UNIT II- Purposes of Classroom

Assessment

Lesson 3: Assessment for Learning

Introduction
Thinking about assessment from the perspective of purpose rather
than method puts the emphasis on the intended end result. This unit reminds us
that assessment works best when its purpose is clear, and when it is carefully
designed to fit that purpose. The focus of this unit is on three distinct but inter-
related purposes for classroom assessment: assessment for learning, assessment as
learning, and assessment of learning.
Assessment for learning, assessment as learning, and assessment of learning
all serve valuable, and different purposes (Manitoba Education, Citizenship and
Youth, 2006). It is purpose that dictates how assessment is constructed and used. If
the purpose is enhancing learning, the assessment needs to give students an
opportunity to make their learning apparent without anxiety or censure. If the
purpose is checking learning for reporting, teachers need to be especially
concerned about the quality of assessment, and how it might be used by others. It
is very difficult, and sometimes impossible, to serve three different assessment
purposes at the same time. It is important for educators to understand the three
assessment purposes, recognize the need to balance among them, know which one
they are using and why, and use them all wisely.
Teachers make professional judgements on learners’ performance in every
teaching and learning session undertaken, whether consciously or subconsciously.
Using these professional judgements and translating them into feedback on the
quality of individuals’ work is the focus of Assessment for Learning. Successful
Assessment for Learning strategies result in improved learner progress on a
continual basis. The principal characteristic of Assessment for Learning is effective
feedback provided by teachers to learners on their progress (Jones, 2005).
In this lesson, we will focus on Assessment for Learning as one of the
purposes of classroom assessment.

Learning Outcomes
 At the end of this Lesson, you should have:

1. Discussed assessment for learning as one of the purposes of

classroom assessment;
2. Pointed out how assessment for learning is used by teachers in
enhancing students’ learning;
3. Discussed the processes involved in assessment for learning.

Activity

How well do your previous teachers promote Assessment for Learning in their
teaching and learning session?
Assess your previous teachers by rating them on each question below. Use the six-
point scale for your rating. 1= excellent 2 = very good 3 = good 4 = satisfactory 5
= poor 6 = very poor

Key Issue Rating

1. How well developed is your teachers’ questioning technique?
2. How effective were the strategies used by your teachers to
promote effective question distribution?
3.How effective were your teachers in giving oral feedback?
4.How effective were your teachers in giving written feedback?
5.How effective were your teachers in promoting peer
assessment?
6.How effective were your teachers in promoting self-
assessment?

Analysis

Comment on your previous teachers’ skill in using Assessment for Learning in

the classroom. Based on your answers in the activity above, do you think your
teachers need to improve in their skill? Discuss your answer.

Abstraction
What is Assessment for Learning
Assessment for learning occurs throughout the learning process. It is
designed to make each student’s understanding visible, so that teaches can decide
what they can do to help students progress. Students learn in individual and
idiosyncratic ways, yet at the same time, there are predictable patterns of
connections and preconceptions that some students may experience as they move
along the continuum from emergent to proficient. In assessment for learning,
teachers use assessment as an investigative tool to find out as much as they can
about what their students know and can do, and what confusions, preconceptions,
or gaps they might have (Manitoba Education, Citizenship and Youth, 2006).
The wide variety of information that teachers collect about their students’
learning processes provides the basis for determining what they need to do next to
move student learning forward. It provides the basis for the descriptive feedback for
students and deciding on groupings, instructional strategies, and resources.

Assessment for Learning offers an alternative perspective to traditional

assessment in schools. Simply put, Assessment for Learning shifts the emphasis
from summative to formative assessment, from making judgments to creating
descriptions that can be used in the service of the next stage of learning. When
they are doing Assessment for Learning, teachers collect a wide range of data so
that they can modify the learning work for their students. They craft assessment
tasks that open a window on what students know and can do already and use the
insights that come from the process to design the next steps in observation,
worksheets, questioning in class, student-teacher conferences or whatever
mechanism is likely to give them information that will be useful for their planning
and teaching. Marking is not designed to make comparative judgments among the
students but to highlight each students’ strengths and weaknesses and provide
them with feedback that will further their learning (Earl, 2003).

