NDC-TAGUM FOUNDATION, INCORPORATED

Apokon Road, Tagum City, Davao del Norte

Tel. #: (084) 216 – 2552

MODULE 2

SUBJECT: EDUC6

COURSE: BSED FILIPINO 3

___________________________________________________________________

DAVE G. CAMPITA

STUDENT

REMEDIOS MAGHANOY, MAED.

Instructor
 MODULE 2: PERFORMANCE BASED ASSESSMENT

Lesson 1: Definition/features of Performance Based Assessment

What is a performance-based assessment?

The definition of performance-based assessments varies greatly depending
on author, disciple, publication, and intended audience (Palm, 2008). In general, a
performance-based assessment measures students' ability to apply the skills and
knowledge learned from a unit or units of study. Typically, the task challenges
students to use their higher-order thinking skills to create a product or complete a
process (Chun, 2010). Tasks can range from a simple constructed response (e.g.,
short answer) to a complex design proposal of a sustainable neighborhood.
Arguably, the most genuine assessments require students to complete a task that
closely mirrors the responsibilities of a professional, e.g., artist, engineer, laboratory
technician, financial analyst, or consumer advocate.
Features of Performance Based Assessment:
 Clear targets:
Provide clear descriptions of specific achievement expectations to be
assessed.
Measure one or more of the four achievement expectations.
Assure that evaluators understand and remain aware of what they are
assessing.
 Focused purpose:
Clarify the intended uses of the assessment results.
Specify whose information the assessment needs will meet: teachers,
curriculum developers, and policymakers.
 Proper method:
Use an assessment method that is suited to the assessment goals (such as
essays, direct communication, selected response or extended
investigations).
 Sound sampling:
Provide a representative sample of all the questions that can be asked.
Produce results of maximum quality at minimum cost in time and effort.
Yield confident inferences about how the respondent would have done
given all possible exercises.
 Accurate assessment free of bias and distortion:
 Present sources of inference and error that may have affected the
development and implementation of the assessment.
Anticipate sources of bias that can create ambiguity in results.

Lesson 2: Difference between Traditional and Performance Based Assessment

Traditional assessments are “tests” taken with paper and pencil that are
usually true/false, matching, or multiple choice. These assessments are easy to
grade, but only test isolated application, facts, or memorized data at lower-level
thinking skills. Traditional assessment provides little evidence of what a language
learner actually can do with the language.
In order to evaluate what a language learner can do with the language, a
student must be evaluated using various performance tasks and assessments.
Performance assessments include authentic assessments, alternative
assessments, and integrated performance assessments.
Learners must use more complex, higher-order thinking skills. They must
reason, problem-solve, or collaborate with others to produce individual responses.
Rubrics, provided ahead of time so learners know their expectations, are used to
evaluate students on multiple competency levels.
In Herman, Aschabacher, and Winters, 1992, alternative assessment,
authentic assessment, and performance-based assessment “require students to
generate rather than choose a response.”
Alternative assessments focus on the students’ strengths — what they can do
— allowing the teacher to choose an appropriate assessment for students with
different learning styles, maturity levels, learning disabilities, physical disabilities, and
other characteristics that could affect language performance. While one student may
choose to write a response, another student may perform better in a role-play
situation.
Although paper and pencil tests can be effective when assessing listening and
reading comprehension skills, they are not appropriate assessment methods for
performance skills such as speaking and writing. In a balanced assessment
program, a variety of assessment techniques should be incorporated into daily
instruction.
Authentic assessments combine the traditional academic content with the
knowledge and skills needed to function appropriately in the real world. The context,
purpose, audience, and focus should connect to real-world situations and problems.
Performance-based assessments require the learner to perform in realistic
situations. Students participate in specific tasks, interviews, or performances that are
appropriate to the audience and setting.
 Lesson 3: Domains of Performance Based Assessment
Domains of Based Assessment:
A. Communication skills
B. Psychomotor skills
C. Athletic skills
D. Concept acquisition
E. Affective skills

 Communication skills

are the abilities you use when giving and receiving different kinds of
information. Some examples include communicating new ideas, feelings
or even an update on your project. Communication skills involve
listening, speaking, observing and empathizing. It is also helpful to
understand the differences in how to communicate through face-to-face
interactions, phone conversations and digital communications like email
and social media.

 The psychomotor skills

includes utilizing motor skills and the ability to coordinate them. The
sub domains of psychomotor include perception; set; guided response;
mechanism; complex overt response; adaptation; and origination.
Perception involves the ability to apply sensory information to motor
activity. For instance, a student practices a series of exercises in a text
book with the aim of scoring higher marks during exams. Set, as a sub
domain, involves the readiness to act upon a series of challenges to
overcome them. In relation to guided responses, it includes the ability to
imitate a displayed behavior or utilize a trial and error method to resolve
a situation (Sousa, 2016). The sub domain of mechanism includes the
ability to convert learned responses into habitual actions with proficiency
and confidence. Students are able to solve exams questions after they
have confidently been able to answer some past questions. Complex
Overt responses explain the ability to skillfully perform complex patterns
of actions. A typical instance has to do with the ability of a student to
have an increased typing speed when using a computer. Adaptability is
an integral part of the domain which exhibits the ability to modify learned
skills to meet special events. An instance is when a student who has
learnt various underlying theories is able to invent or make a working
 model using everyday materials. Origination also involves creating new
movement patterns for a specific situation (Sincero, 2011).

