ASSESSMENT TOOLS WHAT IS ASSESSMENT? Assessment is the process of gathering, measuring, analyzing, and reporting data on a students' learning.

It helps teachers determine how much children learned and how well they learned it. Assessment can also be used to determine the effectiveness of the instruction. WHAT ARE ASSESSMENT TOOLS? Assessment tools help us to assess learners 1. ANECDOTAL RECORDS An anecdote is a short story, a sketch or an illustration An anecdotal record is a written account of an event or behavior observed in the classroom. Is a way of informally observing individual students at work in order to determine their progress Can be used to assess content development, use of process skills or use of investigative skills Can be a basis for planning and implementing experiences that will enhance each childs development and extend each childs learning. Advantages Can describe behavior in natural settings Highlights evidence of exceptional behavior that may be overlooked by other techniques Useful when teaching very young children (kindergarten or primary school) Helps form a complete picture of student in a variety of science contexts. Very little preparation is required you need only a pen and paper. Samplings of behavior over a period of time provide a rich store of information about a childs development. Limitations Time and effort required to maintain an adequate record system Must be able to describe behavior Problem of obtaining adequate sample of behavior Guidelines for use Determine in advance what to observe Make sure records show no bias Describe the setting in which the behavior occurred Make record as soon as behavior observed Make sure each anecdote is a single incident

Separate factual description from interpretation Collect a number of anecdotes before drawing inference

2. CHECKLIST An instrument that specifies criteria or indicators on which the teacher marks the presence or absence of the attributes or teaching behaviors being assessed. An assessment guideline that lists skills, behaviors, or characteristics to help guide and record teacher observations of students as they perform certain tasks. Can be used to assess scientific attitudes and skills Advantages Helps the teacher to make sure no student goes unnoticed. It allows teachers a quick overview of a students progress or performance in each targeted area. Provides a list of effective characteristics or attributes to look for in a lesson. Limitations Limited recording space with only enough room for a check mark. Teachers may spend most of their time focusing on the list to be checked rather than on students and may easily miss science learning that is occurring. Since checklists are set up in linear patterns, teachers can be misled into believing the items or behaviors are sequential and must be taught in that order.

3. INTERVIEW The best way of obtaining information about pupils science achievement and thinking is to ask them about it. Can be written or oral Can be informal or structured In structured interviews, interviewers prepare questions earlier and ask the questions during the interview exactly as prepared. Semi-structured interviews are conducted with a fairly open framework which allow for focused, conversational, two-way communication. They can be used both to give and receive information. Semi- structured interviewing starts with more general questions or topics. Not all questions are designed ahead of time. The majority of questions are

created during the interview, allowing both the interviewer and the person being interviewed the flexibility to probe for details or discuss issues. Good teachers conduct open-ended and semi structured interviews continually. Interviews provide the richest source of information as to how the various components of a given course interacted to support student learning.

Advantages Can be used if pupils lack reading skills Teacher can probe deeper into the responses given by pupils Provide information about students perceptions about the learn ing, specific topics, instructional practices and their preferences. Can also be used to discover students attitudes about themselves as learners in science. Useful for discussing complex topics

Limitations Time-consuming to conduct. The data collected during informal interviews are mostly subjective in nature and cannot easily be translated into grades. Cannot be used for a large number of pupils. Teachers need time and practice to develop good questioning techniques and questions that provide them with rich data about their students. The teacher may not construct effective questions that really test student understanding.

4. INVENTORY/QUESTIONNAIRE/SURVEY Is a list of questions designed to collect specific information. It is usually used for research work.

Advantages Can be answered by an entire class at once and saves administration time. Serves a variety of purpose Can determine prior knowledge before studying a topic. Easy to administer Can cover a variety of topics in a brief amount of time Limitations Good surveys and questionnaires are difficult to develop

 Forced-choice inventories may not allow individuals to respond as they wish Students who have difficulty in writing may give different responses than they would orally. In forced-choice inventories, you cannot be sure that the answers student chose are the ones they would have responded on their own. Identifying the best response among several may not be sufficient to know what the students would choose to do when no alternatives are given in a real situation.

5. STUDENT WORK SAMPLES Allows teachers to focus on the process and product of learning Examples are science journals, notebooks, learning logs, concept maps written reports, laboratory sheets, drawings and labeled diagrams Advantages Shows growth in science learning Allow teachers to focus on the process and product of learning Limitations Time consuming to check and mark

6. SCIENCE JOURNALS Journal writing is a learning tool based on the ideas that students write to learn. Students use the journals to write about topics of interest, to note their observations, to imagine, to wonder and to connect new information with things they already know. Can be a way to record and provide a variety of information about how students thinking, skills, processes and attitudes have changed over time. Journaling involves students in recording their progress and observations. Teachers often use the journals to track student progress and design lessons to address specific concerns or needs. Journals enable students to write what they have learnt from a particular activity conducted in the science class. It can show the conclusions the students drew from the activity, the explanations the child developed to explain what was seen or experienced. A journal can be a place for reflection on topics.

