State Assessment Systems Exploring Best Practices and Innovations: Summary of Two Workshops (2010) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
5 Coherent Assessment Systems
5 Coherent Assessment Systems
Pages 51-64
The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.
From page 51... ...
With that goal in mind, Joan Herman provided an examination of coherent assessment systems and the key features they should have to serve the dual purposes of supporting student learning and providing accountability. The second part of this chapter summarizes subsequent discussions in which policy makers, researchers, and practitioners shared their perspectives on the challenges of establishing a coherent assessment system.
|
From page 52... ...
If we want to know whether kids can innovate, engage in inquiry, or collaborate with others, again, multiple-choice or short-answer tests are not giving the depth of information that we really need." This is critically important not only because tests communicate what it is important for students to learn, as was emphasized throughout both work shops, but also because their results will only support sound decision making if they provide a rich picture of what students know and are able to do. Thus, by moving from an exclusive reliance on multiple-choice and short-answer items to systems that also include performance and other kinds of assessments, states can better serve accountability purposes: they will be able to answer questions about important capacities not well addressed by current tests, such as depth of thinking and reasoning, the ability to apply knowledge and solve problems, the ability to communicate and collaborate, and the ability to master new technology.
|
From page 53... ...
The second kind of coherence, horizontal coherence, expands the align ment to assessment and instruction. This is generally assumed to be part of state accountability systems, Herman noted, but she questioned whether states really pose the question of whether students who have been taught the material identified in learning goals actually do better on annual statewide tests than students who have not.
|
From page 54... ...
, but designed to illus trate the ways in which varying purposes can be met by a system that incorporates a range of assessment instruments linked by shared learning goals: see Table 5-1. In developing a complex system to meet these multiple purposes, Herman explained, it is important to stay focused on fundamental validity -- to ask to what extent the system, both in its individual measures and collectively, serves its intended purposes.
|
From page 55... ...
Used with permission from the National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST) and by the Regents of the University of California supported under the Institute of Education Science, U.S.
|
From page 56... ...
SOURCE: From Joan Herman, Next Generation Assessment Systems: Toward Coherence and Utility. Used with permission from The National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST)
|
From page 57... ...
Considering the fast pace at which technology and the global economy are changing, this is a critical respon sibility for public education, but one that may not yet be fully appreciated. A key question to ask, then, is "is it too expensive to ask the right questions -- the ones that really help make sure the student is prepared for the next step?
|
From page 58... ...
Their education ministry has begun to replace traditional examinations with school-based tasks delivered in a variety of ways. These include oral presentations, portfolios or samples of work often done to specific specifications, field work investigations, lab work design projects, and the like -- many are both delivered and scored by computer.
|
From page 59... ...
Computer-Based Testing Tony Alpert described the Oregon Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (OAKS) , which is a program that has stressed the involvement of teachers: they 3See http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/EducationAndLearning/QualificationsExplained/DG_10039024 [accessed June 2010]
|
From page 60... ...
Alpert noted that the standard error of measurement has been lower for the computerbased testing than for the state's paper-based testing: see Figure 5-2. Oregon officials also saw important advantages to allowing students multiple opportunities to take the tests, Alpert explained.
|
From page 61... ...
Teachers' involvement in writing and scoring assessment items, as well as professional development activities focused on the use of data to support student achieve ment, contribute to vertical coherence. Opportunities for multiple assessments of incremental progress contribute to developmental coherence.
|
From page 62... ...
Tasks Human Scored Extended Tasks Performance Tasks Ad ve ap pti tiv Ad e a Machine Scored Adaptive ap Ad tiv Selected Items e Moderate Moderate Perf . Tasks Perf.Tasks Human Scored Moderate Performance Tasks Moderate Performance Tasks – Generally 1 to 2 class periods Extended Performance Tasks – Generally longer than 2 class periods FIgURE 5-3 Roadmap for horizontal coherence of assessments with adaptive item selection.
|
From page 63... ...
He advocates that the United States look closely at the board examination systems used in many of the highest-performing countries in the world, and he cited studies from the Pro gramme for International Student Assessment (PISA) that indicate that those systems are among the most important factors that explain those countries' success (Bishop, 1997; Fuchs and Woessman, 2007)
|
From page 64... ...
In his view, students do not always have equal opportunity to study the material on which they will be tested, because the tests tend to cover such broadly defined domains. They do not generally include data on work done outside of the timed test, and they are more effective at capturing basic skills than higher-order thinking skills.
|
Key Terms
This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More
information on Chapter Skim is available.