 Athletic skills

The Athletic Skills Model offers an alternative to dominant talent

development theories in the form of holistic broad-based movement
education, focusing on health and wellbeing. It places the emphasis on
‘physical intelligence’ – including attributes such as agility, flexibility and
stability – through adaptable and varied training programs, creating a
skilled athlete before introducing sport specialization.

 Concept acquisition

can be understood as a process in which new complex concepts are

created by assembling their definitional constituents. Categorization can
be understood as a psychological process in which a complex concept is
matched to a target item by checking to see if each and every one of its
definitional constituents applies to the target. And reference
determination, we’ve already seen, is a matter of whether the definitional
constituents do apply to the target.

 The affective skills

includes the feelings, emotions and attitudes of the individual. The

categories of affective domain include receiving phenomena; responding
to phenomena; valuing; organization; and characterization (Anderson et
al, 2011). The sub domain of receiving phenomena creates the
awareness of feelings and emotions as well as the ability to utilize
selected attention. This can include listening attentively to lessons in
class. The next sub domain of responding to phenomena involves active
participation of the learner in class or during group discussion (Cannon
and Feinstein, 2005). Valuing involves the ability to see the worth of
something and express it. This includes the ability of a learner to share
their views and ideas about various issues raised in class. The ability of
the student to prioritize a value over another and create a unique value
system is known as organization. This can be assessed with the need to
value one’s academic work as against their social relationships. The sub
domain of characterization explains the ability to internalize values and
let them control the behavior of the individual. In view of this, a student
considers the academic work highly important as it plays an important
role in deciding the career path chosen rather than what may be
available.
 Lesson 4: Types / Focus of Performance Based Assessment
Types of Performance Based Assessment
3 types of performance based assessment:
1. Product
2. Performance
3. Process – oriented assessment

 Product refers to something produced by students providing concrete

examples of the application of knowledge. Examples can include
brochures, reports, web pages and audio or video clips. These are
generally done outside of the classroom and based on specific
assignments.
 Performances allow students to show how they can apply knowledge
and skills under the direct observation of the teacher. These are
generally done in the classroom since they involve teacher observation
at the time of performance. Much of the work may be prepared outside
the classroom but the students “perform” in a situation where the
teacher or others may observe the fruits of their preparation.
Performances may also be based on in-class preparation. They include
oral reports, skits and role-plays, demonstrations, and debates
(McTighe & Ferrara, 1998).
 Process-oriented assessments provide insight into student thinking,
reasoning, and motivation. They can provide diagnostic information on
how when students are asked to reflect on their learning and set goals
to improve it. Examples are think-alouds, self/peer assessment
checklists or surveys, learning logs, and individual or pair conferences
(McTighe & Ferrara, 1998).
Focus Performance Based Assessment
Performance based learning is an approach to teaching and
learning that emphasizes students being able to do, or perform, specific
skills as a result of instruction. In this framework, students demonstrate
the ability to apply or use knowledge, rather than simply knowing the
information. Performance based learning typically includes activities
and tasks that are authentic and meaningful to the students. PBL
focuses on how the content is taught and assessed, not on the specific
information covered in a course, so it can be applied across different
content areas and instructional levels. Schoolcraft College has adopted
an Institution-wide Performance Based Learning Initiative.
 Lesson 5: Advantages / Limitations of Performance Based Assessment
Advantages of Performance Based Assessment
Performance assessments often rely on a specific skill set of the student,
such as creativity, flexibility or a willingness to engage in public speaking.
Performance-based assessments have disadvantages for students who may not feel
overly creative or willing to present their knowledge in front of a large group.
Performance assessment allows students to show what skills they've learned,
integrated learning is represented, and “learning occurs during the process until
completion of the task.” The disadvantages with performance assessments are that
it's not easily calculated, it's hard to judge student learning, and it's time.
The major advantages of Performance-based assessments can empower
students by giving them freedom to make choices, within parameters set by
teachers, about the direction that their learning should take. Giving students this kind
of ownership of their learning process can be a powerful motivator.
Limitations of Performance Based Assessment
Scoring / ratings are subjective and generally unreliable
Require great amounts of time in constructing, administering, and
scoring the items.
Lesson 6: Performance Task
A performance task is any learning activity or assessment that asks students
to perform to demonstrate their knowledge, understanding and proficiency.
Performance tasks yield a tangible product and/or performance that serve as
evidence of learning. Unlike a selected-response item (e.g., multiple-choice or
matching) that asks students to select from given alternatives, a performance task
presents a situation that calls for learners to apply their learning in context.
A performance task is any learning activity or assessment that asks students
to perform to demonstrate their knowledge, understanding and proficiency.
Performance tasks yield a tangible product and/or performance that serve as
evidence of learning. Unlike a selected-response item (e.g., multiple-choice or
matching) that asks students to select from given alternatives, a performance task
presents a situation that calls for learners to apply their learning in context.
Performance tasks are routinely used in certain disciplines, such as visual and
performing arts, physical education, and career-technology where performance is the
natural focus of instruction. However, such tasks can (and should) be used in every
subject area and at all grade levels.
Performance tasks can be used to engage students in meaningful learning.
Since rich performance tasks establish authentic contexts that reflect genuine
applications of knowledge, students are often motivated and engaged by such “real
world” challenges.

