Page 365 - Foundations of Learning, 4th Edition (Revised)

After determining these two purposes, the two parties should collaborate to determine what is appropriate
to assess. This depends on the nature of the activity being performed, the skill of the person performing that
particular activity, the level of assessment skill on the part of the person assessing, and the assessor’s knowledge
of the activity/content the assessee is performing. Finally, the assessee and assessor must decide on the form
and content of the assessment report, what the report should include and how it should be reported.

Professor Robinson explained to David that the final paper was an opportunity for the students in
the class to demonstrate what they’d learned over the course of the semester. Although she was
not requiring that students submit a draft of their paper, she offered to assess David’s draft as way
to give him the feedback he needed. David explained that he was dreading the paper and felt that
his grades on the previous assignments pretty much meant that he was going to blow the paper
too. He wanted to figure out what he could do to turn things around, if it wasn’t too late. Professor
Robinson assured him that it’s only ever“too late”when we stop caring whether we improve or not.
The purpose of her assessment of David’s final paper draft would be to give David clear and helpful
feedback so that he knew exactly what to do in order to create a higher quality final paper.

She suggested that the best way for her to assess his draft would be for David to turn in an outline,
a list of the sources he’s using, and the first two pages of his 10-page paper. He should plan to have
these things ready for her at least a week before the final paper was due. She offered to make margin
notes on his outline and sample pages, and to provide David with a one-page SII Assessment that
included Strengths, areas for Improvement, and an Insight into their use of the assessment process.

David was thrilled with what Professor Robinson offered and agreed that he could really use that
kind of feedback.

Step 2—Design the Methods Used for the Assessment

In designing a method for assessment, both parties should collaborate to generate a list of possible criteria that
could be used by the assessor to give feedback to the assessee. From this list, both should agree and select the
most important criteria that best meet the guidelines from the first step in the Assessment Methodology. In
most cases, this list should contain no more than four criteria. For each chosen criterion, determine appropriate
attributes (aspects of the performance which can be measured) with which to assess the performance and the
appropriate scale to measure or determine the quality of each chosen attribute. Note that in some cases where
the assessment is more narrowly focused, the criteria may be manageable enough without defining attributes.

One of the keys to learning how to assess is to start simple. Often the evidence you collect for analyzing
quality can be measured on a basic scale. For example, if you are asked to assess an oral presentation, one
of the attributes could be “eye contact.” A veteran assessor might collect evidence by determining the eye
contact on a scale of 1 to 10. However, a novice assessor could use a scale (none, some, lots). Both scales
provide information that is needed in order to create constructive feedback.

Because Professor Robinson was assessing a partial paper, rather than a complete one, she suggested
that they create a criteria list based upon what she would be able to assess most successfully.
Obviously, she wouldn’t be working with David’s conclusion, or the complete body of his paper. She
suggested the following list of criteria:

• Clarity of Content: The concepts are articulated clearly and each idea is substantiated.

• Thesis Statement: The argument or purpose of the paper is clearly stated.

• Logical Development: The flow of the thesis builds on evidence towards a meaningful conclusion.

Chapter 13 — Assessment for Self-Improvement 359