Course Code: MM20

Course Title: Assessment and Evaluation in Mathematics

Course Description:
The course deals with traditional and authentic assessment methods for
evaluating mathematics learning. It covers the purposes of instruction and assessment, the
relationship of assessment to content and performance standards and discussion on the
issues and trends in assessment specifically in mathematics teaching.

Learning Outcomes
1. Understand and explain the fundamental concepts of assessment and evaluation
principles.
2. Defines classroom assessment and why it is important.
3. Differentiate between assessment and evaluation in education
4. Identifies different types of assessment tools.
5. Design and construct assessments in selected topics in mathematics.
6. Present the various forms or assessment types and how cognitive development
can be measured and tracked through assessments.
7. Utilize the key concepts in assessment to analyze and critique assessment and
evaluation reports

Notes
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Performance Tasks

A performance task is any learning activity or assessment that asks students to perform to
demonstrate their knowledge, understanding and proficiency. Performance tasks yield a tangible
product and/or performance that serve as evidence of learning. Unlike a selected-response item
(e.g., multiple-choice or matching) that asks students to select from given alternatives, a
performance task presents a situation that calls for learners to apply their learning in context.
Performance tasks are routinely used in certain disciplines, such as visual and performing
arts, physical education, and career-technology where performance is the natural focus of
instruction. However, such tasks can (and should) be used in every subject area and at all grade
levels.
Performance tasks can be used to engage students in meaningful learning. Since rich
performance tasks establish authentic contexts that reflect genuine applications of knowledge,
students are often motivated and engaged by such “real world” challenges.
When used as assessments, performance tasks enable teachers to gauge student
understanding and proficiency with complex processes (e.g., research, problem-solving, and
writing), not just measure discrete knowledge. They are well suited to integrating subject areas and
linking content knowledge with the 21st Century Skills such as critical thinking, creativity,
collaboration, communication, and technology use.

Characteristics of Performance Tasks

While any performance by a learner might be considered a performance task (e.g.,
tying a shoe or drawing a picture), it is useful to distinguish between the application of
specific and discrete skills (e.g., dribbling a basketball) from genuine performance in
context (e.g., playing the game of basketball in which dribbling is one of many applied
skills). Thus, when I use the term performance tasks, I am referring to more complex and
authentic performances.

Seven general characteristics of performance tasks

1.Performance tasks call for the application of knowledge and skills, not just recall or
recognition.
In other words, the learner must actually use their learning to perform. These tasks
typically yield a tangible product (e.g., graphic display, blog post) or performance (e.g., oral
presentation, debate) that serves as evidence of their understanding and proficiency.

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2.Performance tasks are open-ended and typically do not yield a single, correct answer.
Unlike selected- or brief constructed- response items that seek a “right” answer,
performance tasks are open-ended. Thus, there can be different responses to the task that
still meet success criteria. These tasks are also open in terms of process; i.e., there is
typically not a single way of accomplishing the task.

3.Performance tasks establish novel and authentic contexts for performance.

These tasks present realistic conditions and constraints for students to navigate.
For example, a mathematics task would present students with a never-before-seen
problem that cannot be solved by simply “plugging in” numbers into a memorized
algorithm. In an authentic task, students need to consider goals, audience, obstacles, and
options to achieve a successful product or performance. Authentic tasks have a side
benefit — they convey purpose and relevance to students, helping learners see a reason
for putting forth effort in preparing for them.

4.Performance tasks provide evidence of understanding via transfer.

Understanding is revealed when students can transfer their learning to new and
“messy” situations. Note that not all performances require transfer. For example, playing a
musical instrument by following the notes or conducting a step-by-step science lab require
minimal transfer. In contrast, rich performance tasks are open-ended and call “higher-order
thinking” and the thoughtful application of knowledge and skills in context, rather than a
scripted or formulaic performance.

5.Performance tasks are multi-faceted.

Unlike traditional test “items” that typically assess a single skill or fact,
performance tasks are more complex. They involve multiple steps and thus can be used to
assess several standards or outcomes.

6.Performance tasks can integrate two or more subjects as well as 21st century skills.
In the wider world beyond the school, most issues and problems do not present
themselves neatly within subject area “silos.” While performance tasks can certainly be
content-specific (e.g., mathematics, science, social studies), they also provide a vehicle for
integrating two or more subjects and/or weaving in 21st century skills and Habits of Mind.
One natural way of integrating subjects is to include a reading, research, and/or
communication component (e.g., writing, graphics, oral or technology presentation) to
tasks in content areas like social studies, science, health, business, health/physical

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education. Such tasks encourage students to see meaningful learning as integrated, rather
than something that occurs in isolated subjects and segments.