Lesson 7: Scoring Rubrics

Scoring rubrics
A scoring rubric is an efficient tool that allows you to objectively
measure student performance on an assessment activity. Rubrics may
vary in complexity, but generally do the following: Focus on measuring
very specific stated learning outcomes. Use a range to rate
performance.
Types of rubrics
There are two types of rubrics and of methods for evaluating students’ efforts:
 holistic
 Analytic rubrics.
Holistic rubric
A holistic rubric consists of a single scale with all criteria to be included
in the evaluation being considered together (e.g., clarity, organization,
and mechanics). With a holistic rubric the rater assigns a single score
(usually on a 1 to 4 or 1 to 6 point scale) based on an overall judgment
of the student work. The rater matches an entire piece of student work
to a single description on the scale.
Example Holistic Rubric: .
 Above Average: The audience is able to easily identify the focus of the
work and is engaged by its clear focus and relevant details. Information
is presented logically and naturally. There are no more than two
mechanical errors or misspelled words to distract the reader.
 Sufficient: The audience is easily able to identify the focus of the
student work which is supported by relevant ideas and supporting
details. Information is presented in a logical manner that is easily
followed. There is minimal interruption to the work due to misspellings
and/or mechanical errors.
 Developing: The audience can identify the central purpose of the
student work without little difficulty and supporting ideas are present and
clear. The information is presented in an orderly fashion that can be
followed with little difficulty. There are some misspellings and/or
mechanical errors, but they do not seriously distract from the work.
 Needs Improvement: The audience cannot clearly or easily identify the
central ideas or purpose of the student work. Information is presented in
a disorganized fashion causing the audience to have difficulty following
 the author's ideas. There are many misspellings and/or mechanical
errors that negatively affect the audience's ability to read the work.
Advantages of Holistic Rubrics
Emphasis on what the learner is able to demonstrate, rather than
what s/he cannot do.
Saves time by minimizing the number of decisions raters make.
Can be applied consistently by trained raters increasing reliability.
Analytic rubric
An analytic rubric resembles a grid with the criteria for a student
product listed in the leftmost column and with levels of performance
listed across the top row often using numbers and/or descriptive tags.
The cells within the center of the rubric may be left blank or may
contain descriptions of what the specified criteria look like for each level
of performance. When scoring with an analytic rubric each of the
criteria is scored individually.
Advantages of Analytic Rubrics
Provide useful feedback on areas of strength and weakness.
Criterion can be weighted to reflect the relative importance of each
dimension.

Disadvantages of Analytic Rubrics

Takes more time to create and use than a holistic rubric.
Unless each point for each criterion is well-defined raters may not arrive
at the same score

Advantages / Development of scoring

It allows multiple criterion selection including financial method for both
tangible and intangible factor that are used to estimate and take the decision. It is
simple and comparatively easy to use. The weighted scoring model takes into
account that some factors are more important than others. It allows easy sensitivity
analysis and trade off readily noticeable.
Resources for Rubrics on the web
There are very helpful tools and resources online which can assist you in
designing scoring rubrics and there are links to rubrics that have been developed
that you can use or modify as needed. Don’t feel like you have to start from scratch –
the rubric you need may already be developed and just need some minor
adjustments to fit your situation. You can search the web to locate rubrics or try one
of the resources below.
 Rubistar was created with a Department of Education grant and been around
for at least 10 years so the interface looks a little dated but don’t let that deter
you from using this valuable tool.
  Rubric maker is an online rubric generator which is published by
Tech4learning.com.
Rubric Resources
 University of Wisconsin
 A collection of rubrics for assessing portfolios, cooperative learning, research
process/ reports, presentations, web pages, blogs, wikis, as well as other
technology and social media projects.
 University of Hawaii Manoa Rubric Bank
 Rubric bank where you can also share rubrics you create and find useful.
 DePaul University Teaching Commons
 Rubric examples and resources.
 AACU Association of American Colleges & Universities
 A list of the VALUE Rubrics, organized by learning outcome.
 AALHE Association for the Assessment of Learning in Higher Education
 A page of sample rubrics and resources.
 Creating a Rubric Tutorial
 An online tutorial for faculty

