Using Assessment Effectively

Using Pre-Assessment in STEM / Blueprint for Pre-Assessment / DI: Assessment
Pre-Assessment Strategies / Week 1: Read at least one selection from the top row, one from the middle, and review one from row 3.
Write a reply to the following prompt and a response to at least one other colleague: What do you consider the most important criteria in planning an assessment? Explain your answer. / Assessment Before and During Instruction
Blueprint Planning Sheet / Week 2: Take a pre-assessment or formative assessment you have used before and re-format it using one of the strategies discussed on this menu OR create a new assessment for an upcoming assignment. Post to Edmodo. / Frayer Model

Blueprint for Planning a Pre-Assessment

Domains for Pre-Assessment / Planned Questions / Student Responses
Prior School Experiences
Vocabulary
Concept Knowledge
Attitudes
Personal Connections

See the example below

Domains for Pre-Assessment / Planned Questions / Student Responses
Prior School Experiences / Have you ever studied
plate tectonics before?
When? What about volcanoes
or earthquakes?
Vocabulary / Define these terms mean: sea
floor spreading, convection
currents, rifts, valleys,
trenches, mid-ocean ridges?
Concept Knowledge / How do you think continents
got their shapes and their locations on the earth?
Attitudes / Would you be interested
in learning how continents
were formed?
Personal Connections / Has anyone ever been in an earthquake?

Example

Frayer Model

Directions: Complete the chart to show what you know about ______.

Assessment Before and During Instruction

Carousel: “Prompt” /Chart Set Up

PREP: Write charts with “prompts” for thinking, speaking, and writing that are related to the lesson content.

  • These may include some or all of the following: essential or lesson questions, key vocabulary, black and white or occasional color images or graphics from the chapter.
  • Leave plenty of room for sticky notes, sentence strips, and writing you may want to add directly to the chart.
  • Create enough charts so that each group of four has a chart at their table.

Directions:

  1. Seat students in groups of four.
  2. Explain to students that they will gather their collective knowledge and ideas about each question on the charts so that the class can begin to build knowledge about “…” (lesson content) together.
  3. Have students each write one or more responses to, ideas about, and/or questions about, the prompts on the chart in neat, visible, handwriting – or provide sticky notes for students to write on and attach to the chart. As you circulate, take note of students who demonstrate a lot of knowledge or particularly astute thinking.
  4. Then post the charts around the room.
  5. Begin the Carousel

First, model:

  • how you want students to walk from chart to chart at your signal
  • how loudly they will read as they take turns reading ideas on the charts
  • how they will add their own additional ideas to each chart as they move around the carousel

Tell students:

  • how long you will give them at each chart
  • what the warning signal and signal to move to the next chart will be

6. Informal assessment before instruction: As students move around the carousel, continue to take note of those who demonstrate a lot of knowledge or understanding. See Testing Out below.

  1. Debrief
  2. the responses without evaluating them
  3. point out common understandings and misunderstandings
  4. create an organizer by grouping and connecting responses
  1. Collect and record more information: add to the charts as the lesson progresses.
  2. Cornell Notes: Use the charted material as you model and guide students
  3. Assessment during instruction: Use as prompts for Entrance and Exit Slips
  4. Use posted information to model writing in the expository and argumentative genres (reduce cognitive load to focus on the mode or a trait.)
  5. Learning Game: Have students write questions about charted material on pieces of paper that are big enough to cover the writing. Use color-coded paper to weight the value of the “answers.” Cover the “answers.” Small group practice. Whole class fun (be sure to allow collaboration and sufficient wait time; use musical timing music.)

Knowledge Rating Chart

PREP: Create a rating chart using a 1-4 scale (from “I’ve never heard of this” to “I could do a presentation about this.” (see sample.)

Directions:

  1. Give students time (brief) to rate their knowledge
  2. Use the Knowledge Rating Chart to identify students who may be able to score well on the lesson assessments without requiring instruction or completing the work. See Testing Out below.
  3. Use as a Study Guide throughout the lesson.
  4. Students could expect related questions on Entrance and Exit Slips
  5. Students could expect to find other versions of similar questions on the final assessment

SWAYAK and WIIFM

Show What You Already Know and What’s In It For Me?

PREP: Create a document for students to “show what you already know about______”

  • See example.
  • Include essential and lesson questions, vocabulary terms, maps, visuals, etc.
  • Leave plenty of room for student to show their knowledge through illustrations, graphic organizers, or writing
  • You may or may not wish to leave space on one side or the other for teacher and/or student partner responses

Directions:

  1. Provide time for students to SWAYAK and WIIFM
  2. Before instruction: Collect the papers for pre-assessment purposes, but return them. See Testing Out below.
  3. During Instruction:
  4. Use parts of the sheet as Entrance and Exit Slips; keep returning and debriefing
  5. As each item is addressed over the course of the lesson, provide students with time to go back and respond again, revising and completing their responses. Can be done in collaboration with a partner. Table checks.
  6. Use chart paper to collect student responses and build common knowledge before, during and after the lesson, correcting misconceptions and adding important information that students may have missed.