Types of Scoring Instruments for Performance Assessments:

I.CHECKLIST an observation instrument that defines performance whether it is

certain or uncertain, or present or not present.
II.NARRATIVE/ANECDOTAL a continuous description of student behavior as it
occurs, recorded without judgement or interpretation.
III. Rating Scale checklist that allows an evaluator to record information on a
scale, noting the finer distinction like the presence or absence of a behavior.
IV.Memory Approach an approach where the teacher observes the students
when performing the tasks without taking any notes.
V. Assess the performance to assess the performance of the students, the
evaluator can use the different types of approach to give feedbacks.
VI Specify the Constraint in Testing direct form of assessment in which real
world conditions and constraint play a very important role in demonstrating the
competencies desired from the students.
Errors in Performance-Based Assessment Possible Errors Committed using
Performance-based
 Personal Bias
 Generosity error
 Severity Error
 Halo affect

Generosity Error committed when a teacher overrates the performance of the

students or favors the high performing students in the class
Severity Error when the teacher favors the low performing students in the class.
Halo Effect committed when judging individual characteristics in terms of general
impression (Gronlund,1998).
Assessing Portfolio
The Portfolio as an Assessment Tool
I. A portfolio is a collection of student work with a common theme or purpose. The
use of portfolios is not new.
II. Portfolios have been common in the fine and performing arts for years in seeking
support for one’s work, to document change or improvement in style and perfor-
mance, or to gain admission to special schools.
III. Portfolios are often described as a more authentic means of assessment than the
traditional classroom test. Rather than showing that the learner knows what has
been taught, the portfolio demonstrates that the student can do what has been
taught.
IV.For example, we may identify the component parts of a short story on an
objective test. But the inclusion of a short story in a portfolio documents our
ability to write a short story.
V. According to Paulson, Paulson and Meyer, (1991, p. 63):
VI. "PORTFOLIOS offer a way of assessing student learning that is different than
traditional methods.
VII.
VIII. Portfolio assessment provides the teacher and students an opportunity
to observe students in a broader context: taking risks, developing creative
solutions, and learning to make judgments about their own performances."
IX. Portfolio Assessment
X. However, describing portfolio assessment as authentic suggests that other
forms of assessment are less valid, or inappropriate. That is not the case.
XI.Different methods of assessment are useful for different purposes.
XII. Portfolio assessment is most appropriate when learning can be best
demonstrated through a product.
XIII. Decide on a purpose or theme.
XIV. General assessment alone is not a sufficient goal for a portfolio. It
must be decided specifically what is to be assessed. Portfolios are most useful
for addressing the student’s ability to apply what has been learned. Therefore, a
useful question to consider is, What skills or techniques do I want the students to
learn, to apply? The answer to this question can often be found in the school
curriculum.
XV. Consider what samples.
XVI. Consider what samples of student work might best illustrate the
application of the standard or educational goal in question. Written work samples,
of course, come to mind. However, videotapes, pictures of products or activities,
and testimonials are only a few of the many different ways to document
achievement.
XVII. Determine how samples will be selected. A range of procedures can
be utilized here. Students, maybe in conjunction with parents and teachers, might
select work to be included, or a specific type of sample might be required by the
teacher, the school, or the school system.
XVIII. Decide whether to assess the process and the product or the product
only. Assessing the process would require some documentation regarding how
the learner developed the product. For example,
XIX. Did the student use the process for planning a short story or utilizing the
experimental method that was taught in class?
XX. Was it used correctly?
XXI. Evaluation of the process will require a procedure for accurately
documenting the process used. The documentation could include a log or video
of the steps or an interview with the student.
XXII. Develop an appropriate scoring system. Usually this is best done through
the use of a rubric, a point scale with descriptors that explain how the work will
be evaluated.
Points are allotted with the highest quality work getting the most points.
If the descriptors are clear and specific, they become goals for which the student can
aim.
There should be a separate scale for each standard being evaluated.
Share the scoring system with the students.
Qualitative descriptors of how the student will be evaluated, known in advance, can
guide learning and performance.
Engage the learner in a discussion of the product. Through the process of discussion
the teacher and the learner can explore the material in more depth, exchange feelings
and attitudes
I. Grade Description
1-3---Shows limited awareness of portfolio goals
Has difficulty understanding the process of revision
Demonstrates little evidence of progress overtime
Limited explanation of choices made
Has difficulty relating to self/peer assessment
4-7---Reflects awareness of some portfolio goals
Understands the process of revision to a certain extent
Demonstrates some evidences of progress overtime
Explains choices made in a relevant way
Relates to self/peer assessment
8-10--- Reflects awareness of portfolio goals
Understands the process of revision
Demonstrates evidences of progress overtime
Fully explains choices made
Reaches high level of reliability in self/peer assessment
Draws conclusions about his/her learning
TIPS
 Each portfolio entry needs to be assessed with reference to its specific goals.
 Since the goals and weighting of the various portfolio components have been
clearly fixed in advance, assessing the portfolio is not difficult.
 Self and peer assessment can be used too, as a tool for formative evaluation,
with the students having to justify their grades with reference to the goals and to
specific pages in the portfolio.
 This actually makes the teacher’s job of assessing portfolio much easier, be-
cause the pupil has done the groundwork of proving how far each goal is met in
the portfolio.
 After all the efforts that your students have invested in their portfolios, it is recom-
mended that the teacher provides feedback on the portfolios that is more than
just a grade.
  One possibility is to write a letter about the portfolio, which details strengths and
weaknesses and generates a profile of a students’ ability, which is then added to
the portfolio