Types of scoring Instruments for performance assessments

 Checklists usually offer a yes/no format in relation to student
demonstration of specific criteria. This is similar to a light switch; the
light is either on or off. They may be used to record observations of an
individual, a group or a whole class.
 Rating Scales allow teachers to indicate the degree or frequency of
the behaviours, skills and strategies displayed by the learner. To
continue the light switch analogy, a rating scale is like a dimmer switch
that provides for a range of performance levels. Rating scales state the
criteria and provide three or four response selections to describe the
quality or frequency of student work.
 Rubrics use a set of criteria to evaluate a student's performance. They
consist of a fixed measurement scale and detailed description of the
characteristics for each level of performance. These descriptions focus
on the quality of the product or performance and not the quantity; e.g.,
not number of paragraphs, examples to support an idea, spelling
errors. Rubrics are commonly used to evaluate student performance
with the intention of including the result in a grade for reporting
purposes. Rubrics can increase the consistency and reliability of
scoring.
Activity
Identification: Identify the following sentences. Write your answer in the space
provided.

__________ scoring rubric ____________1. It is an efficient tool that allows

you to objectively measure student performance on an assessment activity

____________ product__________2. A type of performance based assessment

refers to something produced by students providing concrete examples of the
application of knowledge.
______________________3. It is any learning activity or assessment that asks
students to perform to demonstrate their knowledge, understanding and proficiency.
______________________4. A type of rubric that consists of a single scale with all
criteria to be included in the evaluation being considered together.
______________________5. The audience can identify the central purpose of the
student work without little difficulty and supporting ideas are present and clear.
Reflection:
 NDC-TAGUM FOUNDATION, INCORPORATED
Apokon Road, Tagum City, Davao del Norte
Tel. #: (084) 216 – 2552

MODULE 3

SUBJECT: EDUC 6

COURSE: BSED FILIPINO 3

___________________________________________________________________

LAYANON, LAVILLA

STUDENT
 REMEDIOS MAGHANOY, MAED.
Instructor

MODULE 3: ASSESSING AFFECTIVE LEARNING OUTCOMES

Lesson 1: Affective Traits and Learning Outcomes
Affective Learning Outcomes. Affective learning outcomes involve attitudes,
motivation, and values. The expression of these often involves statements of
opinions, beliefs, or an assessment of worth (Smith & Ragan, 1999).
Attitudes. Attitudes are learned or established predispositions to respond
(Zimbardo & Leippe, 1991). Today, most researchers agree that attitudes are
acquired and therefore "subject to fairly predictable change" (Simmons & Maushak,
2001, p. 84), although some researchers do believe that some attitudes may be
innate or may have biological origins (Eagly & Chaiken, 1993). Attitudes are systems
or constructs that are composed of four interrelated qualities: affective responses,
cognitions, behavioral intentions, and behaviors. They vary in direction (positive or
negative), degree (amount of positive or negative feeling), and intensity (the level of
commitment the individual has to the position). Attitudes are not directly observable,
but the actions and behaviors to which they contribute may be observed (Bednar &
Levie, 1993). Although the cognitive and affective "domains interact significantly in
instruction and learning" (Martin & Briggs, 1986, p. 3), any behavior that has an
emotional component lies within the affective domain.
Attitude Change. Attitude change is any alteration in the direction, degree, or
intensity of an attitude. A change in one component of a given attitude may produce
change in other components. Moreover, attitudes about one object may be
connected to attitudes about another object, and change in one attitude may lead to
change in others (Zimbardo & Leippe, 1991).

Lesson 2: Affective traits / Affective Domain of the Taxonomy of Educational

Objectives
The affective domain is one of three domains in Bloom's Taxonomy, with
the other two being the cognitive and psychomotor (Bloom, et al., 1956).
For an overview of the three domains, see the introduction.
The affective domain (Krathwohl, Bloom, Masia, 1973) includes the manner
in which we deal with things emotionally, such as feelings, values,
appreciation, enthusiasms, motivations, and attitudes. The five major
categories are listed from the simplest behavior to the most complex.
category Example and Key Words (verbs)

Examples: Listen to others

with respect. Listen for and
remember the name of newly
introduced people.
Receiving Phenomena: Awareness,
willingness to hear, selected attention.
Key Words: acknowledge,
asks, attentive, courteous,
dutiful, follows, gives, listens,
understands

Examples: Participates in class

discussions. Gives a
presentation. Questions new
Responds to Phenomena: Active
ideals, concepts, models, etc.
participation on the part of the learners.
in order to fully understand
Attend and react to a particular
them. Know the safety rules
phenomenon. Learning outcomes may
and practice them.
emphasize compliance in responding,
willingness to respond, or satisfaction in
Key Words: answers, assists,
responding (motivation).
aids, complies, conforms,
discusses, greets, helps,
labels, performs, presents, tells

