Syllabus 2009

Boyce College Department of Teacher Education

ED 340 Education Assessment 3 Credits Semester: Fall Time: TuWed 11:30-12:45 Location: R 108 Professor/Instructor: Dr. Alvin Hickey

Email: ahickey@sbts.edu Home: sandal77@insightbb.com

Office 897-4563 Home PhNone Cell Ph.#: 859-338-0705

Office Location: R 110 Office Hours: TBA

Course Description:

This course will present students with the best current practices and principles of assessment

across the curriculum of elementary schools. The characteristics and uses of both formal and

informal assessment instruments will be studied. As a major component of this course, students

will learn how to design, administer, and interpret a variety of assessment measures, including

the Teacher Work Sample with its inherent assessment design. Prerequisite: Admittance to the

Teacher Education Program. Field Experience Required: 6 hours - Science lesson taught

Instructional Materials:

Text: Linn, R. L., & Gronlund, N. E. (2000). Measurement and Assessment in Teaching (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill (Prentice Hall). Other: Website readings:

Assessment links: www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/as0cont.htm ;

Formative Assessments: www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/methods/assment/as500.htm ;

Rubrics in assessment: http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schrockguide/assess.html

How to develop a rubric: http://www.teachervision.fen.com/teaching-methods-and-

management/rubrics/4521.html

Standardized Tests: www.fiu.edu/~pelaeznm/images/Resource/santrock/Chapter15.ppt

The Boyce Teacher Education Program Mission and Theme: The primary purpose of the Boyce Teacher

Education Program (TEP) is to provide Christ-centered quality teacher education, preparing teacher candidates for

both Christian and public school teaching under the theme of teachers as leaders. The goal of the TEP for each

teacher candidate is to develop the knowledge, the skills, the dispositions, and the intent to serve as a professional

Christian educator. This goal is depicted in the conceptual framework logo below:

Syllabus 2009

Methods of Instruction: Lecture, website readings, power point presentations, classroom

discussions, and field experience activities will be used in this course.

Learning Outcomes: Each of the learning outcomes and learning activities of this course are

aligned with the 10 Kentucky Teacher Standards, which identify the competencies of knowledge,

pedagogical skills, and dispositions that each student should achieve through this course.

Tests and assessments are an essential part of the instructional process. When properly done,

they can not only effectively evaluate but also enhance students' learning and teachers'

instruction. When poorly done, they can confuse and alienate students, distort the curriculum,

and hinder good instruction. Test scores and grades sometimes affect "high-stakes" decisions

about students, prompting intense concern that they be accurate and fair.

Educational testing has become a national issue in the last several decades, and tests at the

district, state, or national level are now often used as a tool to improve instruction and hold

schools accountable for the quality of their instruction. These test-based reform efforts have

stirred much controversy. New trends in educational measurement are also causing educators to

rethink assessment. For example, to what extent, if any, should individual teachers or schools

shift from traditional tests and grading systems to "authentic" assessment and portfolios of

student work? In short, testing and assessment is not only important--and publicly perceived as

such--but it is also in flux.

Recognizing the link between good assessment and good instruction, the profession has adopted

standards for teacher competence in educational assessment. This course is designed to help you

meet those professional standards. It is also designed to help you understand the public pressures

as well as instructional need for good assessment.

The course will cover the following general content areas:

Professional debate over tests and assessments

Relation of assessment to instruction

Purposes and forms of classroom assessment

Using rubrics as a form of assessment

Process of planning a classroom assessment

Advantages and limitations of different item types (true-false, essay, etc.)

Strategies for constructing good test items

Compiling and administering classroom assessments

Evaluating and improving your classroom assessments

Grading and reporting systems

Uses of standardized tests

Interpreting standardized test scores

Syllabus 2009

The student in ED 340 will…

define and describe different purposes and forms of assessment.

interpret standardized test scores. (KTS 1)

develop a TWS Unit of instruction for students at the appropriate level (based upon

certification being sought) (KTS 2,3,4,5,7,8);

choose assessment methods appropriate for classroom instructional decisions (KTS 5);

develop assessment instruments appropriate for classroom instructional decisions

(KTS 5.1, 5.2, 5.3);

administer, score, and interpret the results of both externally produced and teacher

produced assessments (KTS 2.3, 5.4, 5.5);

learn to use assessment results when making decisions about individual students,

planning and teaching (KTS 4.2, 5.5, 7.1, 7.2);

develop valid pupil grading procedures, which use pupil assessments (KTS 5.4, 5.5, 6.4);

learn methods and the importance of communicating assessment results to students,

