Education 605: Educational Assessment
Fall 2008
Dr. Susan Green 323-2476
304-G Withers/WTS
Office hours: Monday-Friday by appointment, also
Monday 2:30-4:30pm; Tuesday: 10-11:30am, Wednesday 8-9:45am, 2-3 pm; Friday 8-9:45am
web site: http://coe.winthrop.edu/greens/
e-mail: greens@winthrop.edu
Catalogue
Description: An introductory course in
the assessment procedures and research in education.
Prerequisites: None
Required
Texts:
1. Green, S.K. & Johnson, R.L. (in press) Assessment is Essential. New York: McGraw Hill (manuscript available at the Bookworm)
2. Course packet of
materials available at the Bookworm.
The mission of the college of
education is to prepare educational leaders who are committed to a lifelong
quest for teaching, learning, and service to society. The conceptual framework (Teacher as Educational Leader)
for the Master of Arts in Teaching Degree consists of six related
concepts. The six concepts are 1)
instruction, 2) subject area content, 3) learners, 4) society, 5) curriculum,
and 6) scholarship.
Relationship to the Educator as Leader
framework: The effective educational
leader must have a well-rounded knowledge of educational assessment and be able
to comprehend educational research. The
course will provide the teacher, counselor, and school administrator the
opportunity to understand and evaluate reliability, validity, and normative
data related to assessment instruments.
This course will allow educational leaders to design and develop classroom assessments. The class will prepare students to make leadership decisions regarding assessment, research, and evaluation.
Reference to national standards: National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) standards state that teacher candidates "assess and analyze student learning, make appropriate adjustments to instruction, monitor student learning...they have a thorough understanding of assessment. They analyze student, classroom, and school performance data and make data-driven decisions about strategies for teaching and learning so that all students learn."
Course
Goals:
*refers
to competencies in the Teacher as Educational Leader conceptual framework.
Course
requirements:
1. Weekly preparation and engagement. 10 points (approx.). Active class participants arrive on time and prepared for class, take notes, ask questions on the topic, provide input during class discussions, bring articles and anecdotes for discussion to class pertaining to assessment, bring thoughtfully prepared homework assignments for feedback and discussion, provide useful feedback to peers. Students are expected to attend all classes because of the important interactive, competency-building activities presented. Several in-class activities will be assigned points. If you must miss a class, you are required to notify the instructor by e-mail by 4:00 pm that day. If you do miss a class, make arrangements to get notes, handouts, assignments from another student. If you have further questions, follow up with Dr. Green. (See Course Goals 1, 2, 3.4)
2. Reflection papers (4 at 2 pages each)
20 points. The goal is to tie
each week’s readings and class content to your own perspective. These reflections should demonstrate your
understanding of the material, but more importantly, how you are integrating it
into your thinking and practice. Be very
specific and use concrete examples of points you make. The
following questions or others can be addressed: What was most important to you
in the readings and/or the class activities and why? What was most interesting in the readings and/or the class
activities and why? What did you agree
or disagree with in the readings and/or the class activities and why? What fit or contradicted your own
experiences in the readings and/or class activities and why? And most
importantly, What was confusing and needs to be re-explained in the
readings and or class activities?
Reflections will be graded on the following scale:
4.5-5
points=
Addresses two or more questions with substantial use of important
concepts; extremely thoughtful integration of course material with personal
experience and practice (with detail); free of spelling or grammatical errors.
3-4 points=
Addresses one or two questions with some
use of important concepts; some integration with personal experience (with some
detail); may contain one spelling or grammatical error.
2-1point= Addresses one question but relevance to course concepts and/or
personal experience is vague; lack of detail or description; more than one
spelling or grammatical error.
Please email me with these reflection papers by Sunday 1pm following each class at greens@winthrop.edu. Please complete reflection papers for 4 class sessions by halves of the alphabet (e.g., A-L week 1, M-Z week 2, etc.)
3. Homework assignments. 15 points (approx). Homework assignments will be designed as needed for practice of relevant course skills. These include CBM Homework, answering chapter questions.(Course Goals 1-5)
4.
Tests.
Midterm exam: Covers class and text
material. 50 points. Test will be composed of true/false, multiple
choice, short answer, and essay items.
(Course Goals 1 and 2.)
6. Test items
(formative, objective, essay, and performance) you have developed for a specific unit of study in your subject
area. 60 points. This assignment will be used as the work sample to
be graded using the common rubric for the College of Education. Your score on the rubric will be entered in
the COE Unit Assessment System. A full
description of this assignment, a checklist of components, and a copy of the
common rubric can be found in your packet. The bulk of the grade (40 points)
will be based on homework assignments during the semester in which you construct
examples of each of the four kinds of assessment for a unit in your area and
receive feedback for improvement. Be sure to include all early
drafts of your items with comments/suggestions made during group
discussion and instructor comments as part of the formative evaluation
process. Failure to do so results in
point deductions. (Course goals 1 and 2.)
7. Personal assessment resource notebook.
40 points. From the beginning of the semester, using a loose leaf binder,
build a practical assessment resource notebook tailored to your own needs.
This notebook also documents your understanding of Course Goals 1, 2 and 5. We will decide as a
group the point values for each item.
