(c) 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. Assessing Student Performance Chapter 11

(c) 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

Assessing Student Performance

Chapter 11


What is assessment? The process of gathering and organizing

information from multiple sources about a student.

Used by teachers, students, and parents to make educational decisions about students; to give feedback to students about their progress, strengths, and weaknesses; and to judge the effectiveness of the curriculum and instruction.


Definitions Measurement--The process of obtaining

scores on tests. Evaluation --

– Examination and interpretation of the collected information to determine its value.

– When data are collected over time and from a variety of situations, the judgements made can help teachers improve instruction and learning.


Content Standards

Physical education content standards describe the knowledge and skills of the discipline.

Performance standards specify "how good is good enough."

Performance benchmarks describe student progress toward performance standards.


Assessment is done primarily for two reasons To enhance learning and instruction To monitor and report student achievement


The Assess–Plan–Teach–Assess Spiral

Planning, instruction, and assessment are essential and interdependent components of students’ learning.

Assessment provides information to determine appropriate amounts of time needed for students to succeed.

Assessment helps teachers evaluate their effectiveness.


Pre-assessment

Reveals students’ knowledge, skills, fitness, interests, and attitudes.

Provides information needed to plan lessons and units.

Students who possess skills can do more challenging activities.

Students who lack skills can receive help to improve performance.


Well-constructed Assessment Informs students of course objectives and teacher

expectations for learning. Challenges students to “put it all together. ” Provides feedback to students about their progress. Motivates students to work longer on their own. Promotes retention of skills.


Formative Assessment

Used throughout a unit to evaluate and improve instruction.

The primary purpose of formative assessment is assessment for learning


Monitoring and Reporting Student Achievement Assessment clarifies standards for various

levels of education. Assessment provides evidence to students,

parents, teachers, and administrators that standards have been reached.

Students who are held accountable spend more time on task and take responsibility for their own behavior.


Summative Assessment

Takes place at the end of instruction. Is comprehensive and allows the teacher to

determine student achievement of content standards and objectives.

Is often formal, involving skills tests and written tests.

The primary purpose of summative assessment is assessment of learning.


Norm-referenced Assessment

Tells how well a student performs compared with others of the same age, gender, class, grade level, school, or geographic area.

Based on the normal curve, which assumes normal distribution of achievement.

Does not tell how students should perform.


Criterion-referenced assessment

How well a student performs in comparison with a predetermined and specified standard of performance.

Ideally, given enough time, all students should achieve the standards.

Used to determine those who are qualified to do something, such as fly planes or perform lifesaving rescues.


Concerns about Criterion-referenced Assessment

Grade inflation Standards arbitrarily set too high or too low.


Traditional Assessment

Written, skills and fitness tests Do not measure student ability to apply

their knowledge and skills. Traditional assessments have their place in

education, but too often teachers use them inappropriately


Traditional Written Tests

Written tests can be ineffective when teachers only ask questions about knowledge and facts. – Students memorize information to pass the test

and then quickly forget it– Too often the information tested comes from a

handout and students are not held accountable for learning that took place during the unit.


Suggestions for developing written tests: Develop a table of specifications. Construct a study guide. Write test questions. Edit questions to ensure appropriate content and

comprehension level. Organize questions by item types and write

instructions. Proofread tests before copying them.


Skill tests

Measure student ability in a closed environment Students who do well on skills tests may not know

how to use these skills during game play or other types of application assessments

Skill tests should be viewed as formative rather than summative assessments


Authentic Assessments Are congruent with the principles of effective

learning, and motivation. Provide meaningful information about student

progress and achievement. Focus on significant outcomes related to the

completion of life’s relevant tasks. Have high personal relevance; students make

choices about and control their own learning.


Examples of Authentic Assessments

The ability to utilize skills in a game situation.

The ability to assess physical fitness, develop an appropriate fitness plan, and engage in fitness activities necessary to achieve fitness.

The ability to use the principles of motor learning to learn new skills.


Characteristics of Authentic Assessment Students perform, create, produce, or do

something, applying concepts to significant, meaningful real-life contexts.

Students know in advance the criteria used to evaluate performance.

Students learn to reflect upon and evaluate their own work.

Students present their work publicly.


Advantages of Authentic Assessments They measure what students should know

and be able to do in real-life situations. They emphasize higher order thinking skills

and collaboration. Students become actively engaged in

learning and assessment. Students judge their own work.


