alaska department of education

Alaska Department of Education & Early Development

SAMPLE ASSESSMENT TASKS

Samples of assessment tasks used in classrooms are illustrated on the following pages. These are examples only and not intended to be exhaustive.

Criteria for Selecting an Assessment TaskGood assessment tasks allow students to demonstrate one or more of the following:

ability to use the language of the discipline or subject in complex situations and in social interaction

ability to perform appropriately in unanticipated situations ability to show, explain, or teach the idea or skill to another person who has a real need to

know

Caine and Caine, Making Connections: Teaching and the Human Brain

Performances and Exhibitions Student Interview Listening Demonstration Debate Oral Reading Sample Retelling Discussion Writing Sample Presentation and Defense Formal Speech Fishbowl Literary Trial Journals and Logs Journal Writing Learning Logs Writing Conversations Response/Reflection Logs Note Taking/Note Making Graphic Organizers Webbing and Mapping KWL Chart Venn Diagram Feature Analysis Hypercard Stack Complex Tasks over Time

Senior Projects Portfolios Rites of Passage Experience (ROPES) Familiar Assessment Tasks Group Essay Quiz Essay

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PERFORMANCE AND EXHIBITIONS

The student product is published or presented to a real audience, ranging from one person in the classroom to a large public audience.

STUDENT INTERVIEW

A student interview allows the student to demonstrate his/her understanding of interview techniques. These techniques include background research, generating questions beforehand, conducting the interview, and reflection.Directions: You have just read Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White. You are going to write a story for your local newspaper about what happened to Charlotte at the fair. Your best source is Wilber the pig. You will be given a partner who will play the role of Wilber. You will conduct the interview and write the story based on your findings. You will be assessed with the interview checklist and with holistic writing rubric.

LISTENING

Depending on what the teacher is assessing, the student will be asked to listen to a group fish-bowl discussion, a guest speaker, a student speaker, a radio/television/taped program, or directions. The quality of listening can be determined by a listening checklist, a Likert scale, or an applause meter.

DEBATE

Students organize in teams to debate a moot question arising from literary text(s). The debate can be structured formally with two teams of two students arguing affirmative and negative sides, or the format can be modified to engage larger groups or the whole class. Students are assessed on their logic, use of relevant evidence, and persuasiveness.Directions: Antigone Modified DebateStudents choose affirmative or negative positions on the proposition, e.g., in some circumstances, particularly in matters of personal conscience or religion, it is justified to break a law. After selecting students to do the two minute opening statement, rebuttal, and one minute closing statement, the group organizes their arguments and evidence. Part One consists of alternating opening statements and rebuttal; Part Two consists of alternating affirmative and negative arguments by individuals on each side. Particular credit is given by the teacher for new ideas, evidence, and refocusing the discussion on the debate proposition. The debate occurs in front of a panal of judges, the teacher serving as time keeper, moderator of Part Two, and evaluator of individual participation on a checklist. The grade is in two parts: a shared group grade on the

effectiveness of the formal statements (opening, rebuttal, closing) and an individual grade based on individual participation. Susan Stitham: Analysis of Literature (10-12), Austin E. Lathrop High School, Fairbanks

DEMONSTRATION

Students perform or "publish" a product or process in front of a specific audience.Directions: Choose a favorite poem you’ve written and read it aloud to the class. You will be assessed by an oral interpretation scoring guide.

ORAL READING SAMPLE

Depending on what the teacher is assessing, the teacher or student will select a piece of reading—fiction or nonfiction, short or long, easy or difficult. The students could be assessed by miscue analysis or a running record.

RETELLING

Retelling provides information about a student’s comprehension following his or her reading of text. It enables the evaluator to determine how the student constructs his or her own meanings from the text without direct questioning from the evaluator.

Retelling may be analyzed for the following information:

What the student thinks is important to remember or retell

If the student’s retelling fits the purposes set for reading

If the structure and sequence of the student’s retelling matches that of the text

Directions:

1. Select text for reading. (This can be done by evaluator or student.)

2. Before reading, tell the student that he or she will be retelling the selection after reading.

3. Have student read the text (silently unless a miscue analysis is being done).

DISCUSSION

Discussions involve dialogue between two or more people whereby various aspects of a subject are considered.

An example of using discussion as a form of response to literature is Literature Circles. Literature Circles offer students opportunities to discuss what they have read with others.