 The finished portfolio may be due only at the end of the semester, but it is good
idea to set regular dates at which time several portfolio-ready items will be
handed in, so the students know whether they are on the right track
 Another option is to prepare certificates which comment on the portfolio strengths
and weaknesses.
Challenges
 Reliability:
It can be quite difficult to establish scoring systems that are reliable over
raters or time. Reliability across raters is especially important if major decisions
are to be based on the assessment outcome.
 Time:
The use of portfolios for assessment is time consuming in terms of hours
needed to produce the product, time to develop a workable scoring system, and
training for the evaluator(s).
 Depth, not breadth:
Portfolio assessment offers the opportunity for depth but not breadth with
regard to academic material covered. A written test can include questions from
an entire unit with a sample of items from all areas taught. Because of the time it
takes to produce products, it is not possible to have a portfolio that represents
every aspect of a unit.
 Fairness:
It may be difficult for the evaluator to control outside influences on the
product such as parental assistance and access to resources like computers. If
the assessment contributes to high stakes decision making, lack of equity in
resources can be a significant problem.
 Contributions to learning:
The use of the portfolio for assessment purposes could detract from its
most important contributions to the learning process, such as honest teacher-stu-
dent communication, forthright self assessment, and working toward one’s per-
sonal best.
Key ingredients to Classroom Portfolio Assessment
 Make sure students “own” their portfolios
 Decide what kind of work to collect and store work samples
 Select criteria by which to evaluate work samples
 Require students to continually evaluate their own products
 Schedule and conduct portfolio conferences
 Involve parents in the portfolio assessment process 1. 2. 3. 4.
Purposes of Portfolios
1. Documentation of student progress
2. Working portfolios
3. Showcasing student accomplishments
4. Celebration portfolios
5. Evaluation of student status
Student-Teacher Conferences
The main philosophy embedded in portfolio assessment is “shared and active
assessment”. To this end, the teacher should have short individual meetings with each
pupil, in which progress is discussed and goals are set for a future meeting.
Throughout the process, the student and the teacher keep careful documentation of
the meetings noting the significant agreements and findings in each individual session.
Through meetings of this kind, the formative evaluation process for portfolio
assessment is facilitated. Indeed, the use of portfolio assessment takes time but in the
end, the gains are well worth the time and effort expended by the teacher.
Finally, student-teacher conferences can also be used for summative evaluation
purposes when the students present his final portfolio product and where final grades
are determi8ned together with the teacher. Even at this stage, students can negotiate
for the appropriate grade to be given using as evidence the minutes of the regular
student-teacher conferences.
Below is a list of helpful hints for setting up student-teacher conferences.
 The teacher should look at student work beforehand
 A checklist or feedback form should accompany the work
 Comments should be specific to the work and elaborated on during the confer-
ence
 The teacher should focus on two to three items that need work and be prepared
to share examples on how to improve them
 Plenty of positive feedback should be shared throughout the conference
 Time for the student to ask questions and give input should be allotted
 Student should be able to take the feedback form/checklist with them at the end
of the conference to use as a reference in making revisions
The main goal should be to meet with the students two or more times during the
course of a project.