How to use Assessment for Learning in Classroom

Practice (Jones, 2005)
Much classroom practice can be described as assessment activities. Teachers
set tasks and activities and pose questions to learners. Learners respond to the
tasks, activities and questions, and the teachers make judgements on the learners’
knowledge, understanding and skills acquisition as evidenced in the learners’
responses. These judgements on learners’ performance happen quite naturally in
the course of any teaching and learning session and require two-way dialogue,
decision-making and communication of the assessment decision in the form of
quality feedback to the learner on their performance. Depending on how
successfully these classroom practices have been undertaken, learning will have
taken place in varying degrees from learner to learner. At the end of each session,
teachers need to ask themselves: What do learners know now that they did not
know before they attended the session? Although somewhat crude, this will
evaluate how effective a particular session has been.

Teachers’ Role in Assessment for Learning

Assessment for learning occurs throughout the learning process. It is
interactive, with teachers aligning instruction with the targeted outcomes;
identifying particular learning needs of students or groups; selecting and adapting
materials and resources; creating differentiated teaching strategies and learning
opportunities for helping individual students move forward in their learning; and
providing immediate feedback and direction to students.
Teachers also use assessment for learning to enhance students’ motivation
and commitment to learning. When teachers commit to learning as the focus of
assessment, they change the classroom culture to one of student success. They
make visible what students believe to be true, and use that information to help
students move forward in manageable, efficient, and respectful ways.
According to Jones (2005),teachers need to: decide what is going to be learnt
in a particular session; define the learning goals; communicate the learning goals to
the learners; compile questions and design tasks to check learner understanding of
the learning goals; explain to the learners the criteria which will be used to assess
their work ; decide how feedback is going to be provided; define how learners will
take an active part in the assessment process; and plan opportunities for learners to
use the feedback provided on the assessment decision to further progress.

How to Establish the Learning Goals

At the beginning of an academic year, it is usual for teachers to plan the
delivery of the curriculum for the forthcoming year. A scheme of work details what
is going to be covered each week and how it is going to be done to ensure the
curriculum governed by the awarding bodies is covered. However, it is crucial that
teachers identify the learning objectives for each session to ensure that chunks of
time are devoted to specific learning goals and the sessions are not wasted
‘carrying on from the last session’ without anything specific being achieved. It is
therefore important that schemes of work identify the learning goals for each
session and define how they are going to be assessed.