Concerns about Authentic Assessment Valid assessments and rubrics (scoring

keys) are difficult to create. More time is needed for grading. Authentic assessments do not mesh well

with our current grading system.


Concerns about Authentic Assessment Fewer tasks are used to sample the content,

so validity may suffer. Using multiple assessments can overcome this deficiency.

For reliability, rubrics must be specific, which may decrease student creativity.


Assessment is difficult due to large class sizes, heavy teaching loads, lack of facilities and equipment, and peer pressure. Thus, assessment must be carefully planned for the greatest economy in time and energy.


Skill Assessment Techniques

Skills Tests Checklists Task sheets Self-Checks Rating sheets

– Developmental level– Biomechanical principles– Task complexity


Game Play Assessment Techniques

Tournament results--singles round robin, challenge courts

Scores, Times, Distances–bowling, track and field, swimming

Subjective assessment of performance--by teacher or students

Incidence chart--number or percentage of successful trials in game play


Health-Related Physical Fitness Assessment Techniques

Fitness Tests such as Fitnessgram. Fitness Journals Class projects and assignments Portfolios--documentation of fitness scores,

goals, and improvement.


Cognitive Assessment Techniques

Written Tests– One-Minute Test, Non-graded test– Take-home test

Written assignments Reflective writing and journals Concept maps Oral presentations/demonstrations Individual and group projects


Concept Maps

Make a list of concept terms. Students tape or write terms on their papers

in an arrangement that makes sense to them, with related terms placed close together.

Students connect related terms and add linking terms to the connecting lines.


A Concept Map

M ore ch an c e o fan o th er p layer g e tt in g th e b a ll

A b a ll w ith top sp inreb ou n d s fu rth er

M ore c h an c e o f th e b a lld rop p in g in th e b as ke t on th e reb ou n d

A b a ll w ith b ac k sp ins tays c loser to b ackb oard

B a ll S p inin B aske tb a ll S h oo tin g


Officiating

Cognitive knowledge can be assessed by watching a student officiate

Students learn to officiate by studying rules and making the appropriate call from a written list of situations or by viewing video excerpts of game play– Video can be stopped at intervals to make the call

After students gain competence, they can officiate real games


Affective Assessment

Used to determine– Attitudes toward physical education--enjoyment,

challenge, self-expression– Responsible personal and social behavior in physical

activity settings– Understanding and respect for differences among

people in physical activity settings Effectiveness of techniques hinges on trust

between teacher and students.


Affective Assessment Techniques

Interviews, questionnaires, reflective papers, journal entries

Checklists, rating scales, inventories– Provide information about the student or the object of

the instrument. – Students indicate agreement or disagreement with

statements, interests. – Students document sports etiquette.

Teacher observation


Determine the purposes of assessment. Select appropriate assessment techniques. Develop rubrics. Administer and score the assessment tasks.

Steps in Assessing Student Learning


Each objective should be written in performance terms, with an observable behavior, criteria, and conditions.

Assessments should reflect appropriate achievement expectations for students of their developmental level.

Step 1–Determine the purposes of assessment


Step 2–Select appropriate assessment techniques Review unit objectives. The verb in performance

objectives describes what students will be expected to do to demonstrate achievement.

Characteristics of Effective Tests– Validity– Reliability– Objectivity– Easy to use


Creating Authentic Assessment Tasks Determine the content standard or objective

to be assessed. List possible assessment techniques. Create tasks for students to demonstrate

their understanding and skills. Provide directions for completing tasks.


Creating Authentic Assessment Tasks Provide a model of expected behaviors. Describe how assessments will be evaluated

and converted to grades. Choose instructional strategies that prepare

students to complete the tasks. Plan how students and/or peers will assess

their work.


Step 3–Develop rubrics and scoring keys Rubric–a description of the elements for

judging student performance on specific outcomes or assessment tasks, together with scoring standards for each element.

Rubrics are used to indicate each student’s progress and achievement.


Step 4–Administer and score the assessment tasks Tell students what the objectives are and the

criteria for success for each learning objective.

Give students feedback on whether the criteria have been met and if not, how to revise and complete the task.

Integrate assessment tasks with instruction whenever possible.


Step 5–Evaluate and revise the assessment techniques Do assessments agree with performance

objectives? Are directions and vocabulary appropriate? Are assessment results reliable? Does the technique contribute to improved

teaching-learning practices?


Assessing Student Performance

Chapter 11

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(c) 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. Assessing Student Performance Chapter 11