Examples: Demonstrates belief

in the democratic process. Is
sensitive towards individual
and cultural differences (value
Valuing: The worth or value a person diversity). Shows the ability to
attaches to a particular object, solve problems. Proposes a
phenomenon, or behavior. This ranges plan to social improvement and
from simple acceptance to the more follows through with
complex state of commitment. Valuing is commitment. Informs
based on the internalization of a set of management on matters that
specified values, while clues to these one feels strongly about.
values are expressed in the learner's
overt behavior and are often identifiable. Key Words: appreciates,
cherish, treasure,
demonstrates, initiates, invites,
joins, justifies, proposes,
respect, shares
 Examples: Recognizes the
need for balance between
freedom and responsible
behavior. Explains the role of
systematic planning in solving
Organization: Organizes values into
problems. Accepts professional
priorities by contrasting different values,
ethical standards. Creates a
resolving conflicts between them, and
life plan in harmony with
creating an unique value system. The
abilities, interests, and beliefs.
emphasis is on comparing, relating, and
Prioritizes time effectively to
synthesizing values. 
meet the needs of the
organization, family, and self.

Key Words: compares, relates,

synthesizes

Examples: Shows self-reliance

when working independently.
Cooperates in group activities
(displays teamwork). Uses an
objective approach in problem
solving. Displays a professional
Internalizes Values (characterization):
commitment to ethical practice
Has a value system that controls their
on a daily basis. Revises
behavior. The behavior is pervasive,
judgments and changes
consistent, predictable, and most
behavior in light of new
important characteristic of the learner.
evidence. Values people for
Instructional objectives are concerned
what they are, not how they
with the student's general patterns of
look.
adjustment (personal, social, emotional).
Key Words: acts,
discriminates, displays,
influences, modifies, performs,
qualifies, questions, revises,
serves, solves, verifies

Lesson 3: Levels of Affective Domain

This domain is categorized into five levels, which include receiving,
responding, valuing, organization, and characterization. These subdomains form
a hierarchical structure and are arranged from simple feelings or motivations to those
that are more complex.
 Receiving is being aware of or sensitive to the existence of certain ideas,
material, or phenomena and being willing to tolerate them. Examples include:
to differentiate, to accept, to listen (for), to respond to.
 Responding is committed in some small measure to the ideas, materials, or
phenomena involved by actively responding to them. Examples are: to comply
with, to follow, to commend, to volunteer, to spend leisure time in, to acclaim.

 Valuing is willing to be perceived by others as valuing certain ideas, materials,

or phenomena. Examples include: to increase measured proficiency in, to
relinquish, to subsidize, and to support, to debate.
 Organization is to relate the value to those already held and bring it into a
harmonious and internally consistent philosophy. Examples are: to discuss, to
theorize, to formulate, to balance, and to examine.
 Characterization by value or value set is to act consistently in accordance with
the values he or she has internalized. Examples include: to revise, to require,
to be rated high in the value, to avoid, to resist, to manage, to resolve.

Lesson 4: Methods of Assessing Affective Learning Outcomes

There are three feasible methods of assessing affective traits and
dispositions. These methods are: teacher observation, student self-report,
and peer ratings.
4.1 Affective Learning Outcomes
Learning outcomes describe what learners should know, be able to do,
and value as a result of integrating knowledge, skills, and attitudes
learned throughout the course. They are stated in measurable terms.
Characteristics:
Effective learning outcomes are:
• Clear statements, containing a verb and an object of the verb, of what
students are expected to know or do
• Action-oriented
• Free of ambiguous words and phrases
• Learner-centered—written from the perspective of what the learner
does
• Clearly aligned with the course goals: each learning outcome will
support a course goal
• Aligned with the course content, including assessments
 • Realistic and achievable: the audience must be able to achieve the
learning outcome within the logistics of the course (time, environment etc.)
• Appropriate for the level of the learner (see taxonomies)
Benefits
Learning outcome statements clearly articulate what students are expected
to be able to know, do, and value as a result of the learning. They guide the
selection of teaching strategies, materials, learning activities, and
assessments. They also help guide students in determining what and how
to learn in the course.
4.2 Teacher Observation
Teacher observation is one of the essential tools for formative assessment.
However, in this chapter, the emphasis is on how to use this method so that teachers
can make more systematic observations to record student behavior that indicates the
presence of targeted affective traits.
In using observation, the first thing to do is determine in advance how specific
behaviors relate to the target. Its starts with a vivid definition of the trait, then
followed by list of student behaviors and actions are identified initially by listing what
the students with positive and negative behaviors and say. Classify those and create
a separate list of the positive student behaviors and another list for the negative
student behaviors. These lists will serve as the initial or starting point of what will be
observed. Contained in the table below are some possible student behaviors
indicating positive and negative attitude toward learning.
Student Behaviours Indicating Positive and Negative Attitudes toward
Learning
POSITIVE NEGATIVE