How to Share Learning Goals

For learners to understand the learning goals, it is important that teachers
explain and check that they comprehend what they have to do during the task,
what they have to learn from doing it and why they have to learn it. Often learners
do not understand why they have to undertake a task and how it fits into the
curriculum; if they did, they would be more inclined to do it. The learning outcomes,
in terms of the work that learners have to produce, have to be clearly
communicated to learners and involve them in the learning process. Learning
cannot be done to individuals; it has to be done with them and by them. It is
evident, therefore, that effective two-way communication is the key to unlocking
learners’ full potential to learn and ultimately achieve. Encourage learners to
observe how others are responding to a task, so that they will begin to apply the
assessment criteria to their own work. Teachers need to explain: the learning
objectives and why learners have to achieve them (and check learners’
understanding), the assessment criteria and how to use them, what learners have
done well and what they need to do to improve.
How to Communicate the Assessment Criteria
It is crucial for teachers to share the assessment criteria with learners to
promote the chances of learning taking place. The assessment criteria should be
clear and should not be added after learners have generated the work for a given
task. It is therefore vital that all learners in a group understand what they are trying
to achieve in a given task and why they are doing it. If teachers want learners to
understand and demonstrate their commitment to a task, they need, as far as it is
possible, to decide on the goals and define the assessment criteria on which their
progress is to be assessed.
Teachers need to: use appropriate language and terminology which learners
have developed, communicate the learning goals and assessment criteria, and
check learner understanding; demonstrate how the assessment criteria can be met
by use of examples; encourage peer assessment through effective use of
assessment criteria; and promote self-assessment through effective use of the
assessment criteria.
Assessing Learning: The Effective Use of Questioning
No matter how well a teaching and learning session is planned, or how well a
teacher may feel at the conclusion to the session, it is not how well the teacher has
performed, but the reaction of the learners that matters. The real test is whether
learners have learnt and ultimately progressed against the learning objectives
defined at the start of the session. Testing learning is an important part of
classroom practice, and questioning is one of the most common methods of
checking learner understanding. Questioning is something teachers do naturally as
part of their daily routine, but developing the skills associated with questioning
techniques presents many challenges for teachers and is something that is
developed over time. Teachers need to review what is to be learnt in any one
teaching and learning session and plan for the inclusion of questioning accordingly.
When to pose open and closed questions, how to develop a question distribution
strategy and when to use questions to check learners’ knowledge, comprehension
and application are all issues that teachers should consider.
 In other words, teachers need to plan a questioning strategy, but be prepared to
develop tactics on the spot. It may be useful to pose open questions at the end of
one lesson which stimulate curiosity about the next teaching session. Why do
teachers question learners? Teachers question learners to: involve learners in the
session through thinking and provide the teacher with an insight into the level of
learning.
What are ‘closed’ questions? Closed questions usually only require the learner
to answer ‘yes’ or ‘no’ and as such are not particularly valuable.
What are ‘open’ questions? Open questions require learners to think and
formulate a response. If a teacher asks learners to explain why vaccines work, then
the learners have to provide this explanation in their own words. This gives the
teacher feedback especially if the teacher observes the learners’ body language.
Once teachers have developed their questioning technique, they will need to look at
question distribution.
Question distribution strategy 1. Pose the question to the whole group. 2. Pause
– allowing all learners to think of (or discuss) the answer Pose, Pause, Pounce (PPP).
3. Name a learner to answer. 4. Listen to the answer. 5. Reward correct answers. 6.
Incorrect answers should not be ridiculed either by the teacher or the remainder of
the group of learners. 7. Spread the questions around the class so that all can
participate. 8. Encourage all to join in – in a regulated manner – for example: ‘Helen,
can you give an example of what James means?’ Question distribution : If teachers
work around the class in an obvious systematic order, those who have answered
tend to relax a little, and sometimes ‘switch off’. Use a technique which is not
obvious. Be conscious of the tendency to choose the same learners when asking
questions. Most teachers tend to concentrate their attention on those learners, so
deliberately pay attention to those normally omitted. Posing questions :
Questions may be asked at various levels. For example, in the cognitive domain
teachers could ask: ‘What are the main parts of a flower?’ (knowledge) ‘What does
this abrupt change in the graph mean?’ (comprehension) ‘Knowing the properties of
sulphuric acid and the composition of water, predict what would happen if the two
were mixed.’ (application).
What is feedback ?
Feedback is providing information to an individual which focuses on their
performance or behavior. The feedback provided should be delivered in a positive
manner and lead to action to affirm or develop an individual’s performance or
behavior. Feedback provided should not be of a personal nature and should focus
on hard data, facts or observed examples of evidence.
Types of feedback
1. Affirmation feedback: Affirmation feedback is provided as soon as possible
after a performance has been observed. ‘Well done, Ben, you observed safe
working practices while preparing a window mount for your artwork.’
 2. Developmental feedback: p ‘Nancy, next time you stretch paper, use gum
strip instead of masking tape to secure the paper to your drawing board.’

3. Effective feedback: Effective feedback is tailored to meet the needs of the

individual and is directly linked to observable evidence – either a learner’s
written or practical work or a performance of a given task. It focuses on
individual action points. Effective feedback deals with one point at a time.