Advantages Helps children shape their understanding of science inquiries and phenomena. Students who use journals are actively engaged in their own learning and have the opportunity to clarify and reflect upon their thinking. Can help teacher become aware of ways in which the childrens prior experiences influence their understanding and ways in which children are consulting new information. Provides a teacher with a variety of information about how students thinking, skills, processes and attitudes have changed over time. Journals can be formal with the teacher prescribing what children are to enter. They can be informal with collection of childrens thoughts or both teacherdirected entries and entries children add spontaneously. Limitations One of the biggest problems with writing journals is that some students use them simply as a way to record the day's events. They slip into the routine of writing diary entries without reflection or real purpose. You can reduce this by encouraging your students to write about a variety of topics and take what they feel are the better entries and develop them into finished pieces. Guidelines on how to use 1. Journals can be used throughout the day, at different times of the day and for different purposes. 2. Decide what type of journal you want to use in your classroom. Think about the purpose of the journal and how will you use it. 3. Prepare materials. Your students' journals may be loose leaf notebooks or folders. Individual pages should be contained in some way so that they are not lost over time. 4. Model initial entries. Using an overhead projector or classroom chart, work together to write a sample response. Students can copy the class response in their own journal or write one of their own. 5. Schedule time for regular journal use. Students should all be engaged in the act of writing and this enables individuals to generate ideas, observations and emotions. 6. While you should not grade or correct the writing in journals only finished pieces should be used for grading you could comment on your students' writing. Offer suggestions, constructive remarks, questions, and encouragement whenever possible. Sometimes students will respond to the teacher's comments.

7. NOTEBOOKS Holds a collection of information related to a topic. A science notebook may contain lecture notes, copies of science exams, lab reports, and completed homework assignments. Advantages Encourages students to creatively demonstrate the science concepts they have learned. Provides parents with a collection of all student work Produces documentary evidence to justify a grade Such data can be analyzed to track student performance over time Teachers can identify particular content areas/concepts in which the student experiences difficulty Serves as a basis for student self-assessment. As a study guide for upcoming exams. Limitations Takes time to do Takes time to be checked by the teacher. Ignored by the pupils if no observation from teacher

8. LEARNING LOGS Learning logs (or journals) are on-going written records, including graphics, which help you assess how students organize, formulate, internalize, explain and evaluate concepts and processes. Writing sends a message to students that the communications of their scientific and mathematical thoughts are important. Shows evidence of learning and skills development, and what students have learnt, tried and critically reflected upon. Advantages They provide insight about a student's level of understanding You can assess attitudes about math and science from writings about thoughts and feelings. They demonstrate a student's fluency in the communication of mathematical and scientific ideas. Students with special needs have more time to process when they use a learning log. Have students practice writing ideas and getting peer feedback.

Limitations Students need lots of practice writing their ideas. Need to give feedback to validate their writing Time consuming

Guidelines for use Can include the following questions: What you did Your thoughts Your feelings How well (or badly) it went What you learnt What you will do differently next time.

9. WRITTEN REPORTS AND CREATIVE WRITING A written document that describes the findings of an individual or group; Teacher assesses the students achievement based on their findings in the report- how they organize and elaborate their ideas. Students asked to perform, create or produce something Advantages Encourages student self-reflection Taps higher-level thinking and problem-solving skills Sharpen literacy and communication skills Students can reflect more clearly on what they have learned (time to think) Shows which students are learning/retaining information Have to absorb the information and express it Limitations Needs high literacy and communication skills Some students can tell you but cant get information from brain to paper Takes a long time to mark

10. LABORATORY ACTIVITIES AND SHEETS Laboratory activities can provide students with the opportunity to apply their content understandings in new situations and apply scientific skills Laboratory work usually is done in groups. This work increases communication skills Students can be assessed on their laboratory activities

Student lab sheets help guide the student through their lab activities and will reinforce what they are learning.

Advantages Students can strengthen writing, reading, and art skills. Will encourage critical thinking and creativity. If kept together in a portfolio style with lab sheets together, improvements, can be seen over time as well as an immediate assessment to share with family or school administrators. Limitations Time limitation Not enough equipment, apparatus or materials

11. DRAWINGS AND LABELLED DIAGRAMS A drawing and labeled diagram is a representation used to illustrate the shape, size and features of an object. This is meaningful and useful in learning Scientific labeled diagrams include -a title, -a simple drawing with labels, -arrows -shows proportion and position of features or components. Provides a record of what students did and what they understand as well as clear and direct feedback on their own learning. Advantages Foster learning Can see pupils understanding. Help pupils to remember more. Interesting Improve manipulative skills Encourage students creativity and imagination

Limitations Can confuse pupils if teacher does not give feedback

12. CONCEPT MAPS A visual representation of a concept A diagramming technique for assessing how well students see the "big picture" and to assess students conceptual knowledge In a concept map, two or more concepts are linked by words that describe their relationship. Can be used as a task that invites a student to provide evidence bearing on his or her knowledge structure in a area Becomes a scoring system by which the student's concept map can be accurately and consistently evaluated. Misdirected links or wrong connections alert teachers to what students do not understand, providing an accurate, objective way to evaluate areas in which students do not yet grasp concepts fully. At end of lesson, can consolidate learning and check understanding. At start of lesson to see where students are. Advantages Provide us with a window into students minds. Transforms students into active learners Encourages students to become self-directed learners Results in greater confidence in the comprehension of new material Easy to understand the concepts Can clearly to see concepts of a topic Can be pretest and post test Saves time in making notes Are ideal for measuring the growth of and assessing student learning Is a way to develop logical thinking and study skills Encourage understanding by helping students organize and enhance their knowledge on any topic Easy to correct students mistakes or misconceptions Replicate how information is organized and represented in memory Limitations Can be difficult for student Must really understand about the content and information Easier for higher achieving pupils compared to low achieving pupils.

13. PROJECTS Projects reflect student learning over time, and not just student performance on a piece of work or a final exam. Captures student understanding of concepts and subject matter, but they also document and promote the development of "real world" skills which students need outside the classroom and beyond the school environment. The student's progress is documented throughout his/her work on a project providing the teacher with examples of growth and learning. Advantages Projects allows students a chance to cover a topic in depth Requires students to undertake independent study and enquiry Projects encourage students to work together in groups Can develop collaborative skills Limitations Assessment is time consuming Assessment is subjective, so reliability can be low Can be a differences in equality of tasks carried out by students Student contributions are not always equivalent, and awarding grades can be a problem). Need to develop a common marking schemes or rubric. 14. DISCUSSION Discussion is a new technique judge student understanding A group of students discuss a given topic The group usually will have 8 & 12 members who will express their views freely, frankly in a friendly manner, on a topic of current issue. Within a time limit of 20 to 30 minutes, the abilities of the members of the group can be measured. Advantages Stimulation of thinking in a new way. Expansion of knowledge Understanding of strength and weakness. Qualities of leadership shown Develop language skills, leadership skills and people skills Limitations Can go ouy Passive syudents

Noisy and difficuly to contril

15. BRAINSTORMING Brainstorming is a group creativity technique designed to generate a large number of ideas for the solution of a problem The quantity of ideas is more important than quality Criticism of ideas isn't allowed - all ideas, no matter how wild, are encouraged The more ideas, the better Every participant should try to build on or combine the ideas of other Advantages Easy to understand - it's not a complicated technique It is inexpensive If controlled properly it is a quick way of generating ideas Encourages creative thinking and thinking "out of the box" Generates creative ideas and solutions Limitations Can take too much time if the group is not properly controlled and is allowed to run for too long Difficult for pupils with low communication skills Weak students might not arrive at correct conclusion Raising expectations of the brainstorming group by considering ideas that will never be implemented Guidelines for use Set the problem -define the problem clearly Select participants- group of 10 or fewer members is generally more productive. Create a list of lead questions - the facilitator should stimulate creativity by suggesting a lead question to answer Session conduct - The facilitator leads the brainstorming session and ensures that ground rules are followed The process - write down the ideas(idea collector) - number the ideas - the one with the most associated idea should have priority Evaluation

evaluate the ideas and select one as the solution

16. KWL GROUP ASSESSMENT TECHNIQUE A KWL table, or KWL chart, is a graphic organizer designed to help in learning and can be used as an assessment tool. The letters KWL are an acronym for "what we know", what we want to know, and "what we learned". A KWL table is typically divided into three columns titled Know, Want and Learned. The KWL chart was created by Donna Ogle in 1986. A KWL chart can be used for all subjects in a whole group or small group atmosphere. The first column, 'K', is for what the students already know about a topic. This step is to be completed before. The next column, 'W', is for students to list what they want to learn about the topic. This step is also to be completed before. The third column, 'L', is for what the students learned. This step, of course, is done after.

Advantages Increases student motivation and attention Student centered A KWL chart activates students' prior knowledge of the text or topic to be studied. By asking students what they already know, students are thinking about prior experiences or knowledge about the topic. KWL charts set a purpose for the unit. Students are able to add their input to the topic by asking them what they want to know. Students then have a purpose for participating and engaging in the topic. Using a KWL chart allows students to expand their ideas beyond the text used in the classroom. Teacher can understand the students' prior knowledge and the students' interests in the topic. By being aware of students' interests, the teacher has the ability to create projects and assignments that the students will enjoy.

