Table Of ContentAssessment
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MontanaStateLibrary
3 0864 1006 2657 4
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AssessmentPlanning:
aprocess guide with three design options
WrittenbyJanHahn
LanguageArtsSpecialist,OfficeofPublicInstruction
Withcontributionsfrom:
JuneAtkins(Reading)
NancyCoopersmith(DepartmentAdministrator)
B.J.Granbery(Chapter1)
MichaelHall(GiftedandTalented)
DuaneJackson(ForeignLanguage)
RuthMitchell(CenterforBasicEducation)
DoriNielson(Analyst)
DianaOldham(Mathematics)
ChristinePena(Art)
LindaVroomanPeterson(BasicEducationDivisionAdministrator)
SpencerSartorius(HealthEnhancement)
1993
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TableofContents
Introduction 1
BeginningtheAssessmentPlanningProcess 2
AssessmentPhilosophy 3
PurposesofAssessment • 4
AssessmentPolicyStatements 6
SamplePohcyStatement 6
AssessmentofOutcomes ••••• '
ClarifyingLearnerGoals '
Example °
MatchingAssessmentstoGoals °
OptionsforDevelopingAssessmentPlans 9
DevelopingAnAssessmentPlan:LISTINGS 9
ProgramAssessmentandPublicReporting:DistrictLevelSample 10
StudentAssessment:ClassroomLevelSample 10
SummaryofLISTINGSOption I3
DevelopingAnAssessmentPlan:MATRICES 13
SummaryofMATRIXOption 1"3
SampleMatrices
DevelopingAnAssessmentPlan:GOALS-BASEDPORTFOLIOS 19
StepOne:EXPLORINGASSESSMENTTOOLS 19
StepTwo:ESTABLISHINGCONSISTENCY 19
StepThree:COLLECTINGPORTFOLIOS 20
StepFour:EVALUATINGTHEPORTFOLIOS 26
UsingtheGOALS-BASEDPORTFOLIOforOutcome-basedEducation...31
Summary • ""
Introduction
Withthenationalspotlightonassessmentandtheemergenceofmultipleformsof
assessment,committinganassessmentplantopaperisessential.Wehavealready
sufferedthroughtheconsequencesofcurriculumbydefaultandmosteducatorsnow
appreciate the importance ofawritten, sequential curriculum. Not only does the
curriculumhavevalue,butthecurriculumdevelopmentprocessisoneofthemost
powerfulroutestoprofessionaldevelopment.Assessmentdeservesnolessplanningand
attention.Whendecisionsaremadeaboutstudentsandprogramsbasedupontests,
performances,products,andobservations,wemustpracticetheprinciplesofgood
assessmenttoachieveequity.Whenteachersareassessingstudentworkonadailybasis,
traininginandworkwiththeassessmentprocessisessentialprofessionaldevelopment.
Thisguideattemptstoprovidesamplesofassessmentplansthatsatisfytheneedsof
districtsatdifferentlevelsofdevelopmentintheassessmentarena.Asimpleassessment
planisbetterthannoneatall.Thisprocessleavesthedooropenforplugginginnewor
mandatedassessmentsastheybecomeavailable.Somedistrictsaredevelopingorusing
criterion-referencedtestsandperformanceassessmentsforeverysubjectarea.These
districtsarestrivingtobecomeaccountableforeverygoalintheircurriculaandwillhave
littledifficultywritingacomplexassessmentplan.
Thisguide,ontheotherhand,attemptstoprovidethreewaysfordistrictstoorganize
edxeivsetlinogpmaesnstesosfmaedndtistioinnatolawsrsietstsenmepnltasn—s.pTehrihsappsrsoucrevsesysm,ipgehrtforremvaenaclesth,eornoebesderfvoartitohne
logs.Butthisprocessmightalsoshowthatafunctionalassessmenthasnotyetbeen
developedtomatchsomeofthedistrict'scurriculargoals.Werecognizethatoutcomes
suchas"experiencethesenseofaccomplishmentandpleasurefromthecreativeact"
(VisualArtsModelGoals)or"demonstrateacommitmenttohumandignity"(Northeastern
CurriculumConsortium)arevaluableeventhoughtheyaredifficult(orimpossible)to
assesswithinthecontextofschool.Thisiswherefollow-upstudiesmaybehelpful.In
anycase,districtsshoulddeterminehowcurrentassessmentsfittheirplansbefore
inventingothers.
Webelievethatthequalities"appropriate,accurate,effective,andequitable"outweigh
"comprehensiveandthorough." Selectingafewgoodassessmentsforprioritygoals
seemspreferabletoanassessmentplandesignatinganassessmentinstrumentforevery
singleobjective,regardlessofitsimportance.Inthatlight,wehopethisguidewillhelp
eachdistrictwritearealisticassessmentplan,appropriatetoitslevelofassessment
sophistication.
BeginningtneAssess
Assessmentplanning,likecurriculumplanning,providescontextandcontinuityfor
districtandclassroomeffortsandensuresthatthoseeffortsarepartofalargerdesign.In
effectiveschools,learningprogressismonitoredcloselyandresultsareusedtoimprove
instruction.MontanaSchoolAccreditationStandardsrequirethatschoolsdevelopa
comprehensiveandcoordinatedassessmentplanthatencompassesbothstudentand
programassessment.Thisguideexploreswaystodevelopanassessmentplanthatis
alignedwithcurriculum,representseffectiveschooling,andmeetsaccreditationstandards.
PreviousOfficeofPublicInstructionbookletsinthisserieshavefocusedonprogram
assessment,studentassessment,andassessmentsforspecificcurricularareas.Those
publicationsdescribemanyassessmentstrategies,suchasperformanceassessment,that
thisguidedoesnotaddress.Educatorsshouldlearnhowtousethevariousformsof
alternativeassessmentssuggestedinthesebooklets,ineducationaljournalsandat
assessmentconf—erencesandworkshops.Thislearningprocesswillnaturallyinvolve
experimentation somefalsestarts,somefailures,andsomediscoveries.
Afterbecomingfamiliarwithallformsofassessment,thenextstepistoorganizeselected
assessmentsintoacohesiveplantocomplementthecurriculumguidesthatresultedfrom
Rule10.55.603oftheMontanaSc—hoolAccreditationStandards.Assessmentplans
canbeapproachedindifferentways integratedintoacurriculumdocument,printedas
appendicestocurriculardocuments,orformulatedintodocumentsafterthecurriculum
workiscomplete.Eachofthoseapproacheshasseveralformatoptions.Thisguide
includesthreepossibilities:
1) assessmentplanswrittenasliststhatoutlinestrategiesforeachcurriculum;
2) assessmentplanswrittenintomatricesthatgiveavisualrepresentationofhowthe
strandsofacurriculumarecoveredbyavarietyofassessmenttools;and
3) assessmentplansthatdesignateassessmenttoolsforeachgoalinthecurriculum
andsuggestthecollectionoftheseassessmentsintoaportfolio.
Likethecurriculumdevelopmentprocess,theassessmentplanningprocessshouldbe
approachedinastep-by-stepfashion.TheCurriculumProcessGuide:developing
curriculumforthe1990s(OPI, 1990)beginswiththeformationofacurriculum
committee.Anassessmentcommitteeshouldfirstbeselected.Theassessmentcommittee
canbecomposedofmembersfromacurriculumcommittee,oritcanbeformedfroman
interdisciplinaryteam.Inanycase,assessmentplanningshouldbeacooperativeeffort
ofcertifiedstaff,trustees,administrators,students,specialists,parents,andcommunity
members.Trainingoftheassessmentcommittee(s),ataminimumtoestablishacommon
vocabulary,isessential.
Becausetheunderlying"AssessmentPhilosophy"and"AssessmentPolicyStatements"
arebasictoanassessmentplan,theyaredescribedfirstinthisguide.However,inpractice,
thecommitteemaywishtoexaminecurricularoutcomes,discusscriteria,andexplorea
varietyofassessmenttoolsbeforethephilosophyandpolicystatementsaresolidified.
Theimportanceofdevelopingcurriculargoals,targets,outcomestatements,orcontent
standardsbeforeembarkingupontheassessmentplanningprocesscannotbeover-
emphasized.Districtgoalsprovidetheframeworkforexaminingassessmentpossibilities.
AssessmentPhilosophy
Regardless oftheway the assessmentplaniswritten, discussing anddrafting an
"AssessmentPhilosophy"isanimportantfirststep. Sinceassessmenthascometothe
forefrontofmanyeducationaldebatesandisrecognizedbymanyasa"levertocrankthe
systemuptohigherachievement"(Mitchell,TestingforLearning,1993),booksand
articlestoprovidebackgroundforthephilosophywritingarenumerous. Ofcourse,the
assessmentphilosophyshouldderivefromtheoveralldistrictmissionstatement.This
philosophystatementcouldbeassimpleasthefollowing:
Appropriateassessmentreflectstheeducationalvaluesthatenablestudentsto
becomeeffectivecitizensandsupportsthebeliefthatstudents,teachers,and
parentsarepartnersinlearning. Assessmentbecomesappropriate,accurate,
andequitablewhenitisafairmeasureofthecurriculumdeliveredtostudents;
wtohtehneietnftiinrdesrtahnegsetorfenlgetahrsniinngcosntytleenst;,wshkiellns,stauttdietnutdseksnaonwdtthheinckriitnegrcihaaurpacotnerwihsitcihc
theirgradesarebased;andwhenresultsareusedtoachieveaclosermatch
betweenlearner,curriculum,andassessment.