When learners complete a piece of work and hand it in to the teacher, they
expect two responses: the assessment decision (grade or mark), but more
importantly, feedback on their performance.
Effective feedback and its appropriate use can improve:
Progress: progress is made when learners know and understand what they
need to do to improve and are given time to undertake the required action to bring
about an improvement in their work.
Achievement: as a result of progress being made in each teaching and
learning session, opportunities for learners to achieve will increase. Learners
handing work in on time: work being handed in and the return of marked work with
feedback is a two-way contract. The dates for handing in and returning marked
work should be adhered to by both parties. If feedback is valued, it will promote the
desired effect – work is handed in on time.
Learner confidence: effective feedback which recognizes what the learner
has done well and instigates further progress promotes learner confidence.
Motivation: motivation is enhanced when learners can see for themselves
that they are improving as a result of taking the action recommended in the
feedback.
Attendance and timekeeping: when feedback is valued and thereby worth
receiving, learners are encouraged to attend teaching and learning sessions and
timekeeping does not become an issue.
Retention: when feedback is valued and progress is seen by the learner to
have been made, retention does not become an issue.
Behavior in class: the most effective behavior management strategy is the
demonstration of progress which has resulted from effective teaching and learning.
Learner–teacher relations: when feedback is effective, learners value
teachers’ contributions and this is apparent in the quality of the learner–teacher
relationship.
Learner participation in class: when learners receive helpful and
constructive feedback, they are encouraged to contribute to classroom activities.
Effective feedback is: written in plain English; written clearly; detailed, evaluative
constructive, positive, identifies strengths and weaknesses, provides effective
guidance on how a learner can improve, begins by saying what the learner has done
well, progresses to areas the learner could have done better, ends on a positive
note, specifically linked to task/assignment/unit assessment criteria (cross-
referenced to what teachers have asked learners to do), and must be prompt.
Oral feedback
Learners receive oral feedback every time they are in contact with their
teacher, whether it is consciously or subconsciously. Learners sometimes do not
class informal discussion with their teachers as feedback, but this can often be the
most valuable form of information where hints and tips for improvement are shared
with learners and vocational tricks of the trade are imparted by vocational experts
while monitoring learner activities in an effective learning environment. It is widely
believed that oral feedback has a greater impact on learners’ work than written
feedback, possibly because most oral feedback is provided instantly or within a very
short period of time of an activity taking place or a piece of work being generated. If
teachers are observed delivering a teaching and learning session, they are keen to
receive feedback as soon as possible after the completion of the observation; if they
are told it will be provided at the end of term, it will have minimal effect on their
performance when the feedback is eventually provided as the experience of
delivering will have faded along with missed opportunities for learning. Teachers
need to: build in feedback to learners as an important element of each lesson as
part of effective lesson planning, whether it is group or individual progress; share
the structure of the lesson with learners as part of introducing the session,
highlighting the opportunities for feedback; encourage learners to take notes when
oral feedback is being shared; provide opportunities within each session for learners
to absorb the feedback they have received and undertake the required action if
appropriate within the timeframe of the lesson; encourage learners to action plan
using targets based on feedback received; ensure learners do not leave any
session without knowing how well they have performed; demonstrate that they
genuinely believe that all learners can learn and improve against their own previous
performance, not that of others.
Written feedback. Even the most reluctant learners want and value assessment
feedback. Teachers should never say anything in writing that they would not say to
a learner’s face. They should focus on feeding back on the quality of work and not
on the person to minimize the possibility of personality issues coming into play.
Personal comments such as: ‘You are lazy and this has reflected in the quality of
your work’ are not helpful and only serve to detract from the content of the
feedback. They also create a barrier between teachers and learners, resulting in the
learners digging in their heels and refusing to act on the teachers’ advice even
though it is their work which will suffer. As with oral feedback, teachers should use
only the assessment criteria as defined in the briefing of the task on which to base
the assessment. To mark learners down for not doing something that was not a
requirement stipulated in the initial briefing is unfair and will only serve to promote
mistrust. Standardized feedback sheets on which a teacher details written
information on assessment decisions are often well received by learners,
particularly when they are used by all teachers across the institution.
Peer assessment using the predefined assessment criteria is the next stage to
evaluate learner understanding and consolidating learning. Benefits of organizing
peer assessment activities include: learners clarifying their own ideas and
understanding of the learning intention; checking individuals’ understanding of the
assessment criteria and how it is to be applied to learners’ work. As with teacher
assessment, learners should only be judged and thereby assessed using the
published assessment criteria. It must be stressed that peer assessment must be
managed carefully. If peer-assessment activities are not appropriately managed by
the teacher: learners will be publicly ranked according to their performance – this
will only serve to demotivate less able learners; learners who are performing well
will not find peer-assessment activities challenging and therefore their learning will
not be extended, which defies the very principles upon which the Assessment for
Learning philosophy is based.
From peer assessment to self-assessment
Once learners are able to use the assessment criteria appropriately and can actively
contribute to peer-assessment activities, the next step is to engage them in self-
assessment tasks. Self-assessment is a very powerful teaching tool and crucial to
the Assessment for Learning process. Once learners can engage in peer-assessment
activities, they will be more able to apply these new skills to undertaking ‘objective’
assessment of their own work. We all know it is easy to find fault in other people’s
work, but it is a far more challenging process to judge one’s own work. Once
learners can assess their own work and their current knowledge base, they will be
able to identify the gap in their own learning; this will aid learning and promote
progress and contribute to the self-management of learning. Teachers need to:
provide opportunities for learners to reflect on their own work; ensure they provide
individuals with the necessary support so that they are able to acknowledge
shortcomings in their own work; support learners through the self-assessment
process so that strengths in their work are fully recognized and weaknesses are not
exaggerated to the point that they damage learners’ self-esteem. Teachers may
wish to present a series of anonymous learners’ work, possibly from a previous
cohort, so that they can review and evaluate work that does and does not meet the
assessment criteria. This will clarify what has been required in a
task/activity/assignment and lessons learnt can be applied to their own work.
Assessment for Learning – the Process

