Self-assessment: Questioning my classroom practice

Self-assessment activities have become commonplace in classroom environments. Just like most other primary teachers I use self-assessment activities in my classroom practice with good intentions for encouraging children to consider their own learning and achievement. Looking back, however, I see my use of self-assessment tasks served teacher and teaching purposes above student needs and the longer-term goal of developing self-directed (life-long) learners. In hindsight I believe what I was calling self-assessment could more accurately, and perhaps more helpfully, be defined as short, guided reflections. This paper questions this classroom practice and goes on to question the term ‘self-assessment’ suggesting we examine closely our meaning, purpose and practice of self-assessment in the classroom. This paper concludes with questions for teachers to use in reconsidering self-assessment in their own classroom practice

Embedded formative assessment and classroom process quality. How do they interact in promoting students\u27 science understanding

In this study we examine the interplay between curriculum-embedded formative assessment-a well-known teaching practice-and general features of classroom process quality (i.e., cognitive activation, supportive climate, classroom management) and their combined effect on elementary school students\u27 understanding of the scientific concepts of floating and sinking. We used data from a cluster-randomized controlled trial and compared curriculum-embedded formative assessment (17 classes) with a control group (11 classes). Curriculum-embedded formative assessment and classroom process quality promoted students\u27 learning. Moreover, classroom process quality and embedded formative assessment interacted in promoting student learning. To ensure effective instruction and consequently satisfactory learning outcomes, teachers need to combine specific teaching practices with high classroom process quality. (DIPF/Orig.

Informing Writing: The Benefits of Formative Assessment

Examines whether classroom-based formative writing assessment - designed to provide students with feedback and modified instruction as needed - improves student writing and how teachers can improve such assessment. Suggests best practices

Evaluation of the Assessment is for Learning programme

The Assessment is for Learning Development Programme (AifL) was designed tobring together the various purposes of assessment into a single coherent frameworkwhich would answer questions of accountability, standards and the monitoring ofprogress and performance, but which also emphasised the role of assessment insupporting individual pupils' learning in the classroom

A QUANTITATIVE SURVEY ANALYSIS OF ELEMENTARY PRESERVICE TEACHER PERCEPTIONS OF ASSESSMENT TASKS IN SCIENCE COURSEWORK

This replication survey research study sought to further understand preservice elementary teachers’ perceptions of assessment tasks they encountered in secondary science coursework. Students are assessed through informal and formal assessments, including close-ended and open-ended questions, through classroom and high-stakes assessments. With great significance placed on high-stakes state assessments, classroom instruction and assessments oftentimes mirror the format of state assessments. The researcher administered a validated Likert scale inventory, the Perceptions of Assessment Tasks Inventory (PATI), to preservice elementary teachers to examine their perceptions of how assessment tasks reflected their knowledge and understanding of science assessment tasks. The researcher found the research participants’ perceptions were more positive regarding assessment tasks the teacher had more control over, including the alignment of learning with assessments, and transparency of assessments. The research participants’ least positive perceptions were assessment tasks where students had influence over their assessments, including student consultation and diversity in assessments

Real-Time Analysis of Student Comprehension: An Assessment of Electronic Student Response Technology in an Introductory Earth Science Course

This article describes an evualuation of the effectiveness of electronic student response technologies (SRT). These wireless systems allow students to key in responses with remote control units to questions posed by an instructor in the classroom. Student responses then are displayed in real time, allowing both students and instructors to gauge student comprehension instantaneously. Researchers conducted a multi-faceted assessment of the use of SRT in four sections of a high-enrollment introductory Earth Science course at Penn State University. The assessment included quantitative and qualitative perception data from students enrolled in the course and faculty/administrator visitors to the classroom. Preliminary assessment of the pedagogical merits of SRT in the course suggests that this technology is an effective tool for introductory geoscience education. Educational levels: Graduate or professional, Graduate or professional

Classroom-based assessment of oral language proficiency of young ELLs in ESL contexts.

With increasing numbers of young English language learners (ELLs) entering schools in English-speaking countries, assessment of their English language proficiency has become important for screening, placement, and diagnostic purposes, as well as for ongoing formative and summative assessment. A key assessment event for many teachers in New Zealand schools, particularly those with large numbers of ELLs, is the twice-yearly ‘ELLP Assessment’, in which ELLs’ language skills are rated against descriptors in the English Language Learning Progressions (ELLP) (Ministry of Education, 2008). This assessment is high stakes because the results determine whether a school receives Ministry of Education funding for additional support of ELLs. As ELLs are placed in mainstream classrooms in New Zealand schools, it is important that mainstream teachers, who generally have no specialist training for working with ELLs, are equipped with strategies and tools for completing ELLP assessment effectively, in order to accurately assess ELLs’ language skills. For practicality, assessment strategies and tools also need to be appropriate for classroom-based assessment. This paper reviews the literature regards as being the use of, and issues associated with, classroom-ase oral language assessment of ELLs in ESL contexts. It then describes a number of guidelines, strategies, and tools from several English-speaking countries that have been designed to facilitate teacher assessment of ELLs’ oral language proficiency. Finally, the paper discusses the potential usefulness of these assessment guidelines or tools for teachers in the New Zealand context who are required to complete ELLP assessment