Directions:

1. Obtain multiple copies of several pieces of literature which will promote meaningful discussion.

2. Introduce pieces to students and let them decide what they will read.

3. Form Literature Circles of four to five students around a common piece.

4. Have students read their pieces and meet to discuss them in their circles, either periodically as they are reading or after they have read entire selection. Various strategies can be used to stimulate discussion such as sharing favorite parts read or raising questions about parts students didn’t

4. After student has read the text, ask him or her to put it aside and retell everything he or she can remember. Consider tape recording the telling.

5. Take notes as needed as student retells.

6. When student finishes retelling, ask if there is anything else he or she would like to add.

7. If desired, follow the retelling with guided questioning to elicit more information.

8. Analyze retelling using retelling guide or other tool.

Windows into Literacy. Rhodes and Shanklin, 1993

understand.

5. Ask members of a Literature Circle to present the piece in some form to the rest of the class at the conclusion of their discussion (which could last an average of from two to five days).6. Consider asking members to keep a Literature Circle Response Log. (See example in following pages.)

WRITING SAMPLE

A writing sample is a written product which can be in draft or finished form, generated by a teacher or student prompt. It can range in length from a one-sentence response to a multi-paragraph essay to a formal research paper. It can be fiction or non-fiction, poetry or prose.

Directions: You discover a shoebox hidden be- hind a brick in an old house your family just moved into. Write a story about what you found in the box. You will be assessed by your teacher with six-trait analytic rubric.

PRESENTATION AND DEFENSE

Students present the product(s) of their work individually or in groups and respond to questions from a panel and/or the class. Directions: Literary Connections Students in small groups determine one major thematic connection among at least three texts, prepare a one-page written summary and an audio/visual exhibition of their findings. The summary is distributed to the whole class in advance of the exhibition. Video, skit, artwork is presented to the class and is followed by questions from a panel of peers and the class. The performance is assessed in three sections: written summary, exhibition, and defense.

Susan Stitham: Analysis of Literature (10-12), Austin E. Lathrop High School, Fairbanks

FISHBOWL

Part of the class discusses a topic in a small group in the middle of the room while the rest of the class observes.

Directions: Tale of Two Cities FishbowlHalf the class (the fishbowl) discusses a provocative question (e.g., Is Madame Defarge an unsympathetic character?) for twenty minutes, with each of the rest of the class (the outside circle) assigned to monitor one participant. Following the discussion, each member of the inner circle reports briefly on the main ideas contributed by their inner circle partner. The groups change places and repeats the process with a second provocative question.The teacher records responses on an anecdotal map. (See

Assessment Tools below.)B.J. Craig, Introduction to Literature - Honors (9), Austin E. Lathrop High School, Fairbanks

FORMAL SPEECH

Students may research and deliver a variety of formal speeches, both prepared and extemporaneous. Some conventional types of formal speeches are: exposition, persuasion, storytelling, argumentation, demonstration, and entertainment. The audience of peers, parents, community members, or the teacher can respond on a checklist.

Austin E. Lathrop High School, Fairbanks

LITERARY TRIAL

Students use textual evidence in a mock trial format to explore the moral dimensions of a literary character or characters. Note: this task is an excellent method for involving reluctant readers deeply in the text itself.

Directions: Trial of Lady Macbeth and Macbeth: the issue is moral responsibility. Students choose to join the Macbeth or Lady Macbeth defense team and assemble evidence from the text to support their position. They then select a student to serve as their lead attorney, who can both question and cross-examine witnesses and identify witnesses to call, assigning members of their team to play those parts. The trial proceeds in front of a panel of outsiders, (e.g., administrators or parents), one of whom serves as judge, who delivers a verdict on the persuasiveness of each side. The teacher can assess individual student performance with a checklist.Susan Stitham: Classics ( remedial 12), Austin E. Lathrop High School, Fairbanks


JOURNALS AND LOGS

Journals and logs, along with letters and diaries, are oral or written records of a student’s inner dialogue. The basic tool is a regular chronicle of the opinions and events which allows the writer to reflect on a variety of experiences, including reading, viewing, and their own lives. Journals and logs are not intended to be a critical analysis or research report, but a chance to bring to the surface thoughts, impressions, or feelings that might otherwise not emerge. Since they allow the student to process experience in very personal and intimate ways, journals and logs require sensitive teachers, a safe environment, and careful structuring to make sure that they are a legitimate and integral part of the learning process.

