Assessment or Evaluation of Learners

Assessment or Evaluation of Learners

Assessing For Learners

Chapter 3 discusses the assessment or evaluation of learners. Evaluation entails making judgments, while assessment involves collecting data without judgment. Gunning (2012) then insists that evaluation and assessments are vital to learning because it is a judgment by administrators, educators, parents, children, and the larger community on whether teaching goals were achieved. This means both assessments and evaluations are vital as they assist tutors in determining whatever is or is not working so they can plan their programs better. Similarly, evaluation gives learners more control over their learning. Therefore, chapter three educates tutors on the essence of evaluation and how it should be done to produce positive learning outcomes.

Nature of Evaluation

Gunning (2012) affirms that teachers should be acquainted with the nature of evaluations, such as summative, reference versus criterion-referenced assessments, and formative assessments, plus other significant types of assessment and how they should be judged effectively. Evaluation begins with standards and setting objectives for the learners. Assessment should be aligned so that it is flexible. With the alignment of assessment with required standards, it is essential to analyze data and effectively use it to improve students learning. Effective use of data means keeping records of learners’ performance, both paper and digital assessments completed, and then ultimately using it to make instructional decisions. Educators are then encouraged to use different types of assessments, such as formative, interim tests, summative, and high stakes, to make accurate decisions on a child’s learning. It is also essential for teachers to understand how to judge assessment measures by ensuring tests or assessment instruments are reliable and valid. Reliability can be achieved through generalizability for observations, essays, constructed responses or using alternate forms, internal consistency, or split half.

ESSA Mandated Measurement of Literacy

The provisions of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) underscore that States are expected to evaluate public school students’ proficiency in language arts and reading in grades 3-8 and once in high school. This means that the assessment must always be aligned with state standards and can include extended performance tasks, portfolios, or projects. Still, it must show whether the learner performs at the student’s grade level. Most importantly, the assessment results must be reported to the different groups of students, such as English learners, students with disabilities, economically underprivileged learners, and pupils from major ethnic and racial groups. Teachers can indicate their proficiency in different ways, such as scaled scores, performance indexes, or proficiency rates. Functional-level assessments must be used to measure students’ growth because a typical middle or elementary school class will show a wide range of reading skills. The universal design of assessment is also critical as it helps in assessment planning and makes it accessible to as many learners as possible. It also ensures that every student has the same opportunity to demonstrate success on the tested standards.

Role of Assessing for Learning

Gunning (2012) states that there are various roles in assessing learning. However currently, learners are taking more tests, yet they are being under-evaluated. Some of these roles include self-assessment, the primary component for assessing learning. Self-assessment can be conducted using assessment tools such as observations, anecdotal records, interviews, etc. The other roles are observation and interviews. The think-aloud protocol can also demonstrate learners’ thought processes as they write or read.

Placement Information

This area defines or determines the students’ level. For example, the primary question the reading teacher must answer is where the students are in their literacy development. Suppose they are reading; assessments will start with determining their reading level. The best placement device for placing students is an informal reading inventory (IRI). IRI is a chain of graded collections starting at the simplest level, pre-primary, and extending to grade eight and above. The placement levels for learners include listening capacity, frustration, instructional, and independence. The various ways to place learners’ information include administering inventory, running records, analyzing results, and using Lookbacks.

Screening, Benchmarks, and Progress-Monitoring Assessments

Screening assessments are used widely in MTSS and RTI because they are designed to identify learners at risk or those falling behind. Progress assessments measure the anticipated level of performance and are ordinarily based on grade-level performance standards, while progress monitoring assessments measure a learner’s progress. There are also curriculum-based measures, which are assessments that align with the objectives of the curriculum. Benchmarks and screening are used to select a level for assessment for learners.

Assessing English learner

Gunning (2012) affirms that ESSA stipulates that English learners should be assessed in maths and reading and are annually tested to measure how well they learn English. This can be done by creating a literacy profile to provide information about the language the students speak at home and determine whether there are gaps in EL’s schooling. In addition, the teacher should assess and select the appropriate level of material they are using to teach their English learners. While choosing materials, teachers should use leveling systems, which entail qualitative or subjective factors to estimate the difficulty level of the materials. The teacher must also consider the basic leveling index.

Reference

Gunning, T. G. (2012). Creating literacy instruction for all students. Pearson Higher Ed.

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Assessment or Evaluation of Learners

Textbook
Gunning, T. (2020). Creating literacy instructions for all students, (10th ed.). New York: Pearson.

Summarize Chapter 3