Assessment+and+Technology

=The following is a list of links relating to assessment and the role technology plays in assessment. There is a short summary of the resource accompanying each link. =

Overview of Assessment:
Seven Practices for Effective Learning, Educational Leadership, Jay McTighe and Ken O’Connor This article defines three types of assessment: formative, diagnostic and summative. It then goes on to explain seven specific assessment and grading practices that can enhance teaching and learning.

Instruction That Measures Up, Chapter 1. Teaching Through an Assessment Lens, W. James Popham The first chapter in this book explains how a four-stage framework for instructional decision-making provides a template for thinking about key instructional decisions and for considering the relevance of assessment to each decision. As you read, think about whether or not you are applying the four-stage framework in your instruction and how this framework can help you to determine whether or not your students are learning what they need to learn.

Effective Assessment in a Digital Age, JISC This research report describes how technology can add value to many activities associated with assessment including delivery, feedback, submission and grading. Read Introducing technology-enhanced assessment and feedback and Designing effective assessment and feedback (pages 8-11) to learn about the benefits and challenges of assessment and feedback in a technology-rich context and to understand how assessment applies to four broad perspectives on learning. While the report is targeted to higher education, the topics and ideas discussed in this portion of the report apply to lower grades as well.

Grant Wiggins: Defining Assessment, Edutopia Grant Wiggins is a nationally recognized assessment expert who has been working in assessment reform for more than twenty-five years. He is president of the educational consulting firm Authentic Education, and with Jay McTighe, co-author of Understanding by Design, an award-winning framework for curriculum design used around the world. In this interview, Wiggins shares his thoughts on performance assessments, standardized tests, and more.

Introduction to Electronic Portfolios:
Electronic Portfolios in the K-12 Classroom, Education World This introductory article offers an overview of electronic portfolios and provides guidelines for developing portfolios in your classroom.

The Power of Portfolios, Lynn Cohen, Scholastic Read about the rationale for portfolio assessment, including how a record of a student’s academic growth and development over time will help students to be more reflective, better learners and will help teachers to make better classroom decisions.

Balancing the Two Faces of ePortfolios,, Dr. Helen Barrett <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">This article discusses how to balance two aspects of a portfolio: a work in progress that collects ongoing student work and a documentation of achievement to showcase at the end of a school year.

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Formative Assessments:
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Formative Assessment, LearnNC <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">This article defines formative assessment and describes how teachers that use formative assessment learn to give up some control and encourage students to participate in developing learning goals and outcomes making them more involved in their own learning.

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Why Formative Assessments Matter, Rebecca Alber, Edutopia <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">This article explains how formative assessments can be used to guide where instruction needs to go next and provides a few examples of strategies you can use with your students to get a sense of their understanding without the need for a quiz or test.

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Transformative Assessment in Action,, W. James Popham <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Read Chapter One, “Applying the Formative Assessment Process” of Popham’s book “Transformative Assessment in Action.” In this chapter, the author provides a framework to help you determine when to apply the formative assessment process to further student learning and describes five potential applications of formative assessment.

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Formative Assessment Strategies These formative assessment techniques can help you assess your instruction and student understanding. Explore the strategies on the list.

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Authentic Assessments and Rubrics:
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Authentic Assessment Toolbox, Jon Mueller <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">This website thoroughly defines authentic assessment and walks you through the process of designing and implementing authentic assessment in the classroom.

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">What is Authentic Assessment? Learn about how authentic assessments differs from more traditional methods of assessment.

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">How Do You Create Authentic Assessments? Learn the step-by-step process to begin developing your own authentic assessments.

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Healthier Testing Made Easy: The Idea of Authentic Assessment, Edutopia <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">This article cites the latest research to support the idea that more real-world and complex performance assessment improves student achievement as measured by national and state tests.

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Ten Takeaway Tips for Using Authentic Assessment in Your School, Edutopia <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Tips for helping teachers use authentic assessment in your school.

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">What is Authentic Assessment? Video about teachers and students at New York City’s School of the Future explaining how they are implementing authentic assessment in the school across grades six through twelve.

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Assessment Projects: Assessing Strategies, Intel <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">This online module contains a wealth of valuable information to help you learn how to effectively assess students as they complete authentic learning tasks. Please note the sample assessment plans on their website.

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Encouraging Self Direction and Collaboration Includes strategies and example checklists, prompts, and rubrics at the end of the article.

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Monitoring Progress Includes strategies

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Demonstrating Understanding Concludes with a list of a variety of performance tasks that you can include in your Authentic Assessment.

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Differentiating Assessment:
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Creating a Personal Success Plan - A Sensible Alternative to Standardized Tests, Lisa Nielsen, The Innovative Educator <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">It is necessary to design assessments to evaluate student understanding of the learning standards outlined by your state and district. In addition to these required forms of assessments, you may also want to help your students create their own "Personal Success Plans" which allow students to determine their own goals and to develop a plan for achieving them. Working with students on their plans will also help you to learn more about your students as individuals. This article will explain the objectives of a Personal Success Plan and give you guidelines for how you can help your students get started.

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">10 ways to assess learning without tests…, Edna Sackson <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">This blogger and educator provides ten ways that you can provide students with creative ways to demonstrate understanding in ways that address a variety of learning styles.

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Differentiated Instruction and Assessment, Sue Watson <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">This brief articles summarizes the importance of differentiation in assessment and provides some examples for what differentiated assessments can look like in a classroom setting.

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Fair Isn't Always Equal, Rick Wormeli <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Assessing and grading in the differentiated classroom.

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