7. Performances on open-ended tasks are evaluated with established criteria and rubrics.
Since these tasks do not yield a single answer, student products and
performances should be judged against appropriate criteria aligned to the goals being
assessed. Clearly defined and aligned criteria enable defensible, judgment-based
evaluation. More detailed scoring rubrics, based on criteria, are used to profile varying
levels of understanding and proficiency.

The design process

In the next sections, we describe a sequence of steps to design performance
tasks for a science course using a sample middle school performance task, titled “Deer
Population in Colorado.” Performance tasks are intended to assess individual student
performance and can be administered at points that make sense for your instruction, either
within or at the end of a unit. While we have defined a clear and meaningful sequence for
this process, we want to emphasize that it is iterative in nature and often requires returning
to earlier steps.

Step 1: Unpack the performance expectation

The first step of designing a performance task is to unpack the performance
expectation (PE). “Unpacking” means digging into the k – 12 Mathematics
Standards (NGSS) documents to interpret what the PE really means; this ensures that
your performance task assesses what you want it to assess.
Imagine you are planning a unit on interactions within Patterns and algebra and
you would like to write a performance task that assesses students. Take a look at the
document pictured (Figure 1).

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Step 2: Identify a rich and authentic phenomenon
The second step is to identify a rich and authentic phenomenon or an engineering
problem that fits the performance expectation you are trying to assess. It is a phenomenon
as an observable event that occurs in the universe; students then use their math
knowledge to make sense of the selected phenomenon.

The phenomenon is the foundation of the task, and it is often where teachers
experience the most frustration because it is challenging to find an actual phenomenon
that truly fits the performance expectation. To begin the process of brainstorming a
suitable phenomenon.

Step 3: Develop prompts

The next design step is to develop prompts—questions or instructions—that focus
on the phenomenon and will elicit evidence of all three dimensions of the PE.
As we begin to write prompts, we must always remember that this type of
assessment asks students to engage in a new and very complex thought process. In order
to help students understand the phenomenon of the task and engage with difficult
multidimensional questions, we also need to build in scaffolding questions that provide all
students access to the assessment.

Step 4: Create scoring guides

Upon drafting a performance task, the next step is to create a scoring guide that
includes rubrics that clearly assess the three dimensions of the PE. We will summarize the
key components here.
When writing rubrics, we first need to identify the dimensions addressed in the
prompt.
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 Once we have an idea of what we are looking for, we can look at student work to
identify a range of exemplars and use these to write descriptions for each level of
performance. By including a student sample for each level of performance, we also provide
teachers a range of authentic examples to know what student performance looks like for
that prompt. Using this approach ensures that we create what is known as a
multidimensional rubric, meaning it assesses the integration of multiple dimensions, rather
than assessing only content. Keep in mind that writing rubrics is a very iterative process. At
each step, you will want to stop and reflect on the alignment, and you will often return to
previous steps to make adjustments.

Step 5: Pilot, score, and revise

Step 5 is often skipped due to time constraints, but it is the most essential. Piloting
the task with students at the appropriate grade level and scoring student responses will
help you identify prompts and rubrics that need to be revised.

The most important step

While understanding the steps of the design process is essential, you will also find
that support and collaboration are integral parts of the process. Remember that like any
new process, designing performance tasks is going to be challenging. As you prepare to
make performance tasks, it is highly recommended you put together a team of forward-
thinking teachers like yourself and seek out professional development to guide you through
this new process.

Effective Performance Tasks

 Meaningful context. "Good performance assessments are more contextualized"
than traditional tests, he says, "more like how people use knowledge and skills
in the larger world." Unlike many multiple-choice tests, good tasks do not jump
from one area of knowledge to another.
 Thinking process. "Ask students to actually use knowledge," he says, "to
thoughtfully apply knowledge and skills to a new situation. If you really
understand something, you can work with it, analyze it, argue against it, and
present it." Educators should ask of their assessments, "Could students
accomplish this task and still not understand what we want to assess?"
 Appropriate product or performance. Avoid "products or performances that don't
relate to the content" of what is being assessed, even though they may seem
like good activities on their own. "Sometimes students get so caught up in the