Or,itcouldbeexpandedtoincludeprinciples,suchasthese:
Montana'saccreditationstandardsrequirethatschoolsdevelopanassessment
processforeachprogramarea,bothtoassessstudentprogressandtoevaluate
programs. Thechallengeinrealizingthespiritofthesestandardsistomatch
assessmentstrategieswithcurriculargoals,todetermineifthewrittencurriculum
isimplemented,tofindwaystoassessobjectivesinthinkingandattitude,andto
usetheresultstoimproveprogramsand,ultimately,studentachievement. This
schooldistrictwillstrivetointegrateassessmentintoinstruction,testwhatis
taught,andusetheresultstoimprovetheteaching/learningprocess.
Toachievethesegoals,thisschooldistrictwill:
• encourageteachers, administrators, andcommunitymemberstobecome
activeparticipantsinthedevelopmentoflocallearnergoals;
• designand/orselectassessmentproceduresthatreflectcurrentresearch,
locallydevelopedlearnergoals,andexemplaryclassroompractices;
• examinedifferenttypesofassessmentandchoosethosewhichbestmatch
students'classroomlearningexperiencesandgrowth;
• employauthenticdemonstrationsoflearning,suchasperformanceassess-
ments,tomakeinstructionaldecisions;
• developskillsinadministering,scoring,andinterpretingresultsofexter-
nally-producedandteacher-producedassessmentmethods;
• involvestudentsinassessmentdecisions,includingself-assessment;
• developfair,valid,andthoroughstudentprogressreporting;and
• useassessmentdatatoimprovecurriculum,teaching,andstudentlearning.
Toactonaphilosophysuchastheoneaboverequiresathoroughunderstandingof
traditionalandalternativeassessments. Oncethedistricthasagreeduponaphilosophy,
administration,teachers,andthecommunitymustbewillingtostrivetowardtheideals
they'vesetforthemselveseventhoughtheymayrequireopen-mindedness,timeand
moneytoachieve.Readingabout,trainingin,andtryingoutnewassessmentsisan
essentialpartoftheprocess.
PurposesofAssessment
Inallphasesofeducation,theprimarypurposeistofacilitatestudentlearning.The
standardsdefinewhatitisthatwethinkourstudentsshouldlearn,thecurriculumgives
themwaystolearn,andtheassessmentstellusifthey'velearnedandifwe'vegiventhem
theopportunitytolearn.TheMontanaSchoolAccreditationStandardsspecifytwo
purposesforassessment:toassessstudentprogresstowardachievinglearnergoalsand
toevaluateprograms.Purposessuchas"toguideprogramplanning,""tomakeinformed
instructionaldecisions,"or"todifferentiatecurriculumforspeciallearners"arepartsof
programevaluation. Purposessuchas"toprovidefeedbacktolearners,""toprovidea
basisforreportingprogresstoparentsandschoolpersonnel,""todetermineindividual
strengthsandweaknesses,""totrackindividualgrowth,"and"tosetfuturelearning
goals"arepartsofassessingstudentprogress. AdministrativeRule10.56.101requires
thereportingofnorm-referencedtestsbecause"itisusefultoknowhowMontana
studentsgenerallycomparetostudentsfromotherstates." Imbeddedwithinthese
purposesisthat"theobjectiveofalleducationalevaluationmustbetoproducestudents
whocanassessthemselves" (Mitchell,TestingforLearning).
Becauseassessmentismulti-dimensional,thisguideusesmatricesandtablestohelp
simplifytheassessmentplanningprocess. Amatrix,suchas"TableA,"canbeusedin
thebrainstormingprocessasassessmentplanningbegins. Withinthematrix,check
whichsourceofassessmentdataserveseachpurposemosteffectivelyandefficiently,or
markeachasaprimary(P)orsecondary(S)source.Thesepurposesandtheirrespective
sourcesofdatacanthenbeincorporatedintothepolicystatementsorassessmentplans.
