It occurs to me that I’m not a very good teacher if I don’t give you the chance to reflect on your assessment knowledge. I’m going to provide you with an assessment of your assessment beliefs. Don’t worry. It’s formative. I will not be collecting your responses for marks. I just want you to reflect. There are no wrong answers here (but there are some that are more right than others). Your answers will reveal some of your beliefs about assessment.
Scenario
Three English 20-1 teachers at a school get together and create common assessments. They decide that they can accurately assess their curriculum using 8 summative assessments. Their assessments will be:
- 4 Short Responses to Texts and Media – 250 words or less (20%)
- 2 Essays – 1500 words (20%)
- Midterm Exam (20%)
- Final Exam (40%)
They agree that they will attempt to get all their students to write these 8 assessments.
In a strange coincidence, possible only in a scenario like this, there is one student in each class who misses the same 3 assessments, and gets exactly 80% on the five completed ones.
The teachers give each student a printout of their grade two weeks before the final exam. What the students see is in the chart below.
Teacher A tells Student A that he will replace the zeros with whatever the student gets, should the student choose to do any of the missing assessments. The student knows he will do well on the final, so the student chooses to do nothing additional. Student A writes the final (gets 80% on it), keeps the zeros, and passes the class with an average of 52%.
Teacher B tells Student B that he can’t give her a mark. He is missing three pieces of critical evidence. Student B finds the missing Response #3 in her binder and submits it. She comes in three days in a row at lunch to work on her missing essay, spends all weekend on it, and then turns it in. She writes the midterm exam in her vice principal’s office one day after school, under his supervision. She gets 80% on all three things, and writes the final (also 80%) and comes out of the class with a final grade of 80%.
Teacher C tells Student C that the missing assessments aren’t counted in the average. They are being omitted. The teacher tells Student C that she would like him to do those three assessments. He doesn’t. He writes the final exam (and gets 80%). The teacher omits the three missing assessments, and the student comes out of the class with a grade of 80%.
Questions for Reflection
- Which student do you think was assessed most accurately? Which student’s grade is least accurate? Is there a better way than these three methods to ensure accuracy? Explain.
- Which student do you think learned the most about the real world? Which student do you think learned the least about the real world? Is there a better way these three teachers could have prepared their students for the real world? Explain.
- Which teacher’s practice strikes you as most fair? Which teacher’s practice strikes you as least fair? Do you think there is a fairer way of assessing than these three teachers did? Explain.
- Which teacher’s class would you want your child in? Which teacher’s class would you not want your child in? Explain.
1. B definitely. Assessed all the objectives.
2. Wow. In terms of workplace accountability, A. Sobering thought.
3. Again B, but it seems like the choice for many students is going to be A or C. I have never done C, but have done A and felt bad about it. Both are literally fair if you treat all students the same. Neither is probably an accurate reflection of student understanding.
4. Still B. But if it’s a choice between A and C I would be hard put to choose. Ultimately I’d choose C for my kids to maintain a hope of future engagement.
I appreciate the example. It’s a straightforward depiction of the human complexities in classroom assessment. Thanks for painting it and for the reflection questions.
Scenario A loses accuracy (bigtime). Scenario B builds responsibility in the student, applies alternatives to zeros, and ensures a more accurate overall grade. Scenario C is a misapplication of ‘no zeroes,’ and depicts the misunderstandings that are influencing public opinion of late.
The ‘real world’ part of the discussion we’ve been having lately is so interesting to me. Students’ world is real to them. In many ways, school can be artificially rigorous, and ‘real life’ (i.e. the adult world of work) is quite merciful and accommodating.
One sidebar comment is that the evidence the teachers are gathering should be more broad-based and representative of the entire English Language Arts Program of Studies, not just reading and writing (with a touch of viewing in the media texts, perhaps). This comment isn’t relevant to the purpose of this post (to depict the various applications of requiring work to be complete), and I don’t mean to sideline the core topic. However, it’s an opportunity, as we journey towards more conscious application of research-aligned, fair and balanced assessment practices, to recognize that assessing students in the same way (and on the same skills) is another type of assessment bias that can be motivating or de-motivating for different learners. How we determine what is essential evidence can also distort the accuracy and validity of an overall grade.
Thanks for the invitation to discuss.
Great post to get you thinking. I am currently in the middle of completing my Bachelor of Education and it is stuff like this that I need to work on! Here are my thoughts:
1 ) I think student B was assessed most accurately because she was the only student that actually completed all the assignments, thus, giving the teacher the necessary evidence to give her an accurate assessment. I think student A was the least accurate because it appears like he only knows 52% of the material when it is just the zeros that are bringing down his marks. I’m in favour of giving an INC as opposed to a zero but what happens at the end of the year if the student refuses to do the assignments? Do they have to redo the class or would you be forced to do what the teacher did for student C?