JOURNAL WRITING

Daily or weekly journal writing increases the fluency of writing. Journals help students become more comfortable because they write without the consequence of correction. Since fluency is a goal of journal writing, it is suggested that journals not be graded but recognized in some other way for individual effort. Journal writing may include a topic that the teacher selects or that the student picks. It can take the form of a diary entry, autobiographical sketch, learning aid, or idea collection. It may be written or taped. It might be necessary for teachers and students to devise a method for dealing with occasional private entries.

Directions:1. Require students to have a spiral notebook or folder for their journal.2. Give students a set amount of time (such as ten or fifteen minutes every day).3. Teachers may periodically collect journals for reading and commenting.4. Students can occasionally choose their best journal entries for revision and continuation in the writing process.

Sample journal starters: The perfect... The trouble with...If I had a choice...It’s not easy being...Pretend you are a parking meter. What interesting things would you see in one day?You are the last dinosaur in the world and are about to die. What are you feeling?Your doorbell rings, and someone has left a package. Inside you find a pair of glasses. When you put them on, you can see into the future. What do you see?

LEARNING LOG

The purpose of a learning log is for students to rehearse their understanding of material and to clarify their knowledge in preparation for further study. Below is an example of a learning log suitable for a wide variety of grades and settings.

Writing Conversations

Name Title of Piece

Date(s) Which part do I feel good about?

What is a struggle or frustration?

What have I learned?

What will I do next?

Christopher-Gordon Publishers, 1994

RESPONSE/REFLECTION LOGS

Students think back on an experience or text and write their reactions. The reflective log typically provides them an opportunity to extend their initial impressions, make connections with other learning, and think about learning.

Example: primary reflection log

Autumn Self-Portrait Spring Self Portrait

Name Date

Name Date

Example: primary response log suitable for literature study

Here’s why I love my favorites:

Title Title

Author Author

Reason Reason

Example: middle school Literature Circle Response Log

NameDate

TitleAuthorPages

Summary

My ReactionsWhat I thought about what I read....what I wondered....what was interesting....

Points of DiscussionI’d like to talk to my group about....I’d like to ask them....I wonder....

My goal for our next discussion is

Christopher-Gordon Publishers, 1994.

NOTETAKING

Notetaking is creating an oral and/or written record of observations. Recording good notes means developing the art of observation and organizing information in a way that is useful for the notetaker. Useful notes have a theme or purpose which guides organizing the information. These notes may serve as a study guide, but frequently the student must take an additional step (notemaking) before the information is helpful.

NOTEMAKING

Using notes taken from listening and reading, the student continues the process of organizing the information. Typical notemaking strategies are: labeling categories of information, analyzing and synthesizing to create self-questions, adding information from other sources,

and using textbook reading techniques on the notes. A good notemaking system (Examples: see Cornell Notes below) includes recording notes, organizing information, making notes for studying, and reviewing (for example, after the test). (For other, more visual forms of notemaking, see the Graphic Organizers which follow.)

Cornell Notes,Basic Model

Topic:

Extra-wide margin for

Organizers Vocabulary Other sources Advance organizers Questions

Type of notes (lecture, text):Date:Class:Page #:Notes use consistent abbreviations and organizational cues (e.g. dots, hyphens, brackets, etc.).

Get the facts and spelling right. If unclear, ask. Leave space between subtopics in case you need to add

more notes. Review notes within 24 hours

--make notes by creating categories and study questions. Include a brief review of all notes in every study session

until the test or paper.

Cornell Notes, Sample

Brain’s Features

(4)

Guiding Principle

[Crick Edelman]

[Sylwester]

Brain-compatible education9/14/95ED 413, methodsp. 1

ability to detect patterns and make approximations phenom. capacity, various types memory ability: self-correct, learn from experience

analysis, synthesis, self-reflection inexhaustible capacity create

Caine & Caine, p.#5 "Brain research establishes and confirms that multiple complex and concrete experiences are essential for meaningful learning and teaching."

new research supports educators can no longer ignore total change in schooling


GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS

Graphic organizers are visuals or maps that represent students’ ability to show the relationship of ideas or information from his/her original thoughts or from some source, such as a book, lecture, discussion, or video. Graphic organizers can be used to classify, compare, and sequence ideas or events, providing a concrete, visual, organized display. The graphic organizer selected depends on the type and organization of information found. Teachers and students can use graphic organizers to activate prior knowledge, organize thought or observations, present information and explain concepts, and assess student learning.

