Deck 14: Assessment of Classroom Learning

Question 1

If a colleague said that her approach to classroom assessment was reflected by the phrase "assessment as learning," what would she mean?

A) Students learn from her assessments what subjects they have an aptitude for.
B) She learns how much of what she taught was learned by various students.
C) She learns which of her lessons was successful and which were not.
D) Students learn what they have and have not learned and she learns how successful her teaching was.

Answer 1

Students learn what they have and have not learned and she learns how successful her teaching was.

Question 2

Which of the following best represents an evaluation?

A) Ian answered eight out of ten quiz questions correctly.
B) Katrina earned an A in algebra.
C) Antonio has an IQ score of 132.
D) Jennifer scored higher on the test than Helen did.

Answer 2

Katrina earned an A in algebra.

Question 3

Which of the following is an advantage of short-answer tests?

A) They measure higher levels of learning.
B) Unexpected, yet plausible, responses are easy to score.
C) They require students to recall information.
D) They measure how well students can apply learning to realistic tasks.

Answer 3

They require students to recall information.

Question 4

If Ms. Choi, a third-grade teacher, decides to engage in formative assessment, she should

A) give a test at the end of a grading period to find out how well students have mastered objectives.
B) give a test at the beginning of a grading period to determine how much background knowledge students possess.
C) give a test to determine student strengths and weaknesses.
D) give tests periodically to find out how well students are progressing.

Question 5

Mr. Bringas is a seventh-grade English teacher. He wants to make sure that his students understand and know how to use the writing skills that he has been explaining and illustrating, so he gives them a short in-class writing assignment every day. He then uses the results to decide if he needs to reteach a particular topic or move on to a new one. The assessment approach Mr. Bringas is using is best captured by which of the following phrases:

A) assessment for learning
B) assessment in learning
C) assessment by learning
D) assessment of learning

Question 6

Victoria was presented with an award for being the most congenial student in her school. This is an example of

A) evaluation.
B) measurement.
C) formative evaluation.
D) use of a rubric.

Question 7

Well-designed essay questions require students to

A) recognize facts and apply elements of complex learning.
B) respond verbally rather than in writing.
C) describe concepts and define basic terminology.
D) recall, organize, and clearly communicate what they have learned.

Question 8

If you decided to give many homework assignments in order to determine student progress, but did not count them toward a final grade, you would be using

A) diagnostic assessment.
B) formative assessment.
C) summative assessment.
D) normative assessment.

Question 9

Which of the following best demonstrates the concept of measurement?

A) Keisha earns an A on her math test.
B) Greg runs faster than Tom on the playground.
C) Donzelle loves to read books about sports.
D) Anna scored in the 96th percentile on a math aptitude test.

Question 10

Selected-response tests do all but which of the following?

A) allow instructors to assess a large amount of material efficiently
B) allow instructors to assess what students can do with what they've learned
C) allow for efficient feedback procedures
D) allow for reliable scoring

Question 11

A cumulative final exam at the end of a college course would be best categorized as an example of a _______________ assessment.

A) diagnostic
B) formative
C) remedial
D) summative

Question 12

Which of the following does not pertain to short-answer questions?

A) They are easy to write.
B) They require recognition rather than recall.
C) They usually measure lower levels of learning.
D) You can obtain an extensive sample of behaviors in a short period of time.

Question 13

Which of the following is not an advantage of using selected-response tests?

A) They allow you to cover a large amount of material quickly.
B) They have reliable scoring procedures.
C) They provide quick and easy feedback to students and teacher.
D) They encourage meaningful learning.

Question 14

Because Ms. Montoya has a very diverse fourth grade class in terms of learning skills and motivation, she decides to use an assessment for learning approach to assessment. Which of the following best reflects that approach?

A) Give students a lengthy and rigorous test at the end of each instructional unit.
B) Motivate students by letting them decide when and how to be tested.
C) Assess what students have learned every day with a variety of brief assessments.
D) Keep students motivated to learn by giving them surprise tests that will account for 25% of their final grade.

Question 15

Summative assessment is synonymous with the phrase

A) assessment for learning.
B) assessment in learning.
C) assessment by learning.
D) assessment of learning.

Question 16

Mrs. Ely needs to find out how well her students have learned several concepts and terms that she has recently taught them in science class. She can do this most efficiently by

A) giving her class a pop quiz.
B) giving her class a written test.
C) circulating through the room, verbally quizzing her students.
D) holding a science fair.

Question 17

All of the following examples illustrate measurement except

A) Robert came in second out of ten competitors in the 100-yard dash.
B) Thomas received a smiley face on his spelling quiz.
C) Michelle's average in reading is the highest in her class.
D) Jane earned 50 of the possible 55 points on a recent exam.

