You are on page 1of 21

Social Studies in Elementary Education

15e
Walter C. Parker & Terence A. Beck

Chapter 7
Assessing Student Learning

By: Terence A. Beck, University of Puget


Sound

Copyright 2017, 2012, 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Chapter Outline

1. Processes and Purposes of Assessment

2. Principles of Assessment

3. Methods of Assessment

Copyright 2017, 2012, 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.


Social Studies in Elementary Education, 15e, by Parker and Beck.
All Rights Reserved
Key Concepts

Purposes, principles, and methods of assessment

Formal and informal assessment


Diagnostic, formative, and summative assessment

Performance standards and scoring guides

Copyright 2017, 2012, 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.


Social Studies in Elementary Education, 15e, by Parker and Beck.
All Rights Reserved
Picture This
Mr. Bailey introduces his students to the concept democracy as part of the
fourth grade social studies-language arts curriculum. But he thought he
would find out what students already know about dictatorships and
democracies. He asks a few questions: Are our classroom meetings
democratic? Thumbs up if you think so, down if you think not, sideways if
youre not sure. He counts thumbs. Thank you. Now lets hear your
reasons. Their decisions tell him little about their understanding of
democracy, but listening to their reasoning he learns that they have very
little understanding, only something vague about elections. The next week,
he launches the unit on democracy. At the end, he will revisit this question
and listen again to their reasons.
Copyright 2017, 2012, 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
Social Studies in Elementary Education, 15e, by Parker and Beck.
All Rights Reserved
Assessing Map Skills

Copyright 2017, 2012, 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.


Social Studies in Elementary Education, 15e, by Parker and Beck.
All Rights Reserved
Reflect and Discuss 7.1

Stop and think about the assessments Ms. Rivera is using as she
prepares to teach her map reading and mapmaking unit. What is
most useful to her planning and instruction? Are her assessments
also useful to her students? Is there anything you would leave
out?

Copyright 2017, 2012, 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.


Social Studies in Elementary Education, 15e, by Parker and Beck.
All Rights Reserved
Assessment and Evaluation

Assessment means finding out what students know and are able to
do.

Evaluation involves value judgments: comparing what is with what


ought to be.

Copyright 2017, 2012, 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.


Social Studies in Elementary Education, 15e, by Parker and Beck.
All Rights Reserved
The Process of Assessment

Initial diagnostic assessment


Diagnose present knowledge and skills
Use a variety of assessment procedures along the
way
paper and pencil assignments
informal questioning
production task
Formal assessment near the end
Evaluate how well students learned content and skills

Copyright 2017, 2012, 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.


Social Studies in Elementary Education, 15e, by Parker and Beck.
All Rights Reserved
Purposes of Assessment

Instructional Planning

Public Accountability

Student Placement

Copyright 2017, 2012, 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.


Social Studies in Elementary Education, 15e, by Parker and Beck.
All Rights Reserved
Seven Principles of Good Assessment

Copyright 2017, 2012, 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.


Social Studies in Elementary Education, 15e, by Parker and Beck.
All Rights Reserved
Democracies Unit Example
Essential Content and Skill:
Students will understand that successful democracies balance majority rule with a
respect for minority rights.
Students will be able to consider both majority rule and minority rights when
making a public policy decision.
Important to Know and Do:
Students will understand that the courts are charged with protecting the rights of
the minority when they are threatened by rules made by the majority.
Students will be able to recognize when majority rule threatens minority rights.
Worth Some Familiarity:
Students will be familiar with Brown v. Board of Education.
Students Could Get Along Without Knowing (Not Important to Know or Do):
List past governors of our state.
Copyright 2017, 2012, 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
Social Studies in Elementary Education, 15e, by Parker and Beck.
All Rights Reserved
Backward design: From target to activities and instruction

Copyright 2017, 2012, 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.


Social Studies in Elementary Education, 15e, by Parker and Beck.
All Rights Reserved
Informal Methods of Assessment

Observation

Group discussion

Asking basic questions

Asking classifying questions


Conferences

Copyright 2017, 2012, 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.


Social Studies in Elementary Education, 15e, by Parker and Beck.
All Rights Reserved
Formal Methods of Assessment

Paper-and-pencil tests

Performance assessment

Portfolios

Copyright 2017, 2012, 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.


Social Studies in Elementary Education, 15e, by Parker and Beck.
All Rights Reserved
Issues and Challenges 7.2
Good classroom evaluations are designed to determine if students
learned what teachers taught. The best evaluation materials align
clearly with the teachers goals and objectives for the unit. If students
have been taught well and the criteria are clear, all students should do
well on the evaluation.
It is challenging work, but teachers need to examine these materials in
advance to make sure their students have been prepared for them. This
isnt cheating: it is simple fairness. Grading students on how well they
know material they havent encountered undermines the purpose of
finding out if students learned what teachers taught.
Copyright 2017, 2012, 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
Social Studies in Elementary Education, 15e, by Parker and Beck.
All Rights Reserved
Multiple-choice with justification
Example #1 Example #2
I. Which of these was the cause of I. Which of these is an example of
the dust bowl? the ideal democracy?
a. The slaughter of the a. Having a constitution.
American Bison. b. Saying which math answer
b. Greedy farmers you think is correct.
c. Farming practices that c. Voting for students to
misused the land represent our class in student
d. A drought in the 1930s council.
d. A class where everyone
II. Give your reasons. follows the rules.
II. Give your reasons.

Copyright 2017, 2012, 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.


Social Studies in Elementary Education, 15e, by Parker and Beck.
All Rights Reserved
Steps in Creating a Scoring Guide

Objectives/curriculum standards

Performances

Criteria/performance standards

Share
Revise the rubric

Copyright 2017, 2012, 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.


Social Studies in Elementary Education, 15e, by Parker and Beck.
All Rights Reserved
Reflect and Discuss 7.2

While a scoring guide is designed to help a teacher assess student


learning, how could it be used to help students learn?

Copyright 2017, 2012, 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.


Social Studies in Elementary Education, 15e, by Parker and Beck.
All Rights Reserved
Figure 7.13 Response to Literature Portfolio
Response Type Selection (genre) Date/My Comments

paraphrase Paul Reveres Ride (poem)

compose new verse Oh, Freedom (song)

memorize I Have a Dream (speech)

book review Aekyungs Dream (book)

explain The Pledge of Allegiance (oath)

short story Climate of Sahara (textbook)

Copyright 2017, 2012, 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.


Social Studies in Elementary Education, 15e, by Parker and Beck.
All Rights Reserved
Reflect and Discuss 7.3

Refer to Figure 7.13. This cover sheet for a literature response


portfolio includes opportunities for students to make comments. How
could you revise this example to encourage students to do more than
simply make a comment on the product in their portfolio? In other
words, how can you help them reflect on what they learned in the
process of creating each product?

Copyright 2017, 2012, 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.


Social Studies in Elementary Education, 15e, by Parker and Beck.
All Rights Reserved
Discussion Question

How does backward design (assessment principle 4) help


students learn? Discuss the matter with classmates.

Copyright 2017, 2012, 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.


Social Studies in Elementary Education, 15e, by Parker and Beck.
All Rights Reserved

You might also like