parents, educators, and lay people (those outside the education profession) (KTS 5.5);

recognize unethical, illegal, and otherwise inappropriate assessment methods and uses of

assessment information (KTS 3.2, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4)

learn the use of multiple assessments and sources of data (KTS 5.1, 5.2, 5.3);

learn to accurately assess student performance using the established criteria and scoring

guides consistent with Kentucky’s Program of Studies and the Commonwealth

Accountability Testing System (KTS 2.1);

learn to promote student self-assessment using established criteria (KTS 5.6);

learn methods of systematically collecting and analyzing assessment data and

maintaining updated records of student progress (KTS 5.4, 5.5, 6.4);

develop appropriate rubrics for use in assessment of knowledge and skills for specific

grade levels and subject areas (KTS 5)

Course Requirements:

1. Assessments Inventory (200 points): The following assignments are required as part

of this assignment:

1) The names and descriptions of all assessments performed by your Field Experience

teacher during this semester of Field Experience. Tell a) what was used to perform

the assessment b) what was being assessed.

2). The standardized tests by name and publisher used by the school for determining the

various achievements levels of the learners.

2. TWS Unit (200 points): Write a TWS Unit plan for a specific topic related to the

elementary education major. This unit may be written in collaboration with your Field

Experience teacher on a topic that the teacher has taught a unit for students. The format and

requirements of the TWS Unit will be presented in class.

3. Rubric Design (200 points): Design and write 2 different rubrics for knowledge or skills

of elementary teaching.. Use the website listed in this syllabus as a guide to the design of

the rubrics.

4. Tests (100 points each, 4 tests): Pass the tests for each of the topics covered in the

course.

5. Final Exam (200 points): Pass the comprehensive final exam.

Syllabus 2009

Evaluation:

Grade Scale Summary of Course Evaluation

100% - 90% = A Assessments Inventory 200 points

89% - 80% = B TWS Unit 200 points

79% - 70% = C Rubric Design 200 points

69% - 60% = D Tests (4 tests, 100 pts ea.) 400 points

Below 60% = F Final Exam 200 points

Total Points 1200

SPECIAL POLICIES

1. Classroom policies – In order to ensure full class participation, any student with a

disabling condition requiring special accommodations (e.g., tape recorders, special

adaptive equipment, special note-taking or test taking needs) is strongly encouraged to

contact the professor at the beginning of this course.

Male students are not to wear hats or facial jewelry in class.

No food or drinks are allowed in class, except water. Given the technological classroom,

only fully-closeable containers of water are permitted.

2. E-campus - There will be other resources available for this class on e-campus. All grades

will be recorded through e-campus so you may check your grades (and attendance)

throughout the semester.

Course Schedule

Unit 1

Topics o Public interest in assessment: history of test-based reform, performance assessments,

national and international assessments, current trends in educational assessment, concerns about testing

Reading o Chapter 1: Educational Testing: Context, Issues, and Trends o 2002 Gallup Poll on Education (Skim)

CLARIFYING OUR GOALS FOR CLASSROOM ASSESSMENT: WHY IS IT SO

CRUCIAL?

Syllabus 2009

Unit 2

Topics o Goals of assessment: principles of classroom assessment, relation of assessment to

instruction, differences in four functions of assessment (placement, formative, diagnostic, summative), two standards for interpreting test scores (criterion-referenced and norm-referenced), different types of tests (mastery vs. survey, speed vs. power, etc.)

o Tying assessment to instruction: focus on learning outcomes rather than learning process, three domains of learning (cognitive, affective, psychomotor), selecting appropriate instructional objectives, stating general instructional objectives, stating clear and specific learning outcomes

Reading o Chapter 2: The Role of Measurement and Assessment in Teaching o Chapter 3: Instructional Goals and Objectives: Foundation for Assessment o Appendix D: Standards for Teacher Competence in Educational Assessment of Students

(pages 538-541 only) o Appendix G: Bloom's Original Taxonomy of Educational Objectives (pages 550-551 only) o Revised Bloom Taxonomy o Comments on revised Bloom taxonomy o Another chart describing the Bloom levels o Sample "yardsticks" for the evaluation level

TEST 1

Unit 3

Topics o Validity as the sine qua non of assessment: meaning of validity, strategies for assessing

validity (content, construct, criterion, consequential), meaning of correlation, expectancy table, factors influencing validity

o Validity depends on reliability: comparison of validity and reliability, methods for determining reliability (test-retest, equivalent forms, etc.), picking the right form of reliability for your purpose, two basic methods for expressing degree of reliability (reliability coefficient and standard error of measurement), factors influencing reliability and inter-rater consistency, practical considerations in test usability

Reading o Chapter 4: Validity o Chapter 5: Reliability and Other Desired Characteristics o Appendix A: Elementary Statistics

TEACHER-MADE TESTS: WHICH TYPES FOR WHICH PURPOSES?

