 4Cs: Creatiity and Critical

Thinking !through performance"based assessments#, Collaboration, and Communication !in

particular through the use of interdisciplinary writing#, we are looking at a more fluid future intesting formats. $s long as the format itself is aligned with real"world skills, a meaningful

assessment does not need to be lock step with a particular structure anymore.

%hen I think about my own definition of a &meaningful assessment,& I think the test must meet

certain re'uirements. The assessment must hae alue other than &because it(s on the test.& It hasalue to the indiidual student who is taking it. It must intend to impact the world beyond the

student &self,& whether it is on the school site, the outlying community, the state, country, world,

etc. $nd finally, the assessment should incorporate skills that students need for their future. That

is, the test must assess skills other than the mere content. It must also test how elo'uent thestudents communicate their content.

Criteria for a Meaningful Classroom Assessment

To address these re'uirements, I ask myself the following guided 'uestions:

1. Does the assessment involve project-based learning?2. Does it allow for student choice of topics?

3. Is it inquir based?

!. Does it as" that students use some level of internet literac to find their answers?

#. Does it involve independent problem solving?

$. Does it incorporate the !%s?

&. Do the students need to communicate their "nowledge via writing in some wa?

'. Does the final draft or project require other modalities in its presentation? (visual) oral)data) etc...*

Clearly not all assessments achiee eery single characteristic listed aboe. )ut in our attempt to

address some of these elements, we will hae made our classroom assessments so much more

meaningful.



)ecause it(s ital that a student connect with the alue of their assessments. $fter all, if a student

trusts that the assessment is meaningful and will help them later on, it helps with both their

achieement and with your own classroom management.

Transparency in Why It's Important

That re'uires taking the effort to inform the students why the assessment has alue. *ome

teachers still balk at this +ob, as if students should +ust trust that what we do in school has alueto what happens outside of school. oweer, kids are smart these days. They know that bubbling

with a - pencil is anti'uated. They know that much of the content we teach them can be found

ia /oogle if they were so inclined. )ut as say as students are, they don(t know eerythingabout communicating their content, and we owe it to them to make sure that not only are our

tests aligned with skills they must know for their future, but to make sure that we(e been

transparent in our rationale.

*o how can high"stakes assessments be meaningful to students0 1or one thing, high"stakes tests

shouldn(t be so high"stakes. It(s inauthentic. They should and still can be a mere snapshot ofability. $dditionally, those occasional assessments need to take a back seat to the real learning

and achieement going on in eery day assessments obsered by the teacher.

The key here, howeer, is to assess eeryday. 2ot in boring, multiple"choice daily 'uizzes, but ininformal, engaging assessments that take more than +ust a snapshot of a student(s knowledge at

one moment in time.

)ut frankly, any assessment that sounds cool can still be made meaningless. It(s how the students

interact with the test that makes it meaningful. 3emember the 4 Cs and ask this: does theassessment allow for:

Creativity $re they students creating or +ust regurgitating0 $re they being gien credit for

presenting something other than what was described0

Collaboration ae they spent some time working with others to formulate their thoughts, brainstorm, or seek feedback from peers0

Critical Thinking $re the students doing more work than the teacher in seeking out information

and problem soling0

Communication oes the assessment emphasize the need to communicate the content well0 Is

there writing inoled as well as other modalities0 If asked to teach the content to other students,what methods will the student use to communicate the information and help embed it more

deeply0



Rubric on Meaningful Assessments

*o as an actiity for myself, I created a rubric to look at wheneer I was wondering if anassessment was going to be a waste of time or was going to connect with the students. !Click the

chart to download the 51.#

+nother wa to ensure that an assessment is meaningful) of course) is to simpl as" the

students what the thought. Design a surve after each major unit or assessment. ,r) better et)

if ou want to encourage students to reall focus on the requirements on a rubric) add a row

thats onl for them to fill out for ou. hat wa) the rubrics feedbac" is more of a give-and-ta"e)

and ou get feedbac" on the assessments level of meaningfulness as soon as possible.

ownload the example !left# of a 'uick rubric I designed for a general writing assessment. I

included a row that the participants could fill out that actually gae me 'uick feedback on how

meaningful or helpful they belieed the assessment was towards their own learning. $s aninstructor and lesson designer, I want a 'uick turnaround between when I assign an assessment

and if I need to ad+ust the assessment to meet the needs of future learners. )y also giing them aspace to fill out, they own the rubric een more, and will pay more attention to what I fill out

knowing that I gae them an opportunity to also gie me feedback. It(s one way the students andI can learn reciprocally.