 Rarely misses class without • Is frequently absent

 Rarely late to class • Is frequently tardy
 Asks lots of questions tracurricula • Rarely asks questions
 Helps other students • Rarely helps other students
 Works well r • Needs constant supervision
independently • Is not involved in
 supervision extracurricular
Is involved in activities
 ex activities • Says he or she doesn’t like school
 He or she likes school • Rarely comes to class early
 Comes to class early • Rarely stays after school
 Stays after school before they • Doesn’t volunteer
 Volunteers to help • Often does not complete
 Completes homework homework
 Tries hard to do well • Doesn’t care about bad grades
Completes • Never does extra credit work
  assignments are due • Never completes assignments
 Rarely complains before the due date complains
 Is rarely off-task • Sleep in class
Rarely bothers • Bothers other students
students • Stares out window
These behaviors provide foundation in developing guidelines, checklists or
rating scales. The positive behaviors are called approach behaviors while
the negative ones are termed avoidance behaviors. Approach behaviors
result in less direct, less frequent, and less intense contact. These
dimensions are helpful in describing the behaviors that indicate positive and
negative attitudes.
These behaviors may serve as a vital input on how to perform observation,
particularly the teacher observation.
McMillan suggested that the best approach is to develop a list of positive and
negative behaviors. Although published instruments are available, the unique
characteristic of a school and its students are not considered in these
instruments when they were developed.
After the list of behaviors has been developed, the teacher needs to decide
whether to use an informal, unstructured observation or a formal one and
structured. These two types differ in terms of preparation
4.3 Steps in using teachers Observation
During the classroom observation
At the beginning of the learning activity and often in advance, you inform the
students that there is a visitor and why he is there. Thus, the will is that the
students act as they usually do and so it also seems to work.
Don’t try to over-perform – when we know we’re going to be observed, a normal
reaction is to want to impress our observer, but please don’t! Plan and carry out
your lesson just as you usually do.
The observer follows the lesson and collects the agreed tasks. It is desirable
that the observer focuses on the limited goals agreed upon during the meeting
and collects data that you as a teacher find useful for you to develop. Under
such conditions, the opportunities to improve your teaching greatly improve.
Most observers need to take small notes, be prepared for that. But a good
observer does not continuously write. Note-taking should be kept to a minimum
and the observer can improve and expand the texts at a later stage, once the
lesson has been completed.
Analysis and strategy session
The analysis session should take place within a few days of the classroom
observation (the information must be fresh in mind). Feedback should occur
after every observation. You might have this de-briefing in the same classroom
 as the observation. The advantage of this is that it’s much easier to relate to
and illustrate different occurred events. The review should be a dialogue
between the observer and the teacher, and try to aim for a constructive and
positive tone (although there would be some negative criticism of the teacher).
Remember you are both on the same side sharing the same goal: to improve
your teaching skills and student learning.
You shall give your account of the student’s lesson. Focus on what worked
well, and what didn’t work so well. If you in the pre-meeting have asked the
observer to focus on specific aspects of your teaching, it is a good time to
discuss these points now. Then the observer responds to your account of the
lesson and adds his or her own observations. Also, discuss problem areas (if
any) and strategies for addressing them. All these input/discussions are very
important and a great base for the final report.
• The observations should have their ground in the pre-observation
discussions, but can also include parts the observer have written down during
the lecture
• Suggestions to the teacher on how to develop his/her teaching
• A conclusion part that summarizes what has been covered in the report

4.4 Two Methods of Teaching Observation

1. Unstructured Observation
Unstructured observation (anecdotal) may also be used for the purpose of
making summative judgements. This is normally open-ended, no checklist
or rating scale is used, and everything observed is just simply recorded. In
using unstructured observation, it is necessary to have at least some
guidelines and examples of behaviors that indicate affective trait. Thus it
is a must to determine in advance what to look for, however it should not
be limited to what was predetermined, it also needs to be open to include
other actions that may reflect on the trait.
Unstructured observation is more realistic, which means teachers can
record everything they have observed and are not limited by what is
contained in a checklist or rating scale.
2. Structured Observation
Structured observation is different from unstructured observation in terms
of preparation needed as well as in the way observation is recorded. In
structured observation, more time is needed since checklist or rating
forms are to be made since it will be used to record observations. The
form is generated from a list of positive and negative behaviors to make it
easy and convenient in recording.
 Below are the things that should be considered if teacher observation method
will be used to assess affect.
• Determine behaviors to be observed in advance.
• Record student’s important data such as time, data, and place
• If unstructured, record brief descriptions of relevant behaviour
• Keep interpretations separate from description
• Record both positive and negative behaviors
• Have as much observations of each student as necessary
• Avoid personal bias
• Record immediately the observations
• • Apply a simple and efficient procedure

Lesson 5: Self – Report (student)

There are varied ways to express students’ affect as self-report. The most
common and direct way is while having a casual conversation or interview. Students
can also respond to a written questionnaire or survey about themselves or other
students.