1. Explain the learning objectives and feedback opportunities

2. Check learner understanding of learning objectives
3. Brief learners on what they have to do and what they have to hand in
4. Introduce the assessment criteria to learners and check their understanding
5. Provide learners with opportunities to apply the assessment criteria to
examples of work produced, possibly by a previous cohort, to illustrate
standards required and the application of the assessment criteria
6. Provide the necessary guidance and support to learners on an individual basis
and provide oral feedback
7. Provide peer-assessment opportunities
8. Provide self-assessment opportunities
9. Undertake the teacher-led assessment of learners’ work
10. Provide written feedback to learners
11. Create opportunities for learners to undertake remedial action and/or
consolidation activities

Planning Assessment for Learning

Why am I assessing?
When the intent is to enhance student learning, teachers use assessment for
learning to uncover what students believe to be true and to learn more about the
connections students are making, their prior knowledge, preconceptions, gaps, and
learning styles. Teachers use this information to structure and differentiate
instruction and learning opportunities in order to reinforce and build on productive
learning, and to challenge beliefs or ideas that are creating problems or inhibiting
the next stage of learning. And they use this information to provide their students
with descriptive feedback that will further their learning.
What am I assessing?
Teachers use the curriculum as the starting point in deciding what to assess,
and to focus on why and how students gain their understanding. Assessment for
learning requires ongoing assessment of the curriculum outcomes that comprise the
intended learning. Teachers create assessments that will expose students’ thinking
and skills in relation to the intended learning, and the common preconceptions.

What assessment method should I use?

Teachers use focused observations, questioning, conversations, quizzes,
computer-based assessments, learning logs, or whatever other methods are likely
to give them information that will be useful for their planning and their teaching.
Each time a teacher plans an assessment for learning, he or she needs to think
about what information the assessment is designed to expose, and must decide
which assessment approaches are most likely to give detailed information about
what each student is thinking and learning. The methods need to incorporate a
variety of ways for students to demonstrate their learning. For example,
opportunities for students to complete tasks orally or through visual representation
are important for those who are struggling with reading, or for those who are new
English-language learners.

How can I ensure quality in this assessment process?

Assessment for learning is of high quality when a teacher can use it to make
decisions about students’ learning with enough specificity to be able to provide
descriptive feedback, and to design the next stage of learning.
Reliability
 Because assessment for learning focusses on the nature of students’ thinking
and learning at any given point in time, and is used to determine the next phase of
teaching and learning, reliability depends on the accuracy and consistency of
teachers’ descriptions of the learning. Teachers will want to be sure that they are
actually getting a clear picture of how the students are thinking and what it is that
they understand or find confusing. A single assessment is rarely sufficient to
produce detailed insights into students’ learning. Instead, teachers use a range of
assessments in different modes (e.g., oral, visual, active, written), and do them at
different times to develop a rolling picture of the student’s progress and
development. Teachers are always looking for evidence and descriptions of each
student’s way of understanding the concepts. One of the best ways for teachers to
gain reliable insights into how students are thinking is to work with other teachers.
When teachers share their views about students’ work and the nature and quality of
the learning in relation to curriculum outcomes, they gain consistency and
coherence in their descriptive accounts, and they can feel more confident about the
final decisions and next steps in teaching.
Reference Points
Curriculum learning outcomes or, for some students, learning outcomes of an
individualized learning plan, are the reference points for assessment for learning.
They serve as guides in providing feedback and in planning instruction. Learning
expectations that are clear and detailed, with exemplars and criteria that
differentiate the quality and the changes along the learning continuum, enable
teachers to accurately consider each student’s work in relation to these
expectations.
Validity
Validity in assessment for learning is all about how well assessment can shed
light on students’ understanding of the ideas that are contained in the learning
outcomes and in the effectiveness of the choices and the guidance that the teacher
provides for the next stage of learning. Teachers can judge the validity of their
assessment processes by monitoring how well their assessment shows the progress
of students’ learning along the continuum of the curriculum.
Record-Keeping
Record-keeping is an important part of ensuring quality in assessment for
learning. Teachers keep detailed notes, not for making comparative judgements
among the students, but to provide each student with individualized descriptive
feedback that will help further that student’s learning. Good record-keeping will
show whether the student work is on track and, when it is not, raise questions about
the instruction and ways it could be adjusted. The focus of record-keeping in
assessment for learning is on documenting individual student learning and
annotating it in relation to the continuum of learning. The focus is also on
identifying groups of students with similar learning patterns so that instruction can
be efficiently differentiated. Teachers’ records need to be based on the curriculum
learning outcomes, and need to give detailed accounts of student accomplishments
in relation to these outcomes, with evidence to support these accounts.

