PAR 3d. Assessment in Instruction

Critical Attributes (for Observers):

Students indicate that they clearly understand the characteristics of high-quality work, and there is evidence that students have helped establish the evaluation criteria.

The teacher is constantly “taking the pulse” of the class; monitoring of student understanding is sophisticated and continuous and makes use of strategies to elicit information about individual student understanding.

Students monitor their own understanding, either on their own initiative or as a result of tasks set by the teacher.

High-quality feedback comes from many sources, including students; it is specific and focused on improvement.

• (1) Emerging

• (2) Developing

• (3) Demonstrating

• (4) Excelling

Critical Attributes (for Observers):

The teacher gives no indication of what high-quality work looks like.

The teacher makes no effort to determine whether students understand the lesson.

Students receive no feedback, or feedback is global or directed to only one student.

The teacher does not ask students to evaluate their own or classmates’ work.

• (1) Emerging

• (2) Developing

• (3) Demonstrating

• (4) Excelling

Critical Attributes (for Observers):

There is little evidence that the students understand how their work will be evaluated.

The teacher monitors understanding through a single method, or without eliciting evidence of understanding from students.

Feedback to students is vague and not oriented toward future improvement of work.

The teacher makes only minor attempts to engage students in self- or peer assessment.

• (1) Emerging

• (2) Developing

• (3) Demonstrating

• (4) Excelling

Critical Attributes (for Observers):

The teacher makes the standards of high-quality work clear to students.

The teacher elicits evidence of student understanding.

Students are invited to assess their own work and make improvements; most of them do so.

Feedback includes specific and timely guidance, at least for groups of students.

• (1) Emerging

• (2) Developing

• (3) Demonstrating

• (4) Excelling

Possible Examples/ Strategies (for Teachers):

A student asks, “How is this assignment going to be graded?”

A student asks, “Is this the right way to solve this problem?” but receives no information from the teacher.

The teacher forges ahead with a presentation without checking for understanding.

After the students present their research on globalization, the teacher tells them their letter grade; when students ask how he arrived at the grade, the teacher responds, “After all these years in education, I just know what grade to give.”

• (1) Emerging

• (2) Developing

• (3) Demonstrating

• (4) Excelling

Possible Examples/ Strategies (for Teachers):

The teacher asks, “Does anyone have a question?"

When a student completes a problem on the board, the teacher corrects the student’s work without explaining why.

The teacher says, “Good job, everyone.”

The teacher, after receiving a correct response from one student, continues without ascertaining whether other students understand the concept.

The students receive their tests back; each one is simply marked with a letter grade at the top.

• (1) Emerging

• (2) Developing

• (3) Demonstrating

• (4) Excelling

Possible Examples/Strategies (for Teachers):

The teacher circulates during small- group or independent work, offering suggestions to students.

The teacher uses specifically formulated questions to elicit evidence of student understanding.

The teacher asks students to look over their papers to correct their errors; most of them engage in this task.

• (1) Emerging

• (2) Developing

• (3) Demonstrating

• (4) Excelling

Possible Examples/Strategies (for Teachers):

The teacher reminds students of the characteristics of high-quality work, observing that the students themselves helped develop them.

While students are working, the teacher circulates, providing specific feedback to individual students.

The teacher uses popsicle sticks or exit tickets to elicit evidence of individual student understanding.

• Students offer feedback to their classmates on their work.

Students evaluate a piece of their writing against the writing rubric and confer with the teacher about how it could be improved.

• (1) Emerging

• (2) Developing

• (3) Demonstrating

• (4) Excelling