WEBBING AND MAPPING

These terms apply to a similar form of organizing information. They are often used as forms of pre-writing activities, enabling students to brainstorm and organize their thoughts prior to writing the first draft of a piece. They are also used to assist students organizing the elements of a piece of literature. Assessment tools that might be used with maps and webs: checklist or Likert Scale

MAPPING

WEBBING

KWL CHARTS

KWL Charts are graphic organizers useful for determining students’ prior knowledge or experience; identifying what they want to know about a new concept, story, or information to be shared; and then determining what was learned after the lesson has been presented. They might be assessed by self using a class made checklist.

KNOW WANT LEARNED

Shakespeare wrote plays and sonnets.

He was English. His plays had 5 acts. He’s boring.

Why were all the characters played by men?

What’s a sonnet? How long did he

write? Why have his

works been popular for so long?

Why do we read his work in

Theaters in the round They speak funny because it’s Elizabethan English. These guys do the same stuff we do today. Romance Sex and violence everywhere.

school?

VENN DIAGRAM

This type of graphic organizer is an excellent tool for showing similarities and differences between characters, settings, plots, points of view, writing styles, or any other elements of literature, nonfiction, speeches, debate, etc. They might be assessed by peers applying class made samples of excellent, acceptable, or unfinished diagrams.

FEATURE ANALYSIS

Feature analysis is a graphic organizer useful to show similarities and differences among settings, conflicts that occur in poems, historical events, stories, etc.

Old Man and the Sea + + + + +

The Pearl + + + +

Island of the Blue Dolphin + + +

Juneau + + + + +

Bethel + + + + +

Anchorage + + + + + +

HYPERCARD STACK

Hypercard stack refers to a computer application that allows students to link information in non-linear, visual formats. This can be used for notetaking, bibiligraphy, research, defining terms, offering tangentail information in depth, etc.


COMPLEX TASKS OVER TIME

These tasks involve a specified range of products a student generates over time. The products may be teacher and/or student-chosen and demonstrate student growth and achievement at an end point of instruction (end of unit or semester, end of eighth grade, graduation, etc.) They can involve written pieces, observable products, multi-media presentations, or oral presentations such as speeches, defenses, or interviews.

SENIOR PROJECTS

As a graduation requirement, all seniors must complete a Senior Project, which consists of a formal research paper, a product related to the research, and a speech given before a panel of community experts. Specific rubrics are applied to each of the three components. Seniors must conduct interviews, use community mentors, keep time logs, etc. as part of this year-long process. The culminating event, Senior Boards (when seniors present their speeches), is immediately preceded by Senior Showcase, a reception for the entire community to honor the senior's efforts.

Some past examples of Senior Projects at Sitka High School include

PORTFOLIOS"A portfolio is a purposeful collection of student work that exhibits to the students and others the student's efforts, progress, or achievement in given areas. This collection must include student participation in selection of portfolio content, the criteria for selection, evidence of student self-reflections."

Northwest Evaluation Association, 1990

Example:

A kindergarten portfolio may include drawings, self-portrait, language experiences (dictations of stories) from beginning to end of year, self-evaluations, teacher anecdotal records/observations, 3 Stars and a Wish, etc. Various assessment tools may be used.

Research-wood products industry Product-designed and built an oak roll-top

desk Research-law enforcement Product-"shadow" policeman and share

experiences with elementary class Research-gun control Product-teach a gun safety class to 13-

year-olds Research-Native wood crafts Product-build a traditional Native kayak

Senior Projects are assessed with the 6-trait analytical writing rubric applied by the teacher, a product evaluation filled out by the mentor and the senior, and an oral presentation rubric filled out by the panel of experts.

Gayle Hammons, Sitka High School

Kara Knox and Meredith Guhl, Mt. Edgecumbe Elementary School, Sitka

RITES OF PASSAGE EXPERIENCES (ROPE)

The focus of ROPE is on independent learning and connecting academic skills to real life experiences. ROPE requires eighth grade students individually to design and complete an in-depth project. It provides an opportunity for the students to use the skills and knowledge acquired during their middle school years in a meaningful, culminating set of experiences.

KNOT 1 Select an area of very strong interest.KNOT 2 Narrow your search and complete a project proposal sheet.KNOT 3 Select a coach.KNOT 4 Complete a project design sheet.KNOT 5 Design and create a poster.KNOT 6 You are actually ready to begin your ROPE project.KNOT 7 Write a reflective essay.KNOT 8 Practice your ROPE presentation.KNOT 9 ROPE presentation.

