Assessment Project | Spring 2012
Artifact Description
The Assessment Project was completed in my CI 402 Teaching Diverse Middle School Students course. The project required collaboration among other pre-service teachers to create an assessment packet consisting of eight assessment items on transformations for the middle school level with 4-point rubrics for each item. We were then asked to go to our field placement (a middle or high school where we were placed to observe and teach a few lessons for the semester) and ask our cooperating teacher, the teacher of the class where we observed, to pick one to two assessment items from the assessment packet for students to attempt during class. After distributing and collecting the student work, we shared and compared our findings in our CI 402 class, revised the 4-point rubrics if we found it was necessary, and analyzed the student work.
Satisfying the Standard (Indicators: 7C, 7J)
Part of designing the 4-point rubric required us to assume what prior knowledge students have and anticipate common misconceptions. However, after analyzing the student work, I revised the 4-point rubrics to take into account differences between anticipated student errors and actual student errors. The rubric serves as means to measure student understanding, and through examining actual student work, I revised the rubric to coincide with the students' work more appropriately and accurately.
In applying my understanding of measurement theory and assessment-related issues, such as validity, reliability, bias, and appropriate and accurate scoring, I made revisions to a 4-point grading rubric after I collected and examined finished worksheets from students and recognized that the original rubric did not reflect the work that the students turned in very well. An example that showed a discrepancy between the rubric and student work was when many of the students did not use the transformation terminology but demonstrated a solid understanding of transformations through their drawings and written explanations. As a result, I modified the rubric so that students could score at least a 3 if they justified their description through providing a picture as opposed to the original rubric that would give the student a lower score even though they demonstrated significant understanding.
Furthermore, the assessment project exemplifies how I utilized assessment results to gain a better understanding of the level of students in the class. Many of the students did not complete drawing the line of symmetry in shape C (an irregular hexagon with symmetry) of the problem. Although students had an understanding of how to identify and draw the correct line of symmetry in an isosceles triangle or kite, many had difficulty identifying the line of symmetry of an irregular hexagon. As a result, analyzing students' understandings and misconceptions from the assessment project helped me to determine student performance levels and identify their learning targets.
Professional Development
The Assessment standard is crucial for all teachers to consider because it provides the teacher important information on the classroom's performance as well as each individual student's performance. The teacher can then structure or plan their lessons accordingly by gaining insight of the performance levels of their students through assessing their understanding. As a classroom teacher, I will use the knowledge of this standard to make sure I am assessing my students appropriately and accurately so that I can cater to the individual needs of each student. One key idea that I will be incorporating into my teaching is using a variety of formal and informal assessments to cater the different learning styles of each student. In addition, sometimes assessment is misused as only as a means of keeping record of students' progress. By taking into account this standard, I recognize that assessment not only serves as a means of keeping track of student progress but also allows me as the teacher to reflect on my teaching practices and determine whether or not it is effective to all of my students.
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