Assessment for Education

Why is assessment important in Education?

provides diagnostic feedback
helps educators set standards
What performance demonstrates mastery?
evaluates progress
How is the student doing?
What teaching approaches are the most effective for the students?
relates to a student's progress
Can the student apply the knowledge to other areas/fields?
motivates performance
How can I do better?
The Role of Testing and Assessment in Education
Test a measuring device or procedure designed to measure a variable
related to a modifier
Educators are interested in answers to diverse questions as students through
school
How much of this course material have you actually learned?
Have you mastered the material in this course?
Educators may also administer tests to pinpoint possible areas of learning
difficulty
Testing may be required by law
Response to Intervention (RtI)
In the mid-1970's, the federal mandate defined learning disability as
"severe discrepancy between achievement and intellectual ability"
In a definition provided by Public Law 108-147 (2007), specific learning
disability is "a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes
involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, which
disorder may manifest itself in the imperfect ability to listen, think, speak,
read, write, spell or do mathematical calculations."
IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) required states to allow the
"use of a process based on the child's response to scientific, research-based
intervention"
RtI Model
multilevel prevention framework applied in educational settings designed to
maximize student achievement through the use of data that identifies
students at risk for poor learning outcomes combined with evidenced-based
intervention and teaching that is adjusted on the basis of student
responsiveness
Teachers provide evidence-based instruction

Student learning of that instruction is evaluated

Intervention

Re-evaluation of learning takes place

Intervention and Reassessment occur as necessary

Note: Evidence-based instruction a particular program or collection of

instructional practices has a record of success. That is, there is reliable,
trustworthy, and valid evidence to suggest that when the program is used with
a particular group of children, the children can be expected to make adequate
gains in reading achievement.

The

model has three levels

Level 1
classroom environment wherein all students are being taught
whatever it is that the teacher is teaching
Level 2
small group of learners who have failed to make adequate
progress in the classroom
Level 3
individually tailored and administered instruction for students
who have failed to respond to the second level of intervention

Objectives of the RtI model

to accelerate the learning process of students
to help identify students with learning disabilities
enhance the success of students with a variety of academic and/or
behavior needs,

Through implementation of RtI, schools identify and monitor students at risk,

use problem-solving and data-based decision making to provide researchbased interventions and adjust the intensity of interventions based on the
students response

Implementing RtI:
Problem-solving model

use of interventions tailored to students' individual needs that are

selected by a multidisciplinary team of school professionals
IDEA mandated that no single measure be used as a sole criterion for
determining whether a child is a child of disability
Integrative Assessment
used to describe a multidisciplinary approach to evaluation that
assimilates input from relevant sources
deals with organized bodies of knowledge and relationships between
facts, concepts, and generalizations