Gronlund

Guidelines for Using Student Assessment More Effectively

Effective assessment requires a clear conception of all intended learning outcomes. We should ask ourselves, “What do we want our students to learn from this instruction? What will the outcomes be?” Outcomes should be specified in terms of student performance (direct observable data) to have maximum impact in the classroom. If we are focused on improving fluency, we should be clear about what our fluency goals are. For example, the State of Washington set fluency goals at 40 wpm in January of first grade, 60 wpm by the end of first grade, 90 wpm by the end of second grade, and 120 wpm by the end of third grade. Simmons and Kame’enui (2003) provide fluency goals for first, second, and third grades. Students should read at least 60 wpm by the end of first, 90 wpm by the end of second, and 120 wpm by the end of third grade.

Effective assessment requires that a variety of assessment procedures be used. Using a variety of assessments, rather than relying on only one measure, helps to increase our confidence in pinpointing student strengths and areas in need of improvement. If a student is struggling in reading, we might examine workbook exercises completed by the student, take data on his oral reading rate in text materials and how well he can answer comprehension questions about what he read, and administer a standardized test in reading.

Effective assessment requires that the instructional relevance of the procedures be considered. We need to ensure that assessment aligns with instruction. The two go hand-in-hand. Our assessment procedures should become an integral part of our instructional program. For example, after completion of reading instruction each day, the children participate in a 1-minute timed oral reading probe; rate and accuracy are tracked and graphed on a chart for students every day. This assessment tells us how instruction is going.

Effective assessment requires an adequate sample of student performance. We need to ensure that the sampling of our students’ performance is representative of what they can do. Rather than basing our decision on one timed reading probe (measure) in the basal reading program, for example, we should provide multiple opportunities for students to read text. A middle (or median) score could be obtained after conducting several reading passage probes (measures).

Effective assessment requires that the procedures be fair to everyone. We need to ensure that the assessments we use are fair to students, that they are not biased against them or unreasonable in terms of scope or difficulty level. We should assess students in grade level reading programs; however, we may need to move up or down in terms of grade level materials to help pinpoint where students are instructionally.

Effective assessment requires the specifications of criteria for judging successful performance. Some assessments require comparison with a representative group of students; others require comparison with the curriculum. We should ensure that performance criteria are established to allow important instructional decisions to be made. If we are examining vocabulary performance, having the students define words and put them in sentences (with 90 or 100% accuracy) may be a good criterion for showing successful vocabulary development in a basal reading program.

Effective assessment requires feedback to students that emphasizes strengths of performance and areas in need of improvement. It is important that students receive feedback based on their assessment performance. This feedback should be: (a) given immediately following the assessment, (b) understandable to students, (c) focused on performance elements for success, include remedial suggestions for “fixing errors,” and (d) positive in nature to help keep students motivated. For example, after providing a series of timed 1-minute reading probes, the teacher goes over what he found (in terms of reading rate, errors, etc.) with the student.

Effective assessment must be supported by a comprehensive grading and reporting system. We need to ensure that our instruction aligns with our assessment procedures, which, in turn, align with how we grade and report information in the classroom. These are all interconnected aspects of student performance. For example, if learning is assessed half by tests and half by classroom performance assessments such as workbook activities, a single grade provided in the classroom should be evenly weighted between the two main types of classroom assessment.

 

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