Unit 4

Topics o Tailoring assessments to informational needs: determining general type of information

needed (placement, diagnostic, etc.), specifying learning outcomes to be assessed (table

Syllabus 2009

of specifications), deciding which item types are most appropriate (objective items vs. performance tasks), general principles for constructing relevant and fair test items, constructing assessments that also improve learning and instruction

Reading o Chapter 6: Planning Classroom Tests and Assessments o Appendix H: Relating Assessment Procedures to Instructional Objectives

Test 2

DIFFERENT ITEM TYPES: WHICH TYPES FOR WHICH PURPOSES?

Unit 5

Topics o Short-answer, true-false, and matching items: characteristics of three simple forms

(short-answer, true-false, and matching items), advantages and limitations of each, suggestions for constructing items of each type, evaluating and improving items.

o Multiple-choice items: characteristics of multiple-choice items, advantages and limitations, evaluating stems of multiple-choice items, evaluating their alternative answers, avoiding and correcting defects in items

Readings o Chapter 7: Constructing Objective Test Items: Simple Forms o Chapter 8: Constructing Objective Test Items: Multiple-Choice Forms, pp. 193-203

Unit 6

Topics o Multiple choice--cont. o Interpretive exercises: Uses of interpretive exercises in measuring complex

achievement, advantages and limitations of interpretive exercises, suggestions for constructing them

Readings o Chapter 8: Multiple Choice, pp. 203-216 o Chapter 9: Interpretive Exercise

Unit 7

Topics o Essay questions: characteristics of essay questions, evaluating and improving essay

questions, constructing restricted-response essay questions, constructing extended-response essay questions, developing scoring criteria (holistic vs. analytic), suggestions for scoring essay questions

Readings: o Chapter 10: Measuring Complex Achievement: Essay Questions

Syllabus 2009

Unit 8

Topics o Performance-based assessments: characteristics of performance-based assessment

tasks, constructing restricted-response performance-based tasks, constructing extended-response performance-based tasks, developing scoring criteria (rating scales and checklists), principles of effective rating

o Portfolios: purposes, strengths and weaknesses, guidelines for portfolio entries, evaluation criteria, portfolio construction

Readings: o Chapter 11: Measuring Complex Achievement: Performance-Based Assessments o Chapter 12: Portfolios

Test 3

EVALUATING TESTS AND USING TEST SCORES WISELY--BOTH TEACHER-

MADE AND STANDARDIZED TESTS

Unit 9

Topics o Assembling, administering, and appraising classroom tests: reviewing and arranging

items and tasks in the test, preparing test directions, principles for administering and scoring tests, item analysis procedures for norm-referenced classroom tests, applying item analysis principles to performance-based assessment tasks, developing item banks

o Some helpful statistics: rank, central tendency, variability, correlation Reading

o Chapter 14: Assembling, Administering, and Appraising Classroom Tests o Aims and Procedures for a Simplified Item Analysis

Unit 10

Topics o Selecting and using standardized tests: sources of information on published tests,

selecting and evaluating published tests, administering published tests, uses and misuses of published tests

o Interpreting test scores and norms for published tests: proper interpretation of criterion-referenced and norm-referenced scores, characteristics of different types of derived scores (percentile ranks, grade equivalents, standard scores), appropriate and inappropriate interpretations of grade equivalent scores, relationships among different scoring systems, guides and cautions in interpreting scores on published tests

Reading o Chapter 18: Test Selection, Administration, and Use o Chapter 19: Interpreting Test Scores and Norms o Glutting's Guide to Interpreting Test Scores

Syllabus 2009

o Hills Handy Hints on how to interpret derived scores. These short articles are not required, but you might like to keep them for your files. They are excellent for helping you spot (and avoid) common misinterpretations of different kinds of test scores.

Handy standard score conversion tables: o z scores to percentiles o IQ scores to percentiles o IQ subtest scores to percentiles o T scores to percentiles o Summary table of conversions among different standard scores

Test 4

GRADING AND REPORTING

Unit 11

Topics o Grading and reporting: types of grading and reporting systems, assigning relative letter

grades, assigning absolute grades, parent-teacher conference, reporting results of published tests to parents

Reading o Chapter 15: Grading and Reporting o Combining Grades in the Real World

Review Session

Final examination: