Content Assessments for 10th Grade World History

Katie Wynn

Department of Education, Georgia College and State University

EDFS 5215: Assessment in the Content Area

Dr. Merritt

April 30, 2023

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Abstract

There are many essential aspects to consider when creating an assessment. There are three main

types of assessments that typically take place in the classroom: preassessment, embedded

formative assessment, and summative assessment. Each of these assessments are used as a way

to gauge student understanding. When developing an assessment for 10th-grade World History

the five most important things to consider are learning targets, validity, reliability, fairness, and

alignment with standards. I will explain each of these aspects and their importance to

assessments as well as the four assessment methods that include these aspects and work best for

World History.
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Learning Targets

In order to create an assessment, you have to know what you are assessing students on. This is

where learning targets come into play. A learning target is a statement that specifically states

what a student should be able to achieve or perform by the end of a lesson. An example of a

learning target I have used in my World History course is “ Students will be able to identify

artistic and scientific achievements of the Renaissance such as the works of: Leonardo de Vinci,

Michelangelo, Raphael, and Gutenberg.” If this is one of my learning targets, I would be able to

include specific art pieces by Renaissance artists as well as a word bank with their names, and

my students would be able to match them correctly. Not only can learning targets help you

develop assessments, but they can be clear guides on what you should be covering. In the World

History section of the Georgia Standards of Excellence, there are a few examples of learning

targets that should be covered for each standard. They can be broad so by using that as a guide

you can develop more detailed and specific learning targets that work for you and your students.

Validity

So you have your learning targets and a guide to creating your assessments. So what now? You

need to make sure that your assessment has validity. This means that your assessment needs to be

appropriate for the interpretation of the results. If the purpose of your assessment is to make a

judgment on how well your students know the content of a unit, then your assessment needs to

have an appropriate sample that represents what has been taught. When creating a unit

assessment there is a lot to cover. If your assessment includes every concept and detail covered

in the unit, it will be very lengthy and require a large amount of time to complete. To

accommodate this, you create an assessment that samples the unit. For example, when covering a
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unit on Enlightenment and the Age of Revolutions, there is a large amount of content. Because of

this, I wouldn’t have 4 questions on a 20-question test that are specifically about Galileo. Instead,

I would have one question about Galileo and the other three about other aspects of the Scientific

Revolution. You need to appropriately sample your unit in order for you to have content-related

evidence for validity.

Reliability

Have you ever been in a situation where you have twenty minutes before your students come in

and you forgot to make their vocab quiz? Well in those twenty minutes that you rush to get a

quiz, you run the risk of your quiz not having reliability. Teachers are human and sometimes

make mistakes. The reliability of an assessment is directly related to error. If there are errors

within the assessment, the scores will not accurately show student understanding. An assessment

is precise and reliable when scores are free from error. It’s important for all assessments, not just

summative, to be free from error because teachers use assessment as a guide in making decisions

about their instruction. If an assessment is not free from error, teachers could end up making the

wrong decisions. In order to try and ensure the reliability of your assessments there are a few

things you can do. Having clear directions on how students are to answer questions can result in

higher reliability. Creating a rubric can assist in the scoring and providing that to students can

give them a better understanding of what the assessment is looking for. It is also important to

keep in mind the number of students that are taking your assessment. The more students that take

it the more reliable it may be. It may also be beneficial to collaborate or talk with other teachers

in your department. It is always helpful to get feedback from other teachers that may have more

experience in creating assessments.

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Fairness

Every student is different. What is necessary to keep in mind while creating an assessment is

whether or not your assessment is fair. What this means is that you are providing all of your

students an equal opportunity to show their knowledge and understanding. There are many

different factors that contribute to the fairness of an assessment. As a teacher, you need to clearly

communicate the learning expectations. This will give students an idea of what they will be

tested on. When you are transparent about their learning expectations and the content they are

being assessed on, it can eliminate some of the testing anxiety some students may experience. It

is also important that when scoring assessments, there is no bias or student stereotyping. Teacher

expectations of students can unfairly characterize them. When you put labels on students such as

shy, smart, at-risk, etc. you run the risk of being unconsciously biased in your interactions and

evaluations.

Alignment with Standards

Standards create a guide and plan for teaching. Whether they are national, state, or local

standards, they are an essential component of assessments. Teachers test what is taught. We teach

based on standards. Therefore standards are inherently what is being tested. When your

assessments are aligned with your standards, you have a way to combine all of the other

important components of an assessment. If your assessments match the standards, you have a

way to efficiently gauge whether or not your students are learning the required material. Along

with using learning targets, having validity, reliability, and fairness, you have the components of

a well-developed assessment.
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Four Best Assessments

What makes an assessment the best? Looking back at the five components discussed, an

assessment is “best” when it is developed with learning targets, validity, reliability or precision,

and is aligned with the standards. When assessments are developed with these components in

mind they are less likely to have error. This will mean that the assessment is appropriate in its

intent and reliable in terms of results.

Selected Response Assessments: For summative assessments that I use to gauge student

understanding of a unit, I like to use selected response assessments. With a selected response

assessment you have answer types like multiple choice, binary choice like true or false, and

matching choices. I like to use a selection of each question type to give my students more than

one way to show understanding. My favorite way to incorporate matching items is by having

maps, paintings, or cultural aspects like architecture. Depending on the unit there are many

different ways I can include those questions while aligning with the identifying aspect of our

standards.

Constructed Response Assessment: I like to incorporate constructed response questions not

only as summative but as formative assessments. There are different types of constructed

responses. There are completion, short answer, and essay questions. Using constructed response

assessments is a good way to also incorporate literacy standards into coursework. Students need

to have the ability to form a well-developed written response so I like to use these throughout

instruction. Typically I will have my students complete a written response to a prompt as a

“ticket out the door”. This allows students to put what they have learned in their own words.

Because there are different levels of literacy within my classes, I like to provide a template for

students to use that outlines the structure of a written response.

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Performance Assessments: With performance assessments, I like to incorporate project-based

learning. Projects like PowerPoint presentations, trifold or posters, or even sculpting with clay,

allow me to watch my students create work that is individualized and shows me their

understanding based on performance. With performance assessments, students can show their

use of reasoning skills as well as justify and defend their points and work. Often times with

performance assessments, you have clear criteria that is formatted with rubrics for students to

have guidelines while creating or performing what it is you are looking for. Because of this,

students know their expectations and can build their work based on that.

Portfolios: Last but certainly not least is portfolios. This is one of my favorite assessments

because it allows students to see their growth as well as self-reflection and feedback. I love

portfolios as an assessment because it also allows students to go back and see what they were

doing at the beginning of the semester versus the end. Students go through a lot during the period

of one semester and often forget the things they did at the start so I think it’s awesome that

portfolios allow students to revisit their old work. A sufficient portfolio is developed with

consult between teachers as well as students as to what to include. Its purpose should be clearly

defined so that students have a detailed understanding of what it is being used for. It should also

be ongoing to show students’ growth and they should be provided with adequate feedback from

the teacher.

My Reflection

I think when it comes to assessments, most teachers want the “best” ones for their students. I

would like to believe that most teachers are putting the work in to ensure that their assessments

are aligned with their standards and created with their learning targets in mind. I would also hope

that their assessments have validity, reliabilist, and fairness included to ensure that they have the
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“best” assessment. In terms of my own education, I believe my teachers and professes have done

a good job in creating assessments. While it is harder for me to think back to my high school

teachers than it is my undergrad and grad professors, No one sticks out to me as having “bad:

assessments. Maybe just bare minimum.

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References

Birgin, O., & Baki, A. (2007). The Use of Portfolio to Assess Student’s Performance. Retrieved April,

from Journal of Turkish Science Education. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED504219.pdf

McMillan, J. H. (2018). Classroom Assessments: Principles and Practice that Enhance Student

Learning and Motivation(7th ed.). NY, NY: Pearson Education.

Georgia Department of Education. Georgia Standards of Excellence World History. Georgia Standards.

2021

Livingston, S. A. (2009, September). Constructed-Response Test Questions: Why We Use Them; How

We Score Them. Retrieved April, from ETS.