Student Interview
There are different types of personal communication that teachers can use
with their students, like individual and group interviews, discussions, and casual
conversations to assess affect. It is similar to observation but in here, there is an
opportunity that teachers may have direct involvement with the student wherein
teachers can probe and respond for better understanding.
• Surveys and Questionnaire
The second type under self-report method is questionnaires and surveys.
The two types of format using questionnaires and surveys are: (a)
Constructed-Response format; and (b) Selected-Response format.
5.1 Constructed-Response format

It is a straight forward approach asking students about their affect by

responding to simple statement or question. Another way to implement
constructed-response format is by means of an essay. Essay items
provide more in-depth and extensive responses than that of the simple
short sentences. Reasons for their attitudes, values and beliefs are
expressed better using essays.

5.2 Selected-Response format

There are three ways of implanting the selected response format in

assessing affective learning outcomes. These are rating scale, semantic
differential scale, and checklist.
 The advantage of selected-response formats is that it assures anonymity.
It is an important aspect when considering the traits that are personal such
as values and self-concept. This self-response formats are considered to
be an efficient way of collecting information.
Checklist for Using Student’s Self-Response to Assess Affect:
• Keep measures focused on specific affective traits
• Establish trust with students
• Match response format to the trait being assessed
• Ensure anonymity if possible
• Keep questionnaires brief
• Keep items short and simple
• Avoid negatives and absolutes
• Write items in present tense
• Avoid double-barrelled items
5.3 Rating Scale

Rating scales can be used for teaching purposes and assessment.

1. Rating scales help students understand the learning target/outcomes

and to focus students’ attention to performance.
2. Completed rating scale gives specific feedback to students as far as
their strengths and weaknesses with respect to the targets to which they
are measured.
3. Students not only learn the standards but also may internalize the set
standards.
4. Ratings helps to show each student’s growth and progress.

Example: Rating Scale (Attitude towards Mathematics)

Rating scales can be used for teaching purposes and assessment.

1. Rating scales help students understand the learning target/outcomes

and to focus students’ attention to performance.
2. Completed rating scale gives specific feedback to students as far as
their strengths and weaknesses with respect to the targets to which they
are measured.
3. Students not only learn the standards but also may internalize the set
standards.
4. Ratings helps to show each student’s growth and progress.

Example: Rating Scale (Attitude towards Mathematics)

Directions: Put the score on the column for each of the statement as it applies to
you. Use 1 to 5, 1 being the lowest and 5 the highest possible score.

score
 1. I am happy during Mathematics class.

2. I get tired doing board work and drills.

3. I enjoy solving word problems.

Directions: Put the score on the column for each of the statement as it applies to
you. Use 1 to 5, 1 being the lowest and 5 the highest possible score.
Score

1. I am happy during Mathematics class.

2. I get tired doing board work and drills.
3. I enjoy solving word problems.

Types of Rating Scales

The most commonly used type of rating scales are:

 Numerical Rating Scales
A numerical rating scale translates the judgements of quality or degree into
Numbers. To increase the objectivity and consistency of results from
numerical rating scales, a short verbal description of the quality level of
each number may be provided.

Example:
To what extent does the student participate in team meetings and
discussions?
1 2 3 4
 Descriptive Graphic Rating Scales
A better format for rating is this descriptive graphic rating scales that
replaces ambiguous single word with short behavioral descriptions of the
various points along the scale.

Example:
To what extent does the student participate in team meetings and
discussions?

Never participates participates

Participates as much as more than any
Quiet, other team other team
Passive members member

5.4 Semantic Different Scale

 Another common approach to measuring affective traits is to use variations
of semantic differential. These scales use adjective pairs that provide
anchors for feelings or beliefs that are opposite in direction and intensity.
Students would place a check between each pair of adjectives that
describes positive or negative aspects of the traits.

Example: Traits/attitude toward Mathematics subject

Mathematics

Boring __ __ __ __ __ Interesting

Important ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ Useless

Semantic differential like other selected-response formats, is that it makes

it easier to assure anonymity. Anonymity is important when the traits are
more personal, such as values and self-concept. It is also an efficient way
of collecting information. This thought may be an efficient way note that it
is not good to ask too many questions. It is important to carefully select
those traits that are concerned or included in the defined affective targets
or outcomes. It is also a good point to have open-ended items such as
“comments” or “suggestions”. Sentence Completion
The advantage of using the incomplete sentence format is that it captures
whatever comes to mind from each student. However, there are
disadvantages too for this. One is students’ faking their response thinking
that the teacher will notice their penmanship, hence students will tend to
give answers favorable to be liked responses of the teacher. Another is
scoring, which takes more time and is more subjective than the other
traditional objective formats.

Examples:
I think Mathematics as a subject is
________________________________.
I lie my Mathematics teacher the most because
______________________.

5.5 Checklist

Checklist is one of the effective assessment strategies to monitor specific

skills, behaviors, or dispositions of individual or group of students.
Checklists contain criteria that focus on the intended outcome or target.
Checklists help student in organizing the tasks assigned to them into
logically sequenced steps that will lead to successful completion of the
task. For the teachers, a criteria checklists can be used for formative
assessments by giving emphasis on specific behaviors, thinking skills,
social skills, writing skills, speaking skills, athletic skills or whatever
outcomes are likely to be measured and monitored. Checklists can be
used for individual or group cases.
Criteria for Checklists
 In planning for criteria that will be used in checklists, the criteria must be
aligned with the outcomes that need to be observed and measured.
Generally criterion is defined as a standard that serves as reference for
judgement or decision. Popham (1999) explains that when teachers set
criteria, the main emphasis is to use these criteria in making judgement
regarding the adequacy of student responses and the criteria will influence
the way the response is scored.