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 product that they lose sight of what they're actually intending to show with the
product." One common problem is an overemphasis on aesthetic elements of
an assessment task.
 Student choice. "Student choice has lots of benefits," McTighe says, "but you
want to make sure that opportunities for choice don't get in the way of what
you're trying to assess." Allowing students to choose subjects, resources,
methods, and whether to work alone or in groups has instructional benefits, but
complicates assessment." From a measurement perspective, giving students
choices is a terrible dilemma," Herman agrees. Some options or topics may
yield easier projects than others, and "not all children are equally good
choosers." On the other hand, assigning topics runs the risk of giving an
advantage to students who are more inclined toward what the teacher selects.
 Interdisciplinary tasks. Herman prefers these tasks because of their
instructional value. But interdisciplinary assessment is most effective when a
teacher is familiar with students' progress in several areas. A writing
assessment on a history subject is hard to evaluate unless the teacher can
distinguish the level of performance in writing versus that in history. These
distinctions are harder to make when the people who rate the assessments
don't work with the students every day.
 Cooperative grouping. "Any kind of group activity confounds the measurement
of individual ability," Herman says, although group work supports learning.
Many educators include an individual component of the assessment in
cooperative situations, but the performance of other students in the group can
affect that component, Herman adds. And if teachers want to assess the ability
to work as a team, that ability should be included in the criteria.

Constructing a Performance Task Scenario Using GRASPS

Goal – Each performance task begins with a Goal. The goal provides the student with the
outcome of the learning experience and the contextual purpose of the experience and
product creation.
Role – The Role is meant to provide the student with the position or individual persona that
they will become to accomplish the goal of the performance task. The majority of roles
found within the tasks provide opportunities for students to complete real-world
applications of standards-based content. The role may be for one student or in many
instances can serve as a small group experience. Students may work together or assume
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a part of the role based upon group dynamics. These roles will require student(s) to
develop creative and innovative products demonstrating their understanding of the content
through the application of the content and a variety of skills across disciplines.
Audience – The performance tasks contain an Audience component. The audience is the
individual(s) who are interested in the findings and products that have been created. These
people will make a decision based upon the products and presentations created by the
individual(s) assuming the role within the task.
Situation – The Situation provides the participants with a contextual background for the
task. Students will learn about the real-world application for the task. This is the place that
may invite students to consider various video resources, simulations, language tasks, and
associated websites when appropriate. This section of the performance task will help the
students connect the authentic experience with content and concepts critical to
understanding.
Products – The Products within each task are designed using the multiple intelligences.
The products provide various opportunities for students to demonstrate understanding.
Based upon each individual learner and/or individual class, the educator can make
appropriate instructional decisions for product development. These considerations may
include:
 having a student complete all products within a task;
 having students complete a number of products based upon content application
and/or student interest;
 having a student complete certain products based upon the educator’s decision to
maximize content, concept, and skill application;
 having student work as part of a cooperative group to complete a product or the
products; and/or
 having students complete products based upon the strength of their multiple
intelligences.

Consider the following set of stem statements as you construct a scenario for a
performance task. Refer to the tables above to help you brainstorm possible scenarios.
Note: These are idea starters. Resist the urge to fill in all of the blanks!
Goal:
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Your task is _____________________________________________________________
Your goal is to ___________________________________________________________
The problem or challenge is ________________________________________________
The obstacle to overcome is ________________________________________________

Role:
You are _______________________________________________________________
You have been asked to __________________________________________________
Your job is _____________________________________________________________

Audience:
Your clients are _________________________________________________________
The target audience is ___________________________________________________
You need to convince ___________________________________________________

Situation:
The context you find yourself in is _________________________________________
The challenge involves dealing with _______________________________________

Product, Performance, and Purpose:

You will create a ______________________in order to _________________________
You need to develop _____________________so that __________________________

Standards and Criteria for Success:

Your performance needs to _______________________________________________
Your work will be judged by _______________________________________________
Your product must meet the following standard (quality) ________________________
A successful result will __________________________________________________

Sample Performance Task 01

Goal:
The goal (within the scenario) is to minimize costs for shipping bulk quantities of M&Ms.
Role:
You are an engineer in the packaging department of the M&M Candy Company.
Audience:
The target audience is non-engineer company executives.
Situation:
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You need to convince penny – pinching company officer that your container design will
provide cost effective use of the given materials, maximizing shipping volume of bulk
quantities of M&M’s and be safe to transport,
Product/Performance and Purpose:
You need to design a shipping container from given materials for the safe and cost-
effective shipping of the M&Ms. Then you will prepare a written proposal in which you
include a diagram and show mathematically you’re your container design provides
effective use of the given materials and maximizes the shipping volume of the M&M’s.

