Systematic Classroom Assessment

An Approach for Learning and Self-Regulation

Sarah Bonner, Peggy Chen, Sarah M. Bonner, Peggy P. Chen

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2019
• eBook ISBN:
  9781351344968
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

Systematic Classroom Assessment promotes a fresh vision of assessment for student learning and achievement. Using a framework that positions assessment as both an iterative, purposeful cycle of inquiry for teachers as well as a coherent system of activities through which students engage in their own learning, this framework for classroom assessment is unique in incorporating self-regulated learning, motivation, and non-cognitive processes. Key components such as assessment for learning, feedback, emerging technologies, and specific content areas are treated in depth, and fundamental principles like reliability, validity, and fairness are approached from the classroom perspective.

Part 1

Section 1 Introduction

The CA:SRL Framework

In this section, we present the four-stage framework for classroom assessment (CA) with self-regulated learning (SRL), which we name the CA:SRL Framework. We have three goals in this section: 1) to show a system of CA practices that are purpose-driven and aligned with the natural cycle of classroom planning, instruction, and assessment; 2) to explain why and how teachers can use assessment in each stage of our framework to support student learning through self-regulation; and 3) to introduce specific assessment techniques within the context of the four-stage framework. It is our intent in this book to present a cohesive model which showcases interactive processes in a CA system in order to support student self-regulated learning and emphasize assessment that promotes learning in the classroom.

In Chapter 1, we present the main theories that underlie our concept of CA:SRL, define terms, and explain how SRL processes combine with classroom assessment in the four-stage framework. We elucidate the connected processes of assessment for learning and academic self-regulated learning. We take you through these processes to help you understand ways to elicit, assess, document, and develop students’ academic knowledge and self-regulation.

In Chapter 2, we focus on pre-assessment, Stage 1 in the four-stage framework. We emphasize the role of pre-assessment in identifying students’ academic needs and motivation. If you misgauge students’ prior knowledge, skill sets, and interest levels, you may find that your instruction falls flat and that the assessment results show a lack of learning progress. On the other hand, accurate pre-assessment results enable you to find out whether students have pre-requisite skills, so you can modify your instruction as needed. Further, gathering and reflecting on information about student self-regulation prior to embarking on instruction can help you gain insight into student motivation and support your students in planning and setting goals. We showcase two methods of pre-assessment: 1) open-ended scaffolding questions, allowing a teacher to see where students stand on a learning progression; and 2) surveys or rating scales. For each assessment method, we outline a design process and provide a graphic example that shows important design features.

Chapter 3 focuses on how teachers and students engage with one another during the interactive process of assessment for learning that we identify in Stage 2. Throughout this chapter, we emphasize the use of assessment evidence as feedback to aid you and your students in monitoring and furthering learning. In this chapter, we present assessment techniques for you and your students to use to monitor learning processes. Interactive and non-interactive techniques are presented in this chapter to assess learning at various checkpoints. We describe techniques in this chapter that you can use to build systematic questioning and structured observations into your instructional practices. We focus on designing objectively scored selected responses, enhanced selected responses (i.e., interpretive exercises), and on-demand performance assessment. To continuously support learning and SRL, we describe the importance of self- and peer-assessment, and how students can self-monitor and incorporate self- and peer-feedback by using simple checklists, rubrics, and rating scales that offer them opportunities to ask themselves questions about their task performance.

Chapter 4 introduces Stage 3 of the four-stage framework, where students respond to formal classroom assessment tasks. In this chapter we present methods for designing performance assessments and essay items, as well as suggestions for designing scoring rubrics to guide judgments when evaluating student work. This section includes information on how to use analysis of item scores from relatively formal Stage 3 assessment tasks to summarize classroom results and identify trends. Most important, we conclude this chapter with information about how teacher feedback, applied skillfully, can help solidify student learning and close learning gaps.

Chapter 5 focuses on summarizing and reporting the accumulated evidence of student achievement, Stage 4 in our framework. Teachers often find that grading decisions are one of the toughest parts of their professional responsibilities. We hope that this chapter will add some clarity to your thinking about grading and reporting, as well as continuously supporting student self-assessment and reflection. At the end of the chapter, you will learn about state and national educational assessments and how their uses affect you, the teaching profession, and society.

We caution readers to be aware that although we describe different methods of assessment within different chapters and stages, you should select a method or methods of assessment, be they open-ended questions, multiple-choice items, essays or other formats, based on your learning objectives and assessment purpose. We have placed different methods within stages to illustrate some of the methodological possibilities at your disposal as you design your CA.

Chapter 1

Classroom Assessment for Learning and Self-Regulation

At the most basic level, assessment means any process for obtaining information. All organisms practice assessment. Even amoebas gather information. They use receptors to regulate chemotaxis—movement toward or away from certain chemicals, like sugar.

Educational assessment is distinguished within the vast universe of assessment by its purpose to promote and communicate factors related to academic achievement. Among the many forms of educational assessment, classroom assessment (CA) emphasizes the importance of promoting learning, even when learning outcomes are formally reported.

CA is characterized by certain techniques and methods. The techniques can range from highly informal, “on-the-fly” assessment to more formal assessments. Informal assessments include question/answer sessions during class, technology-based self-checking quizzes, and student conferencing. More formal CA is associated with classroom tests, projects, and performance assessment.

Teachers design or adapt specific tools for assessment that are intended to give them and their students the best possible information relevant to assessing the kind of academic learning and achievement students have studied. Throughout this book, we often refer to such assessment tools as tasks. Tasks are questions, the items, problems, projects, or tests that we ask students to respond to when we assess them.

Classroom assessment tasks should be designed and evaluated in terms of their usefulness for learning. Through interpreting student responses to assessment tasks, teachers learn about student strengths and needs, as well as the direction their own instruction should take; students learn about themselves in reference to their academic goals. Actions taken by teachers and students based on this evidence and sound interpretations help all students achieve their learning goals.