*o how do you ensure that your classroom assessments are meaningful0



Why Formative Assessments Matter

/ebecca +lber 0dutopia %onsulting ,nline 0ditor

*ummatie assessments, or high stakes tests and pro+ects, are what the eagle eye of our

profession is fixated on right now, so teachers often find themseles in the tough position ofracing, racing, racing through curriculum.

)ut what about informal or formatie assessments0 $re we putting enough effort into these0

What Are They?

Informal, or formatie assessments are about checking for understanding in an effectie way inorder to guide instruction. They are used during instruction rather than at the end of a unit or

course of study. $nd if we use them correctly, and often, yes, there is a chance instruction willslow when we discoer we need to re"teach or reiew material the students wholly &did not get&"" and that(s okay. )ecause sometimes we hae to slow down in order to go 'uickly.

%hat this means is that if we are about getting to the end, we may lose our audience, the

students. If you are not routinely checking for understanding then you are not in touch with your

students( learning. 5erhaps they are already far, far behind.

%e are all guilty of this one "" the ultimate teacher copout: &$re there any 'uestions, students0&

Pause for three seconds. Silence. &2o0 6kay, let(s moe on.&

7er assign the big pro+ect, test, or report at the end of a unit and find yourself shocked with theresults, and not in a good way0 I hae. The reason for the crummy results is not the students, buta lack of formatie assessments along the way and discoering when, where, and how certain

information needed to be re"taught or reiewed.

To Inform, Not Punish

If you find yourself wanting to spring a &gotcha& 'uiz on your students, ask yourself if it is really

meant to collect important data or to freak them out and maybe &get them more serious about

paying attention&0

)eliee me, I(e been there: wanting to punish the lazy, the cocky, the nonchalant. *ometimeswe +ust want to see that hint of panic as they number 8 to 89 on their half sheets of paper

!afterall, many of us experienced the &gotcha& 'uiz as students#

If you feel tempted to do this, +ust say no; it(s a mistake.

http://www.edutopia.org/user/91

http://www.edutopia.org/user/91



When an !o"?

1ormatie assessments are not about gotcha-ing students but about guiding where instructionneeds to go next. %e should use them fre'uently, and while or after kids learn a new idea,

concept, or process.

%hen you are on your way to the )ig 7nd 5ro+ect !or summatie assessment# and students hae

+ust learned a piece or a step toward the end, check to see if they(e got it.

$nd to aoid using the tired old 'uiz, here(s a few ways you can check for understanding:

Exit Slips

These can be fun and not daunting, for students or teacher. /ie students a 'uestion to answer

that targets the big idea of the lesson, and hae them write a sentence or two. *tand by the door

and collect them as they leae. *it at your desk and thumb through them all, making three stacks:

they get it, kind of get it, and don(t get it all. The size of the stacks will tell you what to do next.

Student Checklist

/ie your students a checklist and hae them self"assess. Collect the checklists with each, or

eery other, new idea during a unit of study. <ake sure they write a sentence or two explaining

how they know they(e got it, or why they think they are still struggling.

The Three-Minute Paper

This is more inoled than the exit slip and often times, I(d gie the kids more than threeminutes. I don(t use the word &essay& or they get too nerous. I might say, &Take out a piece of

paper, and tell me what you hae learned so far about ============.& 6ften they will basically

write an essay !something they usually labor oer in drafts and on their own# I assess these thesame way as the exit slip, by making the three stacks.

One-Sentence Summary

$sk students to write a summary sentence that answers the &who, what where, when, why, how&

'uestions about the topic.

Misconception Check

5roide students with common or predictable misconceptions about a specific principle, process,

or concept. $sk them whether they agree or disagree and explain why. $lso, to sae time, youcan present a misconception check in the form of multiple"choice or true>false.



Watch, #oo$, #isten

*imply obsering the actions, behaiors, and words of students can proide a wealth of aluabledata and sere as a formatie assessment. ?ou can take notes as they conference with one

another, pair and share, or engage in collaboratie learning groups !lab pro+ects, literature circles,

etc.#.

%hat to look for0 If there are small group conersations happening, and they are successfullyapplying the new learning, not +ust one student is talking; they are talking oer each other, and

they are animated with body, hands and eyes. 6n the other hand, if it is 'uiet during this talk

time, and they are watching you watch them, they are most likely lost.

?our note taking can be as easy as making a check"plus mark after each child(s name who sharessomething of alue and on"target>topic with their group. !5ut a check by each child you hear

share so you can see how many you heard ersus how many get it.# If I hae 8@ names with

checks after them, but only four check"plus marks, it(s time to reiew or re"teach.

How do you check for understanding with your students? What are some formative assessmentsthat you find fun, engaging, and effective? Please share with us your thoughts, ideas and

expertise

how can we make assessments meaningful

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