(For further information, see the Reference Kit.)

REQUIREMENTS FOR ROPE PRESENTATION:

Your presentation must have a visual element.You must share these elements of your

ROPE TIMELINE:Oct. 25 Introduction of ROPE to parents

Nov. 7-11 Introduction of ROPE to students

Nov. 14-18 Selection of interest areas and project

project: Your goalThe risk element of your projectThe journey on which your project took youThe obstacles you encounteredThe outcome of your project

proposal sheets

Nov. 21-Dec. 5

Project design sheets

Dec. 6-Dec. 13

Posters designed and created

Mid-Dec.-Mid April

Reflective essays

May 11 - May 24

Practice presentations

May 25 and 26ROPE presentations-University of Alaska, Southeast

Susan Jordan and Helena Fagan, Juneau School District


FAMILIAR ASSESSMENT TASKS

These include the assessment tools that have been used traditionally in schools: true-false, matching, completion items, essays, justified multiple choice.

Evaluation Purposes

These tasks can provide information about recall and literal comprehension.

They can be useful in testing logic and the ability to recognize connections.

They are sometimes a form of time-efficient feedback.

Thoughts

It is time consuming and difficult to construct a good written test.

Many teachers have very little training on how to create a meaningful test.

Teachers need to consider the various learning styles, multiple intelligences, cultural diversity, and learning problems of students and provide a balance of assessment activities that allow students to succeed.

Within developmental limits, more items are better.

Limit true-false items due to the high probability that students will guess.

Matching

Limit list to between 5-15 items. Use homogeneous lists. (Don’t mix

names with dates). Give clear instructions. (Write

number to left of the matching item, draw a line between matching items, etc.).

Give more choices than there are questions.

Multiple choice

State main idea in the core or stem of the question.

Use reasonable incorrect choices. (Avoid ridiculous choices.)

Make options the same length (nothing very long or very short.)

Completion

Structure for a brief, specific

GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR TEST ITEM CONSTRUCTION

True-false items

Avoid absolute words like all, never, and always.

Make sure items are clearly true or false rather than ambiguous.

Limit true-false questions to 10. Consider asking students to make false

questions true to encourage higher-order thinking.

answer for each item. Avoid passages lifted directly from

text (emphasizing memorization). Use blanks of equal length. Avoid sentences with multiple

blanks.

Essay

Avoid all-encompassing questions (such as "tell all you know about").

Define criteria for evaluation. Use some higher-order thinking

verbs like "compare and contrast" rather than recall verbs.

GROUP ESSAY

Directions: The Iliad by Homer

At your tables, discuss each of the following questions. Then divide the questions among you, and each of you write a response for one question. You may draw on the knowledge of your table partners, but each question’s final written answer is the responsibility of the person who "volunteers" to answer it. You will be graded using these rubrics: group participation and written essay.

1. The Iliad focuses on the behavior of warriors in times of crisis and examines what each person owes to him or herself and to the community. What does each of the following characters owe to himself and to others? a) Agamemnon, b) Achilles, c) Patroclus, d) Hector, and e)Paris

2. In The Iliad, is it true that a person’s reputation is worth more than wealth and power? If so, is this still true today? Why or why not? Explain.

3. Why does Homer choose an argument over a woman as the cause of a tragic quarrel between Agamemnon and Achilles? Does it matter what actually causes the quarrel? Explain.

QUIZ

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

1. Who is Miss Havisham?

2. What is Estella’s first impression of Pip? And Pip’s of her?

3. What are your first impressions of Miss Havisham’s house?

4. Just Pip’s look at Miss Havisham and her strange surroundings can reveal much about her character and her story.What can YOU discern?

5. Why is her demand for Pip to "Play!" so disconcerting?

6. Pip says he feels ashamed of who and what he is&emdash;why? Knowing his life circumstances, what could you tell him to make him feel better?


ESSAY

4. Why does Achilles refuse to fight for the Greeks when Agamemnon takes Briseis¾love of Briseis? honor? pride? Defend your opinion.

Adapted from World Mythology

Readings: "Snows of Kilimanjaro," "Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber," The Sun Also Rises, and The Old Man and the Sea

What is Hemingway’s view of women’s role in society? Is his view accurate today for society at large? for you? Remember to defend your response with examples from the class readings and from contemporary society.