Items to include:
A. Your personal synthesis of notes, examples, homework assignments and materials from other sources (e.g, examples of rubrics, test items, articles, lesson plans with accompanying assessment) on assessment organized around the key concepts of the course FOR YOU. These key concepts will serve as your section headings. Write a brief justification for the section headings you choose. (You may leave out topics that may not be of use in your practice later.) Your notes and class materials should be organized according to your section headings, but do not rewrite them. Use tabs for easy access to key concepts you choose. The goal is to be able to use the notebook effectively as a resource in the future in your own practice.
B. An example of an action research project
you would like to conduct. Describe the
rationale for your project, the independent variable (or what you will be
changing in the classroom), and the dependent variable (or how you will be
measuring the effects of the changes you make). Be as specific (and quantitative) as possible about how you will
measure these effects. Be sure not to
ask a question you already know the answer to!
C. Assessment bank of potential items tied to learning
goals/state or national standards you will be teaching (See chapter 12 p.11).
Cite websites or other sources.
These artifacts should be directly
relevant to your own current and future assessment needs as a teacher.
D. Articles and other information (4
artifacts) related to assessment in the popular press, in journals (including electronic sources),
from websites, from other courses relevant to assessment in your
field accompanied by your brief comments showing relationship to course
material and/or how it will be useful to you in your future practice.
E. Optional: A cartoon or drawing that illustrates a key concept of measurement.
Grading Scale:
93%+ = A
82-92% = B
70-81% = C
If you have a disability or acquire one during the semester, contact Winthrop’s Counseling Services [(803) 323-2233] to learn what special accommodations and services may be available to you.
Academic Dishonesty: Cheating, plagiarism, or any other form of academic dishonesty may result in a grade of “F” for the course. For a full discussion of infractions, please consult the Student Conduct Code in the Student Handbook. Some examples of academic misconduct include providing or receiving unauthorized assistance in academic work, using the same work for two or more courses, and/or presenting someone else’s work (or portions) as your own.
Electronic Devices
As a sign of respect for all members of our learning community, please be sure that ALL cell phones, pagers, two-ways, pda’s, blackberries, ipod’s, and all other electronic and Bluetooth wireless communication devices are OFF and out of sight during the entire duration of class.
Course Outline EDUC 605
|
Class |
Topic(s) |
Readings |
Assignments Due |
|
1 Sep.
1
|
Purposes of
Assessment. Designing
assessments that reflect intentions for learning |
Chapter 1 to page
18, then p. 23 to end (ethics and assessment). SC standards
website:
http://www.myscschools.com/offices/cso/ |
|
|
2 Sep.
8 |
Aligning standards,
instruction and assessment |
Chapter 2 |
Learning goal assignment (include state
standards) due.
Reflection for Group 1 due Sunday before
class. |
|
3 Sep.
15 |
Diagnostic and
formative assessment |
Chapters 3, 4 Black & Wiliam,
Inside the black box:
http://www.pdkintl.org/kappan/kbla9810.htm |
Chapter 3 Question 5 due.
Bring calculator to class.
Reflection for Group 2 due Sunday before
class. |
|
4 Sep.
22 |
Tracking progress |
Chapter 5 |
Chapter 4 Question 4 due.
Bring calculator to class.
Reflection for Group 1 due Sunday. |
|
5 Sep.
29 |
Ensuring quality
assessments |
Chapter 6 |
Formative Assessment due (pkt. p. 5).
Chapter 6 Question 4 due.
CBM homework due (pkt p. 11).
Reflection for Group 2 due Sunday. |
|
6 Oct.
6 |
Writing selection
items Interpretive exercises |
Chapter 7 Green, S.
Standardized Tests: A closer look at what they can measure
(packet) |
Teacher Interview due (pkt. p. 4).
Reflection for Group 1 due Sunday. |
|
7 Oct.
13 |
Writing supply items |
Chapter 8 |
10 selection items including interpretive
exercise due (pkt. p. 6).
Reflection for Group 2 due Sunday. |
|
8 Oct.
27 |
Performance
assessment and rubrics |
Chapter 9 |
4 essay questions due (pkt. p. 7).
Reflection for Group 1 due Sunday.
|
|
9 Nov.
3 |
MIDTERM EXAM |
All reading and
class materials to this point |
Personal synthesis justification due. |
|
10 Nov.
10 |
Item analysis.
Warning signs of drug and alcohol abuse |
|
Performance assessment with rubric due
(pkt. p. 8).
Warning signs web info due.
|
|
11 Nov.
17 |
Large-scale tests
issues and interpretation |
Chapter 11 |
Chapter 11 Question 8 due.
Last rewrites for feedback of formative
assessment, multiple choice, or essays due.
Reflection for Group 2 due Sunday. |
|
12 Nov.
24 |
Reading, critiquing,
designing educational research |
Dacus Library reserve items: Woolfolk, A.
Instructor’s Manual)
Research in Ed. Psy
and Hall, V.
Can student-generated
illustrations be worth 10,000 words? |
|
|
13 Dec.
1 |
Reading, critiquing,
designing continued
Dacus Library Classroom |
Chapter 1, p.18-end. Action Research:
Who? Why? How? So
What?:
http://educ.queensu.ca/~ar/guide.htm Packet p. 49-50. |
Final draft of assessment In your area
due (pkt. p. 5-10)
By end of class today: Find two articles
(since 1998) describing original research with
manipulated independent variable
and dependent measure related to
student outcomes. |
|
14 Dec.
8 |
Communicating about
achievement: Grading and Portfolios |
Chapter 10 & 12 |
Resource Notebook due.
Chapter 12 Questions 10 and 12 due. |
|
Dec. 15 |
Final Exam |
All readings and
course material |
|