Question 18

If you wanted to know how well students have learned various concepts and terms that they have recently covered in history class, you could give them a(n)

A) multiple-choice test.
B) short-answer test.
C) essay test.
D) Any of these tests.

Question 19

A minimum competency exam at the end of high school would be best categorized as an example of a _______________ assessment.

A) formative
B) summative
C) remedial
D) diagnostic

Question 20

Which of the following phrases best reflects the concept of assessment of learning?

A) Teacher as auditor.
B) Focuses on the products of learning.
C) Conducted periodically.
D) All of these answers.

Question 21

Which of the following is an appropriate testing and grading practice?

A) Avoid giving zeros for otherwise good work that is late or incomplete.
B) Provide simple examples in class, but more complex problems on tests.
C) Use pop quizzes to motivate students to complete reading assignments.
D) To be fair, use totally objective grading practices, never making exceptions for any reason.

Question 22

Which of the following objectives would be better evaluated using criterion-referenced grading rather than norm-referenced grading?

A) Ascertain how much students know about biology, compared with students in other schools.
B) Determine which reading test produces the highest reading comprehension scores.
C) Assess how well students have mastered English grammar.
D) Predict how well your students will do in their first semester of college.

Question 23

Questions of reliability and validity are of concern in the use of

A) short-answer tests.
B) selected-response tests.
C) multiple-choice tests.
D) performance tests.

Question 24

Despite the advantages of performance assessments, they pose several challenges for teachers. Which of the following is one of those challenges?

A) They make it easier for students to cheat.
B) They are harder to score than standard written tests.
C) They may not be seen as appropriate for high-stakes testing purposes.
D) They make it harder for students to prepare for the assessment.

Question 25

To encourage his students to thoroughly learn the material and be critical thinkers, Mr. Montoni writes most of his test questions to be more difficult than the ones he assigns for homework and that they discuss in class. This is an

A) acceptable testing practice because those who take the time to fully learn the material will be able to correctly answer most of the questions.
B) acceptable testing practice because it will motivate students to study more than they otherwise would.
C) unacceptable testing practice because teachers who want students to be able to answer more difficult questions need to teach them how to answer those types of questions.
D) unacceptable testing practice because it inflates test scores.

Question 26

Teachers should use scoring rubrics when assessing performance tasks for all but which of the following reasons?

A) They help produce a distribution of scores that approximates a normal curve.
B) They help make scoring more objective.
C) They help teachers match instructional activities with the demands of the performance assessment.
D) They help students determine whether they are learning what the teacher intended.

Question 27

Mrs. DuBose wants to know how well her students can independently create a color wheel. This type of knowledge would be best measured by a(n) _______________ test.

A) diagnostic
B) performance
C) aptitude
D) written

Question 28

Norm-referenced grading can be used for all of the following purposes except

A) selecting students for limited enrollment programs.
B) evaluating advanced levels of learning.
C) identifying the lowest 5 percent who need remedial reading.
D) determining which students have achieved specific objectives.

Question 29

Which of the following is a characteristic of performance tests?

A) They emphasize summative evaluation.
B) They may vary in how true to life they are.
C) They focus on the product rather than the process.
D) They emphasize open-ended, well-structured problems.

Question 30

A teacher who announces that only 10 percent of the class will be able to earn A's for the course is indicating his or her intention to use

A) criterion-referenced evaluation.
B) norm-referenced evaluation.
C) mastery learning procedures.
D) cooperative learning procedures.

Question 31

If you wanted to evaluate systematically and accurately how well students perform a dance routine, it would be most effective to use

A) a rubric.
B) a rating scale.
C) holistic scoring.
D) an item analysis.

Question 32

Which of the following is a growing concern about performance tests?

A) Educators have shown little interest in integrating them into their programs.
B) They put too much emphasis on the process as opposed to the product.
C) There is too much disparity between instruction and assessment.
D) Their reliability and validity have not been well established.

Question 33

If you decide to use a mastery approach (by following procedures recommended in the text), you would do all of the following except

A) provide students with instructional objectives.
B) make up several copies of an exam for each instructional unit.
C) assign grades by comparing students' scores to one another.
D) allow students to take exams whenever they feel they are ready.

Question 34

Which of the following does not fall within the domain of performance tests?

A) Students execute layups while their coach observes.
B) Students collect biological specimens, classifying them by phylum, genus, and species.
C) Students take a driving test to become legally licensed drivers.
D) Students sit for the SAT exam in hopes of gaining entrance to a college or university.

Question 35

Preparing a general outline of an acceptable response is a necessary part of

A) selected-response exams.
B) essay tests.
C) short-answer tests.
D) computerized testing.

