Introduction To “Classroom Assessment” Links For Students and Parents |
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Introduction To “Classroom Assessment” In a time in which "standards based testing" is in the spotlight in California statewide testing, it is of growing importance for instruction and classroom assessment to properly address the essential standards that are listed in the California content standards. General Links An excellent “home site” link for improving classroom assessment is Rick Stiggins’ Assessment Training Institute (ATI). The Assessment Training Institute believes that each teacher’s skill in classroom assessment is essential to the goal of student success. The Institute’s primary goal is to provide educators with the classroom assessment knowledge and tools they need in order to maximize student motivation and achievement. They provide a wealth of information about their training, the philosophy that guides it, their regional and national conferences, and their products designed to help educators achieve the goal of turning their students into academic stars. They offer a complete program of professional development and support materials designed to guide users from an initial evaluation of their assessment training needs, to the development and implementation of school, district, or statewide classroom assessment systems. [Comment: Much of the ATI materials are public domain and can be reviewed and analyzed without any costs. In general, the materials are excellent.] http://www.assessmentinst.com/index.html (Several other specific ATI links are also provided below.) For more than 36 years, the UCLA Center for the Study of Evaluation (CSE) and, more recently, the National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST) have been on the forefront of efforts to improve the quality of education and learning in America. In recent years, CSE/CRESST has grown to meet expanded needs resulting from changes in federal and state laws and has substantially broadened its research well beyond the K-12 educator audience. Through the addition of several new projects, CSE/CRESST research and development now extends significantly into pre-school and after-school programs and also includes studies of adult learning using advanced technology. The 2002 passage of the No Child Left Behind Act provides additional opportunities for research and development related to state, district, and local school accountability needs. [Comment: The CRESST site has a more formal “research” format regarding assessment and accountability. It is a highly respected independent voice regarding assessment efforts and trends. They produce quality research papers and studies across a wide range of topics.] http://www.cse.ucla.edu/index7.htm CRESST Line newsletters include articles about current accountability topics, recent CRESST research findings, and upcoming events. http://www.cse.ucla.edu/products/policybriefs_set.htm CRESST policy briefs provide valuable guidance to policymakers and educators on current subjects including No Child Left Behind. http://www.cse.ucla.edu/products/policybriefs_set.htm This website organizes links for variety of on-line resources that describe contemporary thinking about CLASSROOM ASSESSMENT. Concerns are being expressed about the kinds of testing that are occurring and how the present “accountability movement” may be misdirecting good classroom assessment. The following quotes / comments are from three major authorities on educational assessment. Dr. W. James Popham, UCLA Professor Emeritus stated: Educators are experiencing almost relentless pressure to show their effectiveness. Unfortunately, the chief indicator by which most communities judge a school staff's success is student performance on standardized achievement tests (e.g., SAT9, CAT6). These days, if a school's standardized test scores are high, people think the school's staff is effective. If a school's standardized test scores are low, they see the school's staff as ineffective. In either case, because educational quality is being measured by the wrong yardstick, those evaluations are apt to be in error. One of the chief reasons that students' standardized test scores continue to be the most important factor in evaluating a school is deceptively simple. Most educators do not really understand why a standardized test provides a misleading estimate of a school staff's effectiveness. They should. . . . Educators should definitely be held accountable. The teaching of a nation's children is too important to be left unmonitored. But to evaluate educational quality by using the wrong assessment instruments is a subversion of good sense. Although educators need to produce valid evidence regarding their effectiveness, nationally norm-referenced standardized achievement tests are the wrong tools for the task. Dr. Rick Stiggins, Director of the Assessment Training Institute, expressed the following thoughts: In these times of politically-driven testing for public accountability, an increasing body of research clearly proves that when standardized assessments are balanced with well-designed classroom assessments, student performance measurably improves. As growing numbers of educators across the country look for ways to implement sound classroom assessment practices, we [the Assessment Training Institute] are meeting their needs with a comprehensive set of professional development materials designed to teach educators how to tap the motivational power of student-involved assessment, record keeping and communications. . . . The Assessment Training Institute was built on the belief that each teacher’s skill in classroom assessment is essential to the goal of student success. Our primary goal is to provide educators with the classroom assessment knowledge and tools they need in order to maximize student motivation and achievement. Our commitment to improve learning by helping educators build successful and balanced assessment practices in classrooms and in schools, results in success for both teachers and students. We invite you to learn more about our training, the philosophy that guides it, our regional and national conferences, and the products designed to help educators achieve the goal of turning their students into academic stars. Dr. Robert L. Linn, from the UCLA Center for the Study of Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST) addressed the recent history of assessment and accountability in the United States with the following comments in one of his papers: Use of tests and assessments as key elements in five waves of educational reform during the past 50 years are reviewed. These waves include the role of tests in tracking and selection emphasized in the 1950s, the use of tests for program accountability in the 1960s, minimum competency testing programs of the 1970s, school and district accountability of the 1980s, and the standards-based accountability systems of the 1990s. Questions regarding the impact, validity, and generalizability of reported gains, and the credibility of results in high-stakes accountability uses are discussed. Emphasis is given to three issues regarding currently popular accountability systems. These are (a) the role of content standards, (b) the dual goals of high performance standards and common standards for all students, and (c) the validity of accountability models. Some suggestions for dealing with the most severe limitations of accountability are provided. His full paper from the Educational Researcher, Vol. 29, No. 2, pp. 4-14, may be found at the following site. http://www.aera.net/pubs/er/arts/29-02/linn01.htm Each of these world-renowned authorities on assessment and accountability says that we need to go beyond simply using standardized norm-reference tests (e.g., SAT 9) to assess the progress of students’ academic gains. The core of students’ academic progress is in the classroom – via well-informed classroom assessment activities. The primary purpose of this Key Area site is to inform readers of some of the best contemporary thinking (and resources) available regarding “classroom assessment.” |
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