Individual Assignment #3B

Assessment: A Productive View

Isabella Sopkin
Distinction between summative and formative assessment strategies
o Summative assessment strategies are when you have different types of assessments set
in place that provide clear goals and expectations to your students on what they should
know or explain (Sousa & Tomlinson, 2011, p. 80). These will be at key times - such as
end of units, end of quarter or even end of the year work. It is also expected that these
assessments will be taken down as a grade because these could come in the form of a
test, project, or even portfolios (Sousa & Tomlinson, 2011, p. 80). When talking about
formative assessments, these are more of an understanding for the teacher to know
where the students are at in their learning, so these often do not require a grade (Sousa
& Tomlinson, 2011, p. 80). The teacher will usually be asked questions throughout a
lesson to see if students understand the content being taught or could be small tasks
such as giving a thumbs up or down to show their confidence in the new material. This
not only allows for the teacher to have an understanding of their place with the
curriculum but allows for students to also reflect back on their learning.

Guidelines for effective assessment practices according to S&T

o Having guidelines for the effectiveness of an assessment plays a huge roll in student
success in the classroom. The very first step in this would be that the teacher is able to
provide learning goals to their students that clearly lays out the expectations of what is
expected from them along with providing assessments that are constructed based off of
those learning goals (Sousa & Tomlinson, 2011, p. 71 & 79). You also want to make sure
that the assessments fit the goals you are trying to meet and that they are being used
for what they are intended for (Sousa & Tomlinson, 2011, p. 72). It has to measure what
you need measured along with the students you are trying to reach. Communication is
also key. Just like you need to communicate with your students about the expectations
you have for them, it is important that the directions to reach these learning goals are
clear and concise with the content (Sousa & Tomlinson, 2011, p. 73). Assessments are
also more than just understanding what you students know, but also a good way to gage
your instruction. It is important to use this as an opportunity to see if there needs to be
adjustments, new goals, or improvements to your instruction to help your students in
the future (Sousa & Tomlinson, 2011, p. 73). Lastly, your students are the ones who
need to understand these learning goals and in order to have this happen you need to
make sure that you are able to meet their needs to help them excel (Sousa & Tomlinson,
2011, p. 73). This is by being able to keep them focused on the goals at hand, providing
clear instructions, and also providing a growth mindset (Sousa & Tomlinson, 2011, p. 73
& 74).

Explanation of the purposes of assessment according to S&T

1. Assessment of learning
 a. This would involve summative assessments to take place. These are important
and can be fair assessments if you are able to follow the guidelines to effective
assessment. This is where you take the end all of the knowledge obtained and
assess it to then compare to the standards or learning goals (Sousa & Tomlinson,
2011, p. 74-76).
2. Assessment for learning
a. Unlike assessment of learning, assessment for learning is when formative
assessments will take place. Instead of trying to figure out what guidance is
needed to help the student on their academic journey along with feedback that
teachers can provide to help assist during that time (Sousa & Tomlinson, 2011, p.
77). This also should be used to allow the teacher to also understand what they
are doing, if their instruction is beneficial to the students learning, and if things
should be adjusted.
3. Assessment as learning
a. Just like assessment for learning, assessment as learning uses formative
assessments. This, though, will look at what the students can to in order to help
them become better learners by helping to make connections, use constructive
feedback from their teacher, develop helpful skills, and also find meaning behind
their work (Sousa & Tomlinson, 2011, p. 78).

Examples of differentiation in assessment practices (S&T, p. 79-82)

o Diagnostic/Preassessments
o Examples that can be used during a preassessment can be informal surveys,
journals, short-answer questions and observations guided by the teacher (Sousa
& Tomlinson, 2011, p. 80).
o Formative Assessment
o Examples that can be used is to have students give a thumbs up or down about
how they feel about what they know with new material, having them fill out a
sheet and use it as an exit ticket, or even use a graphic organizer (Sousa &
Tomlinson, 2011, p. 80).
o Summative Assessment
o Examples that can be used would be tests, papers/essays, demonstrations and
portfolios (Sousa & Tomlinson, 2011, p. 80).

Examples of differentiation in grading practices (S&T, p. 82-85)

Assessments and grading should not be looked at the same. These are two separate
things. When it comes to grading practices, differentiation is important in order to have a
reliable and valid report card. An example of this would be that not everything is taken as a
grade and should be used as a form of assessment while allowing yourself and your students to
see some work as just practice (Sousa & Tomlinson, 2011, p. 84). Another example would be
that the report card should reflect on what the student knows rather than what they do. This
means that keeping grades on there for work that they have done to reflect their knowledge on
the subjects they are being graded on are important and that any grades reflecting
performance should be kept separately (Sousa & Tomlinson, 2011, p. 84). It is also important to
take note of focusing on later assignments in the quarter to be able to understand and see their
growth compared to the assignments at the beginning of the quarter (Sousa & Tomlinson,
2011, p. 80). These report cards should also clearly show the learning goals that were expected
of the students and then showing their growth overtime (Sousa & Tomlinson, 2011, p. 80).

Explanation of why clear learning goals contribute to increased acceptance of, and
performance in, assessment practices (S&T, p. 86-87).
o Students will have their learning goals contribute to these things because with clear
learning goals set in place it can allow teachers to also support the learning that is
happening with the students (Sousa & Tomlinson, 2011, p. 87). This will help students
feel acceptance by their teacher with that extra support and also will help increase their
performance.