Question

Suppose you are a teacher of a 5th grade class. In order to maximize students’ learning in mathematics and also to improve your practices, how would you utilize the following assessment methods for your students’ math learning? : norm-referenced assessment, criterion-referenced assessment, formative assessment , summative assessment, and portfolio assessment.

Answer 1

The goal of formative assessment is to monitor student learning to provide ongoing feedback that can be used by instructors to improve their teaching and by students to improve their learning. More specifically, formative assessments help students identify their strengths and weaknesses and target areas that needs improvement.

To improve assessment, teachers need to change their approach to assessment in the following manner.

• Make Assessments Useful For Students
• Follow Assessments with Corrective Instruction
• Give Second Chances to Demonstrate Success.
• Similar Situations
• The Benefits of Assessment

Norm referenced is a percentage ranking compared to an average population. It is an evaluation which yields an estimate of the position of the tested individual in a predefined population. A few examples are SAT, IQ tests. Criterion referenced relates to some sort of established unit of a measure. They are designed to measure student performance against a fixed set of standards.

Formative assessment includes:

• Analysis of Student Work.
• Questioning Strategies
• Think-Pair-Share
• One-Minute Papers
• Critical Thinking

Summative Assessment include:

• State assessments.
• District benchmark or interim assessments.
• End-of-unit or chapter tests.
• End-of-term or semester exams.
• Report card grades

Portfolio Assessment includes:

• observations, tests, checklists, and rating scales

The portfolio contains samples of the learner's work and shows growth over time.