This way, students are given multiple opportunities to make sure they are on the right
track and make necessary improvements to their work.
Using formal conferencing along with informal feedback, students are protected from
failure and set up for success.
Traditional Assessment Pyramid
 The three approaches are
 Assessment of Learning,
 Assessment for Learning
 Assessment as Learning
Assessment as Learning.
Although I intend to highlight the contribution of Assessment for Learning and
Assessment as Learning as part of a preferred future, Assessment of Learning is also
valuable and has its place. In my mind, it is important to understand them all,
recognize the inevitable contradictions among them, know which one you are using
and why, and use them all wisely and well.
Assessment Roles and Goals
 Teacher as mentor Provide feedback and support to each student.
 Teacher as guide Gather diagnostic information to lead the group through the
work at hand.
 Teacher the accountant Maintain records of students’ progress and achieve-
ment.
 Teacher as reporter Report to parents, students, and the school administration
about student progress and achievement.
 Teacher as program director Make adjustments and revisions to instructional
practices.
The predominant kind of assessment in schools is Assessment of Learning. Its
purpose is summative, intended to certify learning and report to parents and students
about students’ progress in school, usually by signalling students’ relative position
compared to other students. Assessment of Learning in classrooms is typically done
at the end of something (eg, a unit, course, a grade, a Key Stage, a program) and
takes the form of tests or exams.
Assessment for Learning
Assessment for Learning offers an alternative perspective to
traditional assessment in schools. Simply put, Assessment for
Learning shifts the emphasis from summative to formative
assessment, from making judgments to creating descriptions that
can be used in the service of the next stage of learning.
When they are doing Assessment for Learning, teachers collect a wide range of data
so that they can modify the learning work for their students. Clearly, teachers are
the central characters in Assessment for
Learning as well, but their role is quite different from that in the prior approach. In
Assessment for Learning, they use their personal knowledge of
the students and their understanding of the context of the assessment and the
curriculum targets to identify particular learning needs. Assessment for learning
happens in the middle of learning, often more than once, rather that at the end. It is
interactive, with teachers providing assistance as part of the assessment. It helps
teachers provide the feedback to scaffold next steps. And it depends on teachers’
diagnostic skills to make it work.
Assessment as Learning
By introducing the notion of Assessment as Learning, I intend to reinforce and extend
the role of formative assessment for learning by emphasizing the role of the student,
not only as a contributor to the assessment and learning process, but also as the
critical connector between them. The student is the link. Students, as active, engaged,
and critical assessors, can make sense of
information, relate it to prior knowledge, and master the skills involved. This is the
regulatory process in metacognition. It occurs when students personally monitor what
they are learning and use the feedback from this monitoring to make adjustments,
adaptations, and even major changes in what they understand. Assessment as
Learning is the ultimate goal, where students are
their own best assessors.
Features of Assessment of, for, and as Learning
Approach Purpose Reference Key Pts. Key assessors
Assessment of
Learning Judgments about placement, Other students Teacher
promotion, credentials, etc.

Assessment for Information for External standards Teacher

Learning teachers’ instructional
decisions

Assessment as Self-monitoring Personal goals and student

Learning and self-correction external standards
adjustment
FACILITATING ACTIVITIES

Fill in the blanks. Find your answer in the box.

Adjustments, Inform, Report, Maintain, Diagnostic, Provide, beforehand,

accompany, specific, examples, feedback, input, conference, own, collect,
evaluate, check, conduct, assessment, contributes, scaffold
1.Teacher as mentor ____feedback and support to each student.
2.Teacher as guide Gather ____information to lead the group through the work at hand.
3.Teacher the accountant ___ records of students’ progress and achievement.
4.Teacher as reporter ___to parents, students, and the school administration
about student progress and achievement.
5.Teacher as program director make ___ & revisions to instructional practices.
6.The teacher should look at student work ___.
7.A checklist or feedback form should ____the work
8.Comments should be ___to the work and elaborated on during the conference
9.The teacher should focus on two to three items that need work and be pre
Pared to share ___on how to improve them.
10.Plenty of positive ___ should be shared throughout the conference
11.Time for the student to ask questions and give ___should be allotted
12.Student should be able to take the feedback form/checklist with them at the
end of the ____to use as a reference in making revisions.
13.Make sure students have their ____ portfolios
14.Decide what kind of work to ___ and store work samples
15.Select criteria by which to ____work samples.
16.Require students to continually ____their own products
17.Schedule and ____portfolio conferences
18.Involve parents in the portfolio ____ in the other process.
19. If the assessment ____to high stakes decision making, lack of equity
in resources can be a significant problem.
20. It helps teachers provide the feedback to ____next steps.

Test II. Define the following. (3 pts. Each)

1.Portfolio
2. Assessment as learning
3. Assessment for learning
4.Assessment of learning
5.Reliability 6. Fairness
7. Narrative/Anecdotal
8.Rating Scale checklist
9.Memory Approach
10.Assess the performance