2 ) Student A learned the most about the real world I would say. If you didn’t do your job you would be fired, if you don’t hand in your assingments you fail. I think student C learned the least because “problems” don’t just go away in the real world.
3 ) I think that Student B was assessed the most fair because the teacher actually had all the necessary assingments to check the student’s learning. Student A and Student B, on the other hand, where both evenly unfair but for different reasons. Student A was assessed in a way that made it look like he didn’t know 80% of the curriculum because the zeros brought his average down. Student B didn’t have the same assignments as the other students because some of theirs were ommitted so their assessment can’t place them at a level with their peers.
4 ) I would probably want my student in Teacher B’s class because I feel like it is the most accurate representation of what the student actually knows.
I know it doesn’t answer all the questions you laid out but I’m still thinking. I hope more people answer as well so I can look through the responses.
1. Student assess the most accurately was definitely student B and least fair I think is a tie between student A and C. Neither one is an accurate reflection of what either student knows.
2. Student that learned the least about the “real world” was student C. Never in the “real world” will you be asked to complete something, not do it, then just have it forgotten about. It is this scenario that the majority of the public thinks is happening in our classrooms and I think that is a shame. Student B would have learned the most about the “real world” but as a teacher it drives me crazy when students magically find something in their binder that should have been turned in beforehand. I am not sure what would be a good consequence for this behaviour but giving the student a zero for it is definitely no good.
3. Student B would have been marked the most fair. I think Student C would actually be marked the least fair. The mark of 80 seems reasonable but not knowing what the other assessments were to me is a huge problem. Giving the student an omit on these assessments in pretty much like guessing that there mark is going to be an 80.
4. I would want my child in Teacher’s B classroom. I would not want my child in Teacher’s C’s class because my child would learn that it is okay to not do things and get away with it.
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These are interesting considerations, and I’m going to present this to my colleagues when we return to school, but here are my own thoughts… Please forgive their length.
1. Most accurately assessed — B. for reasons already stated by others regarding full set of evidence, etc. Least accurately assessed — A. Not talking “fairness,” but assessment… it is difficult to “assess” something that does not exist, so “earning” a zero on something that doesn’t exist is no more accurate than “earning” a 100 on it. (Again, talking actual assessment, not grading procedures and life lessons) A better way? Though I haven’t taken it on, I would imagine a portfolio assessment would be more accurate; each student earned 80% on each type of assignment, hence demonstrating the SKILLS being assessed. If a student feels that a sampling of those assignments best reflects his or her learning, then he or she — without extra time, without disciplinary zeroes, without saying “you only have to do what you want” — would actually have earned a fair 80%. (BTW, 65% is passing in my school.)
2. I don’t think any of these really apply in the real world, but if forced to choose, I would say B is closest to real world. In many jobs, you’re probably not going to get paid until the work is done, even if what you have done “so far” is good work — or your company isn’t going to get paid until the materials are delivered, etc. Running around to get the required work done will be your own responsibility to tend to, but the actual idea of something needing to be complete before getting credit for it seems most realistic to me — again, minus the hand-holding. C learned the least about the real world; incomplete work does count against most people. Better way… I have to think more…
3. Most fair — Teacher A — I imagine A would do the same with any student, and he or she didn’t say the student HAD to live with the zeroes; the choice was the student’s. Least fair — Teacher C — Students who did all 8 assignments but who may not have done as well on some — especially if a higher weighted assessment — actually lose out in this system. If teacher B actually goes through all those steps for every student, then he/she is pretty fair, but the likelihood that each student gets those chances / hand-holding seems unlikely.
4. My children are of the canine variety, so I will consider my godson and other children close to me… I think I would choose Teacher A, though that’s not what I would have said before writing all this. If Teacher A would not let the student do the work for those zeroes, then I would feel differently, but Teacher A is saying that these are the required assignments, do them, I’ll assess them, and you will get a grade. Allowing students to do them after the fact speaks to the teacher’s focus on grades as an assessment tool rather than as a disciplinary tool. When students see those zeroes and the impact, I think they realize that they have decisions to make — which is really all that the Real Life is: a series of daily decisions that add up to form our lives. Seeing that choosing not to do one thing (today an essay, preparing a presentation for your boss) can really mess up your world is a lesson I don’t think is so bad to learn. At least Teacher A is offering a safety net … Boss A probably won’t.
Thanks for the thoughtful questions and topic.