How can I use the information from this assessment?

Feedback to Students
Descriptive feedback is the key to successful assessment for learning.
Students learn from assessment when the teacher provides specific, detailed
feedback and direction to each student to guide his or her learning. Feedback for
learning is part of the teaching process; the part that comes after the initial
instruction takes place, when information is provided about the way that the
student has processed and interpreted the original material. It is the vital link
between the teacher’s assessment of a student’s learning and the action following
that assessment. To be successful, feedback needs to be immediate and identify
the way forward. It should not simply tell learners whether their answers are right or
wrong, or simply provide evaluative feedback in the form of grades and short, non-
specific comments of praise or censure. This latter kind of feedback affects
students’ senses of themselves and tells them how they stand in relation to others,
but it offers very little direction for moving forward.
Feedback for learning, on the other hand, is descriptive and specific.
Descriptive feedback makes explicit connections between students’ thinking and
the learning that is expected. It addresses faulty interpretations and lack of
understanding. It provides the student with manageable next steps and an example
of what good work looks like. Feedback for learning provides evidence that confirms
or challenges an idea that a student holds. It gives recognition for achievement and
growth, and it includes clear directions for improvement. It encourages students to
think about, and respond to, the suggestions. And it focusses on both quality and
learning.
Differentiating Learning
Assessment for learning provides information about what students already
know and can do, so that teachers can design the most appropriate next steps in
instruction. When teachers are focused on assessment for learning, they are
continually making comparisons between the curriculum expectations and the
continuum of learning for individual students, and adjusting their instruction,
grouping practices, and resources. Each student can then receive the material,
support, and guidance that he or she needs to progress, without experiencing
unnecessary confusion and frustration. By carefully planning and targeting what
they do to help each student, teachers can reduce the misunderstandings and
provide just-in-time support for the next stage of learning, and streamline and
speed up the learning process.
Reporting
Reporting in assessment for learning is based on open, frequent, and
ongoing communication with students and their parents about progress in learning,
methods that the teacher is using to ensure ongoing progress, and ways that
students, teachers, and parents might help move learning forward with minimal
misunderstanding and confusion for the student. The reports might focus on a
single outcome but more often on a series, or cluster, of outcomes. Reporting
should take into account what learning is expected, provide good models of what
students can achieve, and identify strategies for supporting students.
An Example of Assessment for Learning. Miss Karen, an experienced primary-
grade teacher, reflected upon her students’ growth in language arts over the term
just completed. She had focused her instruction on constructing meaning from
texts, and her students were immersed in a wide variety of quality literature that
was chosen to develop students’ comprehension skills before, during, and after
reading and listening. She observed that there was a wide distribution along the
continuum of learning among the students in her classroom. For example, some
students were noticing various authors’ writing techniques, some were requiring
much guidance in responding to texts, and some were showing interest in fairy
tales. With this in mind, and to challenge the proficient writers and provide guided
practice for those who were just emerging as writers, Karen decided to focus on the
process of writing. She used differentiated instruction through assessment for
learning to address the needs of all students in her classroom.
Why am I assessing? I want to determine ways to differentiate instruction in order to help
each student progress in his or her writing and make connections to his or her reading.

Miss Karen was interested in how her students expressed their ideas in writing,
and how they made connections between the strategies that established authors
use and their own writing. By assessing their thinking and writing processes, she
was able to determine what specific instructional strategies would best advance
each student’s learning.