Limitations Students must have prior knowledge relevant to the topic Teacher must have deep understanding in subject

Guidelines for use 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) Divide a piece of chart paper / board into three columns. Ask pupils to write down what they Know about the topic that is being taught Then ask them to write what they Want to know about the topic Carry out activities or discussions in group about topic Then at end of lesson ask students to report what they have Learned.

What does KWL table look like?

17. THINK ALOUD The think-aloud strategy asks students to say out loud what they are thinking about when reading, solving math problems, or simply responding to questions posed by teachers or other students. Effective teachers think out loud on a regular basis to model this process for students. In this way, they demonstrate practical ways of approaching difficult problems while bringing to the surface the complex thinking processes that underlie reading comprehension, mathematical problem solving, and other cognitively demanding tasks. Thinking out loud is an excellent way to teach how to access prior knowledge, estimate the number of people in a crowd, revise for exams, predict the outcome of a scientific experiment, monitor comprehension while reading a difficult textbook, and so on. Getting students into the habit of thinking out loud enriches classroom discourse and gives teachers an important assessment and diagnostic tool.

Advantages By verbalizing their inner speech, pupils can think their way through a problem, Teachers model how expert thinkers solve problems. As students think out loud with teachers and with one another, they gradually internalize this dialogue; it becomes their inner speech, the means by which they direct their own behaviors and problem-solving processes Therefore, as students think out loud, they learn how to learn. They develop into reflective, metacognitive, independent learners, an invaluable step in helping students understand that learning requires effort and often is difficult It lets students know that they are not alone in having to think their way through the problem-solving process. By listening in as students think aloud, teachers can diagnose students' strengths and weakness.

Limitations It may be difficult for students to carry out, they may not be aware of the cognitive processes they are using and may have trouble saying what they are thinking Personal characteristics such as age motivation, anxiety level verbal ability and background can affect student responses Time consuming and difficult to score

Guidelines for use For example, suppose during math class you'd like students to estimate the number of pencils in a school. Introduce the strategy by saying, "The strategy I am going to use today is estimation. We use it to . . . It is useful because . . . When we estimate, we . . ." Next say, "I am going to think aloud as I estimate the number of pencils in our school. I want you to listen and jot down my ideas and actions." Then, think aloud as you perform the task. Your think-aloud might go something like this: "Hmmmmmm. So, let me start by estimating the number of students in the building. Let's see. There are 6 Years; Year One, Year Two, Year Three, Year Four, Year Five and Year Six. And there are 2 classes at each yearl, right? So, that makes 12 classes in all because 6 times 2 is 12. Okay, now I have to figure out how many students in all. Well, how many in this class? [Counts.] Fifteen, right? Okay, I'm going to assume that 15 is average. So, if there are 12 classes with 15 students in each class, that makes, let's see, if it were 10 classes it would be 150 because 10 times 15 is 150. Then 2 more classes would be 2 times 15, and 2 times 15 is 30, so I add 30 to 150 and get 180. So,

there are about 180 students in the school. I also have to add 12 to 180 because the school has 12 teachers, and teachers use pencils, too. So that is 192 people with pencils." Continue in this way. When reading aloud, you can stop from time to time and orally complete sentences like these:

So far, I've learned...

18. OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONS Open ended questions encourage people to talk about whatever is important to them. They do not lead people in a specific direction Usually open ended questions begin with a how, what, when, where, and why Possible answers are not suggested, and the respondent answers it in his or her own words. Advantages Students not restricted to one word answers but able to answer in own words Limitations Needs good language and communication skills

19. TEACHING OR REPORTING TO OTHERS Involves students learning from and with each other in ways which are

mutually beneficial Pupils share knowledge, ideas and experience with each other
Advantages

Students are motivated to improve the quality of both the learning process and the teaching Improved cognitive skills of pupils and encourages deeper level or higher-order thinking Develops collaborative skills An increased sense of responsibility for one's own learning Teacher can spot student misconceptions

Pupils get emotional support that learners offer each other, as much as the learning itself.

Limitations Personal characteristics such as age motivation, anxiety level verbal ability and background can affect student responses Time consuming and difficult to score Some students might not have skills and enough knowledge to carry out this strategy. Teacher might have to undo misconceptions delivered by students.

20. PAPER AND PENCIL TESTS Students tested on achievement of learning objectives by written test Can be objective or subjective items Advantages Develops reading, writing and language skills

Limitations

Not authentic assessment Needs reading, writing and language skills Needs writing materials