1. Assessment in the K-12
Classroom
Dr. Patricia Dickenson
Assistant Professor of Teacher Education
National University

2. How do you define
Assessment?
Assessment is a process in which the teacher
engages in collecting evidence to make informed
decisions to improve student learning

3. What is the process for
classroom teachers?
Plan it
Do it
Check it
Revise it
Repeat it

4. When do you use
assessment?
Prior to instruction (Pre-assessment)
During Instruction: To determine the
effectiveness of instruction
Following Instruction: to determine if revisions
are necessary for next period, class or year (post
assessment).

5. How do you use
Assessment Results?
Diagnosis of student difficulties: scaffold instruction
based on student ability
Placing Students: to group students by ability:
homogenous or heterogeneous groups
To plan future Instruction
To Reteach for individual, small or whole groups
To Provide Feedback
To evaluate students & grade their achievement:
summative

6. What are some types of
assessment?
Formative: to monitor the progress of student learning
Summative: to use evidence of student learning to make
judgments on student achievement against goals and
standards
Informal
Formal
Performance Based
Criterion-referenced
Qualitative & Quantitative
Authentic

7. What’s the difference
formal vs. informal?
Formal: planned in advance: include chapter
tests, homework. Students are aware.
Informal: typically occurs during instruction;
includes teacher observations and questions.
Student may not be aware

8. What’s the difference:
Summative vs. Formative
Summative
 Occurs at the end of instruction (end of chapter; unit;
semester)
 Used for administrative decisions ( grading; retention;
intervention)
 Assessment of learning
Formative
 Occurs during instruction
 Can be used to make adjustment to instruction
 Use to reflect on teaching effectiveness
 Includes both formal and informal methods
 Assessment for learning

9. What’s the difference:
Authentic vs. Performance
Based
Aut

10. What’s the difference:
Objective vs. Subjective
Objective:
 Contains only one correct answer
 Includes multiple choice, true/false, matching
 Structured-response
 “Objective” without judgments
Subjective:
 Several possible correct responses or single correct
response with several ways to arrive at the answer
 Open-ended, constructed response
 Presentation, poster, short-answer and essay items
 “Subjective” with judgments

11. How do you design an
Assessment?
Start with the BIG IDEA
Think about what evidence you might collect?
Identify the Skills/Understandings you want
students to know, understand and be able to do
Design activities to address what you want them
to do and understand
Reflect: How do we know “they got it?”

12. What you should check
for?
Assessment task developmentally appropriate for
the student
Assessment task is measurable
Assessment task includes resources to carry out
the task
the assessment task is aligned with the intended
learning outcome/standard
Assessment task ENGAGES learner