What am I assessing? I am assessing my students’ abilities to express their own ideas in

writing and to appraise their own and other’s writing.

Miss Karen targeted the following curriculum outcomes to focus her instruction
and assessment for learning:

• Create Original Texts (to communicate and demonstrate understanding of

forms)

• Generate Ideas (focus a topic for oral, written, and visual texts using a
variety of strategies)

• Appraise Own and Others’ Work (share own stories and creations in
various ways with peers; give support and offer feedback to peers using pre-
established criteria when responding to own and others’ creations)

• Appreciate Diversity (connect the insights of individuals in oral, print, and

other media text to personal experiences)

What assessment method should I use? I need an ongoing and focused observation
approach during regular classroom instruction and practice in which students share and
reflect throughout the writing process, making their thinking and skills visible.
With the goal in mind of having her students make connections between reading
and writing, Miss Karen focused on a genre study of fairy tales and the process of
writing. She gathered information about her students’ learning by observing them
and having conversations with them. She used the curriculum learning outcomes
as the focus for her observations and her record-keeping. Karen used a writers’
workshop format so that she could balance whole-class instruction and work in
flexible groupings. In the whole-class context, she used read-aloud and
brainstorming methods to chart the strategies that established authors use to
write fairy tales, modelled the writing process, and had students share their
writing and self-assessments. During these whole-class strategies, Miss Karen
identified dynamic flexible groupings, which allowed students to progress in
various rhythms and at various rates toward independence. She determined
which students would need to be guided through interactive writing, which
learning centers would be appropriate for which students, and which students
would move quickly into independent writing and the Author’s Chair. The centers
included a drama center, with puppets and props, and a visual arts center. The
centers provided a forum in which emergent writers could generate and focus
their ideas, and the more proficient writers could hone their skills in using
imagery, description, and dialogue.

How can I ensure quality in this assessment for learning process? I can
focus my observations on the targeted outcomes and criteria. I can observe my
students in a variety of contexts and tasks over time, and guide their portfolio
choices. I can keep accurate, effective, and manageable records that show each
student’s learning path.
Miss Karen knew that in order to guide her students toward the desired
outcomes, she needed to provide clear criteria for high quality work. Therefore, at
the close of each workshop, she worked with the whole class to generate, revise,
and refine a set of criteria. As her students gained more experience with the
writing process and fairy tales, their reflections about and revisions of the criteria
became more focused. Based on the question, What does a quality fairy tale look
and sound like?, the students decided that there are three elements in a good
fairy tale: (1) it has an idea about wishes, magic objects, or trickery; (2) it has a
problem to be solved; (3) it makes a connection to our community.

In order to manage her anecdotal records in an efficient and focused way, Miss
Karen used a clipboard and notepaper formatted as follows.

How can I ensure quality in this assessment for learning process? I can
focus my observations on the targeted outcomes and criteria. I can observe my
students in a variety of contexts and tasks over time, and guide their portfolio
choices. I can keep accurate, effective, and manageable records that show each
student’s learning path.
What assessment method should I use? I need an ongoing and focused
observation approach during regular classroom instruction and practice in which
students share and reflect throughout the writing process, making their thinking
and skills visible. The process of sharing and reflection on the part of the students
provided Karen with the opportunity to identify specific areas of need, which she
then addressed through strategic instruction to the whole class, and to flexible
groups, pairs, and individuals, to ensure that all students were experiencing
success. She saw that the emergent writers experienced success as they developed
their fairy tales through visual representations and drama performances.
Miss Karen highlighted these students’ strengths in art and drama to help build
their confidence, and to scaffold their writing skills while she modelled and
guided them to write a group fairy tale. Another group of students began using
descriptive language to add interest to their fairy tales, and she used the
opportunity to teach a mini-lesson on using words to make “language pictures.”
Yet another group was experimenting with the use of dialogue in their first drafts,
so she gave a mini-lesson on the use of quotation marks. At the end of the unit,
Miss Karen and her students reflected upon their criteria for high-quality work
and assessed the students’ portfolios. They noticed that, with their successes,
they were now ready to set new and more challenging learning goals. Miss Karen
and her students used the assessment information that she had gathered to
share with parents, and to plan the next instruction to once again meet the
various needs of her students along the continuum of learning.

