Page 382 - Foundations of Learning, 4th Edition (Revised)

PLAN

1. Answer the Critical Thinking Questions. Specifically focus on the Assessment Methodology and
criteria for assessing.

2. Choose two situations for which you will practice selecting appropriate criteria, attributes, and scales.
Some suggestions for assessment situations are provided. You may choose from this list, a list provided
by your instructor, or a situation of your own choosing.

Assess…
• the quality of a lab report for a freshman chemistry course
• the quality of a research paper written for a freshman English course
• the performance of a college professor for a particular course
• the performance of a student who is taking this course
• the performance of an athlete during a competition
• the quality of a particular movie you just viewed or a book you have just read

For each situation, select four important criteria that you feel an assessor should use when assessing that
situation. Assume that you are the person doing the assessing. Determine what attributes and scales you
would include for each criterion.

INFORMATION

The following steps for designing an assessment are taken from the Assessment Methodology.

• Inventory all the criteria you might want to use for the assessment, creating a large comprehensive list.

• Develop your “criteria list” by selecting the most appropriate criteria from the large comprehensive
list.

• For each item on your “criteria list,” determine the attributes you will look at during the assessment.

• For each attribute, choose the scale you will use to determine the quality. As the term “scale” implies,
a scale provides different groupings or levels by which an attribute can be measured or assessed.

For example, consider a scenario where you are to assess a research paper. Below is a possible criterion
for the research paper along with an attribute and scales.

Criterion: comprehensiveness
Attribute: number and breadth of sources quoted and analyzed

Scales: 6 sources analyzed 3-5 sources used and/or less than two sources used and/
thoroughly analyzed competently or analyzed superficially

above average average below average

In cases where numbers are not appropriate, qualitative measures can be used (e.g.,“above average,”
“average,” and “below average”).

376 Foundations of Learning