Standards & Criteria for Success:

Your container proposal should...
 provide cost-effective use of the given materials
 maximize shipping volume of bulk quantities of M&Ms
 be safe to transport
 Your models must make the mathematical case.

Performance Tasks Statement

As an engineer, you are tasked to create a design of a shipping container
from given materials for the safe and cost-effective shipping of the M&Ms. Then, you will
prepare a written proposal in which you include a diagram and show mathematically your
container design provides effective use of the given materials and maximizes the shipping
volume of the M&M’s. This proposal is to be presented to convince penny–pinching
company executives.

Sample Performance Task 02

You are the librarian at your school. You have decided to make a guide to help
students choose and check out a book. Create a bookmark that explains how to choose
and check out a book from your school’s library. You will be rated based on the given
Writing rubric.

Goal: The student’s goal is to create a bookmark that explains how to choose and check
out a book from the school’s library.
Role: The student will be the school librarian.
Audience: Other students will be the audience for the informative bookmark.
Situation: The student has been asked to create a bookmark that explains how to select
and check out a book from the school library.

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Product, Performance and Purpose: The student will create a bookmark that explains how
to select a book and check it out from the school library.
Standards and Criteria for Success: Writing will be assessed using the given Writing
Rubric.

Sample Performance Task 03

You are a city planner in charge of creating a playground for the children in your
city. You are tasked to make a layout of a playground to be presented to the mayor of the
town. The playground shall fit all the equipment into the playground with extra space for
children to walk. In your layout, you must indicate the correct area and perimeter of every
piece of equipment. There must be at least 2 square meters of space between equipment
for the walkway.

Goal: To make a layout of a playground.

Role: You are a city planner in charge of creating a playground for the children in your city.
Audience: The mayor of the town.
Situation: You are tasked to make a layout of a playground to be presented to the mayor of
the town.
Product or Performance: As a city engineer, you are tasked to make a layout of a
playground that shall fit all the equipment into the playground with extra space for children
to walk.
Standard and criteria for success: In the layout, the correct area and perimeter of every
piece of equipment must be indicated. There must be at least 2 square meters of space
between equipment for the walkway.

Exercise/Written Activities
Based on the given performance task below, identify the Goal, Role, Audience,
situation, product/performance, and standard and criteria for success. Write your answer in
the answer sheet.
1. You are a member of a team of scientists investigating the deforestation of the Amazon
rain forest. You are responsible for gathering scientific data (Including such visual
evidence as photograph) and producing a scientific report in which you summarize
current conditions, possible future trends, and their implications for both the Amazon
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 itself and its broader influence on the planet. Your report, which you will present to a
United Nations subcommittee, should include detailed and fully – supported
recommendations for an action plan which are clear and complete.
2. You are one of the architect/engineers in the BUILD BUILD project of the government.
One of the infrastructures to be made was the Clark City Market. You are tapped to
create a floor plan of the market with an area of . You are to
present the design to the head of the project. The floor plan is equivalent according to
the following: accuracy of computations and Appropriateness of the Model.

Performance Tasks
Choose two topics in Mathematics and make a performance task following the
GRASP. Put your answer in the answer sheet.

References:
What performance Tasks? https://blog.performancetask.com/what-is-a-performance-task-part-1-
9fa0d99ead3b

Performance Tasks. https://www.definedlearning.com/pd-center/performance-tasks/

Darling-Hammond L. and Adamson F. 2010. Beyond basic skills: The role of performance
assessment in achieving 21st century standards of learning. Stanford, CA: Stanford
University.

Holthuis N., Deutscher R., Schultz S.E., and Jamshidi A. 2018. The new NGSS classroom:
A curriculum framework for project-based science learning. American Educator 42 (2):
23–27.

NGSS Lead States. 2013. Next Generation Science Standards: For states, by states.
Washington, DC: National Academies Press. .

Wei R.C., Schultz S.E., and Pecheone R. 2012. Performance assessments for learning: The
next generation of state assessments. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the
American Educational Research Association, Vancouver, British Columbia.

How to Design a Performance Task. https://www.nsta.org/how-design-performance-

task

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Philip N. Cohen, Designing Performance Assessment Tasks.
https://www.ascd.org/el/articles/designing-performance-assessment-tasks

Have not I commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be
discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.
—Joshua 1:9

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