1. Differentiated
Assessment
BY: Promise Mdluli

2. In your free
time, what do
you enjoy
doing?

4. Each Child Is Different
• Learning Styles Inventory
• Personality Test
• Love Languages
• Spiritual Gifts
• Culture
• Gender
“Fearfully and Wonderfully Made”
Psalm 139: 14

5. Some Observations
• One size does not fit all
– Yet, we ask students to jump through the same
hoops
• Definitions vary
– Differentiation
– Assessment
• Focus should be on learning, not teaching
• Differentiated assessment is neglected

6. Differentiation: A Definition
Differentiation: The philosophy and process
of developing and providing various
strategies, options, and opportunities for
students to learn and express learning.
Differentiation considers differing student
needs, backgrounds, prior learning,
strengths, weaknesses, higher order thinking,
creativity, and expectations.
– definition Russell L. Claxton

7. Ways to Differentiate
Presentation
Process
Product
Direction Instruction
Whole class or group
Physical action
Note-taking styles
Stations
Cooperative groups
Compacting: moving on
Contracts
Choice opportunities
Traditional assessments
Website
PowerPoint
Creative expression

8. When you go to the doctor, what questions are asked?
TELL
me what’s wrong.
SHOW
me where it hurts.
DO
the motions that
aggravate the
ailment.

9. “Can’t I just e-mail you a link to my blog?”

10. Which type of testing is most important?
Pretesting Formative Summative

11. Differentiated assessment is an ongoing process
through which teachers gather data before, during,
and after instruction from multiple sources to identify
learners’ needs and strengths. Students are
differentiated in their knowledge and skills. They
differ in the ways and speeds at which they process
new learning and connect it to prior knowledge and
understanding. They also differ in the ways they most
effectively demonstrate their progress.
What Is Differentiated Assessment?

12. Differentiated Assessment Is Not Just
It is not just Modification
Changes in content, standards, or
instructional level (Common in special ed)
It is not just Accommodation
Changes in time, amount of work, or
process that do not lower standards (read
aloud tests, extra time, reduced number of
items)

13. Differentiation is more than . . .
The Traditional Instructional Cycle
• Lecture
• Modeling on the board
• Practice with “paper” problems
• Paper-and-pencil assessment
• Letter-grade feedback
Not wrong.
Just incomplete.

14. Knowledge
Comprehension
Application
Analysis
Synthesis
Evaluation
Bloom’s Stair-KCAASE
Assessment should focus on the
appropriate level with the right
amount of emphasis.

15. Bloom-Gardner Matrix
Words Numbers Visual Music Bodily
Know
20 points
Assignment
Description
20 points
Assignment
Description
5 points
Assignment
Description
5 points
Assignment
Description
5 points
Assignment
Description
Understand
& Apply
30 points
Assignment
Description
30 points
Assignment
Description
10 points
Assignment
Description
10 points
Assignment
Description
10 points
Assignment
Description
Analyze
& Synthesis
40 points
Assignment
Description
40 points
Assignment
Description
20 points
Assignment
Description
20 points
Assignment
Description
20 points
Assignment
Description
Evaluate
50 points
Assignment
Description
50 points
Assignment
Description
30 points
Assignment
Description
30 points
Assignment
Description
30 points
Assignment
Description

16. How might a teacher
explain to a parent or
another student why
some students are
completing different
assessments?

17. Planning Strategy
WHAT? WHO? HOW?
Assessment #1
Description
Individual
Left Brain
Logical-Mathematical
Auditory
Assessment #2
Description
Pair
Right Brain
Verbal-Linguistic
Visual
Assessment #3
Description
Individual Auditory
Assessment #4
Description
Individual Bodily-Kinesthetic
Assessment #5
Description
Group
Visual-Spatial
Interpersonal

19. Suggestions: Increase Reliability
Assessment should be done
like voting in the United States —
Early
and
Often

20. Suggestions: Keep Anecdotal Records
Post It Notes
Mailing Labels
Index Cards

21. Suggestions: Increase Validity
What do we want to assess?
• Familiarity
• Understanding
• Improvement
• Mastery
• Personal interaction
• Compliance

22. Suggestions: Beware Zeros
The case against Zeros –
What do they assess?

23. Suggestions: Assessment Activities
• essay
• speech
• song
• poem
• poster
• skit
• craft project
• commercial
• video
• newscast
• step-by-step
instructions
• PowerPoint
• teach lesson
• multiple-choice*
• fill in the blank*
• creation of test or
problems
• application to real life
situations

24. Suggestions: More Assessment Activities
• create a game
• write a newspaper
or magazine article
• portfolios
• collage
• web page
• blog
• model
• story board
• invention
• notebook
• photos
• map
• letter
• experiment
• cartoon

25. Suggestions: Even more Assessment Activities
• Smith’s Favorites • What are some of
yours?