How can I use the information from this assessment? I can provide
descriptive feedback to students and parents about students’ development as
writers. I can guide students in setting new and increasingly challenging goals.
Targeted Outcomes Criteria (student-generated)
• Create Original Texts A quality fairy tale
• Generate Ideas • has an idea about wishes, magic objects,
• Appraise Own and Others’ Work trickery
• Appreciate Diversity • has a problem to be solved
• makes a connection to our community
Student Names Date Assessment Context, Task, Product
Read Aloud Interactive Centers:
visual art,
Portfolio
writing

Reflections
drama
and

conversation

(puppets,
props),
writing

How can I use the information from this assessment? I can provide
descriptive feedback to students and parents about students’ development as
writers. I can guide students in setting new and increasingly challenging goals.
The process of sharing and reflection on the part of the students provided Miss
Karen with the opportunity to identify specific areas of need, which she then
addressed through strategic instruction to the whole class, and to flexible groups,
pairs, and individuals, to ensure that all students were experiencing success. She
saw that the emergent writers experienced success as they developed their fairy
tales through visual representations and drama performances. Karen highlighted
these students’ strengths in art and drama to help build their confidence, and to
scaffold their writing skills while she modelled and guided them to write a group
fairy tale. Another group of students began using descriptive language to add
interest to their fairy tales, and she used the opportunity to teach a mini-lesson
on using words to make “language pictures.” Yet another group was
experimenting with the use of dialogue in their first drafts, so she gave a mini-
lesson on the use of quotation marks. At the end of the unit, Karen and her
students reflected upon their criteria for high-quality work and assessed the
students’ portfolios. They noticed that, with their successes, they were now ready
to set new and more challenging learning goals. Miss Karen and her students
used the assessment information that she had gathered to share with parents,
and to plan the next instruction to once again meet the various needs of her
students along the continuum of learning.

Summary of Planning Assessment for Learning

Why Assess? to enable teachers to determine next steps in advancing
student learning
Assess What? each student’s progress and learning needs in relation to the
curricular outcomes
What Methods? a range of methods in different modes that make students’
skills and understanding visible
Ensuring Quality • accuracy and consistency of observations and
interpretations of student learning
• clear, detailed learning expectations
• accurate, detailed notes for descriptive feedback to each
student
Using the Information • provide each student with accurate descriptive feedback to
further his or her learning
• differentiate instruction by continually checking where
each student is in relation to the curricular outcomes
• provide parents or guardians with descriptive feedback
about student learning and ideas for support

Application

In not less than 10 sentences, give your own understanding of Assessment

for Learning.
 Assessment

I.TRUE-FALSE. Write TRUE if the statement is correct and FALSE if it is wrong. Number right
x 2.

1. Assessment for learning is done during instruction.

2. Through assessment for learning, teachers can decide what they can do to help students
progress.
3.Assessment for learning is an investigative tool for teachers to find out what students
know
and can do.
4. Assessment for learning like summative assessment is done at the end of the lesson.
5. In Assessment for learning, marking is done to make comparative judgments among
students.
6. Data gathered from Assessment for learning may be used in determining the next steps
to be
done by teachers.
7. The first step in the processes of Assessment for Learning is to introduce the assessment
criteria to learners and check their understanding.
8. Reporting in assessment for learning is the process of presenting to the parents the
ranking of the students based on their academic standing.

9. Feedback is always done orally to assure its effectiveness and immediate result.

10. One of the important skills that teachers need to develop when doing Assessment for
Learning is the art of asking questions.

II. Answer the following questions:

1. What is being assessed in Assessment for Learning? 10 pts.

2. What are the methods used in Assessment for Learning? 10 pts.
3. What is the importance of self-assessment in Assessment for Learning? 10 pts.
4. How is assessment for learning done? What are the processes involved? 10 pts.

References

Jones, C. A. (2005). Rethinking classroom assessment with purpose in mind. United

Kingdom:

Learning and Skills Development Agency. Retrieved from

https://dera.ioe.ac.uk/7800/1/AssessmentforLearning.pdf

Earl, L. (2003). Assessment as learning: Using classroom assessment to maximize

student
learning. Thousand Oaks, CA, Corwin Press.
Manitoba Education, Citizenship and Youth (2006). Rethinking classroom
assessment with
purpose in mind. Manitoba.