Assessment Informed by Theory

Assessment for Learning and Self-Regulation

In areas like education and the social sciences, researchers use theoretical models to explain or predict certain phenomena: how students learn, how they approach a learning assignment, how they develop from year to year. Understanding student learning includes knowing how students think and solve problems; this is termed metacognition. Recall that the word cognition means thinking. By adding meta, a Greek word that means “beyond,” metacognition becomes a word referring to ways we think about thinking. Metacognition has been defined in multiple ways but was originally described as one’s knowledge and understanding of his or her own cognitive processes; it was later expanded to include anything psychological, such as knowing one’s and others’ motives, emotions, and motor skills (Flavell, 1979, 1987). Major theorists conceptualize metacognition with similar facets, such as metacognitive knowledge, monitoring, and control (Dunlosky & Metcalfe, 2009; Nelson & Narens, 1990).

In this book we combine our focus on CA with a specific theory: the theoretical model of self-regulated learning (SRL). The researcher and theorist Barry Zimmerman describes SRL as a set of processes through which learners purposively manage their behaviors, cognition, emotions, and environment to successfully attain personal goals (Zimmerman, 2000). Students who are self-regulated in their learning exhibit heightened motivation and metacognitive awareness. They engage in iterative modifications of their learning strategies and actions, while incorporating self-feedback and external feedback (e.g., from teacher, peers, and parents). Such a dynamic and continuous feedback mechanism is vital to any successful SRL process, as it signals to learners that the potentially useful information they acquired during one stage of their learning progress can guide and adjust their plans and behavior for the next stage.

Recently, researchers have begun to articulate rationales and processes applicable to both CA and SRL frameworks that are grounded in cognitive, metacognitive, behavioral, and motivational principles (Clark, 2012; Panadero, Andrade, & Brookhart, 2018; Wiliam, 2007). For instance, Wiliam (2007) indicated that improvement in students’ mathematics performance can be accomplished through instruction and CA by infusing support into mathematics lessons for SRL skills such as planning, monitoring, and self-reflection. The iterative nature of learning and assessment also contributes to pull the fields of CA and SRL closer together.

CA:SRL—A Four-Stage Framework for Classroom Assessment

In this text, we intentionally bring together the connected processes of CA and academic SRL to present a four-stage CA:SRL framework that adapts SRL concepts and frames them in a new way within the larger context of all the assessment activities that occur in classrooms (see Figure 1.1). We believe this framework can support teachers in a practical way to plan and design purposeful and systematic use of assessments that stimulate student learning. We present the theoretical elements of the model in this chapter; in the following chapters in section 1, we explain how to apply them when designing and administering assessments to your students.

Figure 1.1 CA:SRL Four-Stage Framework

In general, our approach to SRL follows Zimmerman’s (2000) theoretical model, which describes how SRL works in three phases. Before completing a task, students examine the task and judge their own capabilities (forethought phase). They perform the task, maybe filling in a multiple-choice test or writing an essay (performance phase). Finally, they consider the outcome and reflect on ways it might be improved, how it might be graded, and so on (self-reflection phase). They use this process iteratively to prepare for, perform, and reflect on new tasks. With support for SRL development, students improve their SRL skills and use those skills to improve their own learning.

We mostly rely on Zimmerman’s SRL model because of its focus on “intentional learning.” It is unique in delineating the behaviors, cognitive and metacognitive processes, and motivational elements that learners go through as they pursue their learning goals. Having adopted an SRL model, we flesh it out with additional theory from the SRL literature and adapt it with the intent of incorporating its elements into CA.

It is important to note that the self in SRL always refers to the learner or student. In the four-stage CA model, we include multiple selves through the concept of co-regulation of learning (Hadwin, Jarvela, & Miller, 2018). Thus, we will also discuss the self as you, the classroom teacher. We advocate for an approach to assessment that is a communicative experience between you and your students, and a basis for all parties to learn and grow.

Stage 1: SRL Forethought and Pre-assessment

Stage 1 in our framework comprises pre-assessment and SRL forethought. Administering an assessment task prior to instruction allows you as a teacher to see what students know and can do already. Pre-assessment also helps you learn about your students’ motivation and attitudes. Information of this nature will help you decide on pacing, coverage you need to provide on pre-requisites, student misconceptions about the learning content, and student attitudes or preferences you can use as leverage points to make your instruction more effective.

Classroom pre-assessment also helps students build the metacognitive skill of forethought. Before we dive into a novel and challenging academic assignment, we analyze the task before us and assess what we believe to be our capability to complete it, as well as what strategies we may use. A pre-assessment task can ignite student forethought at the very start of an instructional cycle. Well-designed pre-assessment encourages students to mentally analyze content in upcoming learning and think of strategies they can use. Learners may engage in task analysis processes such as goal setting (e.g., prioritizing goals to reach longer-term goals successfully) and strategic planning (e.g., selecting or creating appropriate strategies to complete the target task).

Motivational beliefs are also important factors that influence learning during forethought. Motivation influences how people set goals and plan for subsequent actions. Therefore, you can also pre-assess student motivation to learn, their beliefs in their capabilities to successfully tackle problems, or how interested they are in the problem at hand and how much they value learning it. By incorporating motivational dimensions into pre-assessment, you demonstrate that you value and can take action on factors that influence learning, which helps you become a more responsive teacher and helps students develop self-awareness.

There are important benefits to stu...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• Part 1 Section 1 Introduction: The CA:SRL Framework
• Part 2 Section 2 Introduction: Technical Quality and Technology in Assessment
• Part 3 Section 3 Introduction: Case Studies in the CS:SRL Framework
• Index