Question 36

Which of the following reflects a decided advantage of criterion-referenced grading over norm-referenced grading?

A) It provides information about individual strengths and weaknesses.
B) It assesses how well students perform relative to the national average.
C) It can identify students at the top of the class for possible referral to gifted programs.
D) It tells students how they rank in comparison with their classmates.

Question 37

Saleem is working on a long-term project for his geometry class. He is investigating the use of geometry in architecture across time and different cultures. He uses the classroom computer to research his topic. Additionally, he is composing, illustrating, and storing his presentation on the computer. He plans to use the computer's Powerpoint presentation program when he shows his project to the class. What advantage does this type of project have for assessing students' learning?

A) It allows for a more objective assessment of learning than other methods.
B) It lets subjective judgment play a role in assessing what students have learned.
C) It lets students to demonstrate what they have learned in a variety or ways.
D) It gives teachers another tool with which to motivate students.

Question 38

In order to increase the likelihood that you will get an adequate sample of instructional content and student achievement when you devise tests, you are urged to

A) verify the degree of each test's reliability.
B) create a table of specifications.
C) include every relevant objective and behavior.
D) randomly select the objectives to be included.

Question 39

As the use of technology to create portfolios and presentations becomes more common among students, teachers will need to

A) create special rubrics to assess student skills and learning in an electronic environment.
B) be willing to accept the loss of reliability in their scoring of these projects.
C) use different scoring criteria for each student's project because each will be unique.
D) ignore irrelevant factors, such as level of computer skills, when scoring student work.

Question 40

Which of the following instructional objectives is best suited to criterion-referenced evaluations rather than norm-referenced evaluations?

A) Determine how well students have learned specific terminology.
B) Evaluate how your third graders scored compared with other third graders.
C) Ascertain how physically fit your students are, compared with the national average.
D) Predict how well your students will do in their first year of college.

Question 41

Describe what is meant by the phrase "assessment as learning."

Question 42

What is the purpose of formative assessment?

Question 43

Describe what is meant by the phrase "assessment for learning."

Question 44

Explain how norm-referenced grading can be used to evaluate advanced levels of learning.

Question 45

State the major purpose for using criterion-referenced grading methods.

Question 46

Describe criterion-referenced grading.

Question 47

Which of the following would be most likely to lead to accurate and systematic evaluations of student performances in a gymnastics class?

A) a self-rating scale used daily by students
B) a checklist completed by the teacher while observing students perform
C) detailed notes taken by the teacher while observing students perform
D) a scoring rubric that describes relevant behaviors and specific levels of performance for each.

Question 48

Note at least five characteristics of summative assessment (assessment of learning).

Question 49

Explain how a mastery approach to instruction and assessment differs from the traditional approach.

Question 50

One way to determine whether questions should be omitted, rewritten, or remain unchanged is through the use of

A) formative evaluation techniques.
B) summative evaluation techniques.
C) item-response techniques.
D) item-analysis techniques.

Question 51

Describe the advantages and the disadvantages of essay tests.

Question 52

Describe the advantages and the disadvantages of using short-answer tests.

Question 53

What are scoring rubrics and why should teachers use them?

Question 54

Define the term measurement.

Question 55

Discuss the reliability and validity of performance tests.

Question 56

What are performance tests and why are they important? Give two examples of performance tests.

Question 57

Note at least two challenges teachers face when they decide to use performance assessments.

Question 58

Define the term evaluation.

Question 59

Describe the strengths and weaknesses of selected-response tests.

Question 60

What is the purpose of summative assessment?

Question 61

Why should teachers use technology-based performance assessment?

Question 62

Discuss the distinctions between norm-referenced and criterion-referenced grading, focusing on the following points: basic assumptions, type of comparisons being made, and distribution of grades.

Question 63

Describe five common faulty measurement and grading practices that teachers should be aware of and try to avoid.

Question 64

Discuss item-analysis techniques and how these procedures could help improve your tests.

Question 65

Describe two methods that can help you be consistent when you score student performances and projects, such as musical performances or objects created in an art class.

Question 66

Define measurement and evaluation and provide a classroom example of each concept.

Question 67

Explain how you might use a table of specifications to obtain a representative sample of student achievement.

Question 68

Outline the major distinctions between formative (assessment FOR learning) and summative (assessment OF learning) assessment strategies. Explain when and why a teacher might use such concepts in order to provide effective instruction.

Question 69

Discuss the use of performance tests as a means of assessing student learning. In your answer, describe the general goal of performance testing, describe the four general types of performance tests, and discuss at least five characteristics of performance tests.

Question 70

Discuss the assessment of electronic portfolios and presentations.