Why Use Checklists:

Checklists should be utilized because these

• Make a quick and easy way to observe and record skills, criteria, and
behaviors prior to final test or summative evaluation.
• Provide information to teachers if there are students who need help so
as to avoid failing.
• Provide formative assessment of students of students’ learning and
help teachers monitor if students are on track with the desired outcomes.

Activity:

Test I: Give me!!!!

What is SMART(TT) in Learning Outcomes and give its definition.
S-
M-
A-
R-
T-
T-
T-

Test II: Choose in the box

Write your answer in the space given.

Teachers Observation Checklist Learner-Centered

Positive Behavior Negative Behavior Semantic Different

Scale

Rating scale Self-Response Format McMilian Observer

Test III: Give me.
__________________________1. One of the essential tools for formative
assessment

_____________________________2. It is called approach behavior of a

student.

_____________________________3. It is called avoidance behavior of a

student.

_____________________________4. Who suggested that the best approach is

to develop a list of positive and negative behaviors?

_____________________________5. It’s translates the judgements of quality or

degree into numbers.

_____________________________6 One of the effective assessment

strategies to monitor specific skills, behaviors, or dispositions of individual or
group of students.
_____________________________7. It is considered to be an efficient way of
collecting information.
_____________________________8. Follows the lesson and collects the
agreed tasks.
_____________________________9. Written from the perspective of what the
learner does.
_____________________________10. These scales use adjective pairs that
provide anchors for feelings or beliefs that are opposite in direction and intensity.

Reflection
 NDC-TAGUM
EDUC 6
FOUNDATION, INC.
Assessment of Learning 2

Portfolio Assessment

LEARNING
MODULE 4 & 5
 SEMI-FINAL

Submitted to:

PROF. REMEDIOS C. MAGHANOY

INSTRUCTOR

Submitted by:
JENNIE LAE T. CABRERA
STUDENT
Lesson 1: Definition of Portfolio/Portfolio Assessment

A portfolio assessment
is a collection of student works that are associated with standards you
are required to learn. This collection of work is often gathered over a long
period of time to reflect what you have been taught as well as what you
have learned.

Each piece in the portfolio is selected because it is an authentic

representation of what you have learned and is meant to demonstrate
your current knowledge and skills. A portfolio by nature is a storybook
capturing a student's progression of learning as they move through the
year.

What Goes Into a Portfolio?

A portfolio can include class work, artistic pieces, photographs, and a

variety of other media all demonstrating the concepts that you have
mastered. Each item that is selected to go in the portfolio is chosen within
the parameters of the purpose of the portfolio itself.

Many teachers require their students to write a reflection that correlates

with each piece in the portfolio. This practice is advantageous for the
student as they self-assess their work and may set goals to improve.

Finally, the reflection helps reinforce the concept for the student and it
provides some clarity for anyone reviewing the portfolio. Ultimately, the
most authentic portfolios are built when the teacher and student work
collaboratively to decide which pieces should be included to demonstrate
mastery of a specific learning objective.

The Purpose of Developing a Portfolio

 A portfolio assessment is often deemed an authentic form of assessment
because it includes authentic samples of a student's work. Many
advocates of the portfolio assessment argue that this makes it a superior
assessment tool because it is demonstrates learning and growth over an
extended period of time.

They believe it is more indicative of what a student's true abilities

especially when you compare it to a standardized test that provides a
snapshot of what a student can do on a particular day. Ultimately, the
teacher guiding the portfolio process helps determine the purpose of the
final portfolio.

The portfolio may be used to show growth over time, it may be used to
promote a student's abilities, or it may be used to evaluate a student's
learning within a specific course. Its purpose may also be a combination
of all three areas.

The Pros of Using a Portfolio Assessment

• A portfolio assessment demonstrates learning over the course of time

rather than what a student knows a particular day.
• A portfolio assessment provides an opportunity for a student to reflect on
their learning, to self-assess and to formulate a deeper understanding of
the concepts they are learning beyond a simple surface explanation.
• A portfolio assessment requires a great level of individual interaction
between the student and teacher wherein they are always collaborating
about the requirements and components going into the portfolio.

The Cons of Using a Portfolio Assessment

• Developing and accessing a portfolio is time-consuming. It takes a lot of

effort from both the teacher and the student and is a demanding endeavor
in which you can quickly fall behind.
• Portfolio assessments are very subjective in nature. Even if the teacher
utilizes a rubric, the individualized nature of a portfolio makes it difficult to
remain objective and stick to the rubric. Two students working on the
same learning standard may have two totally different approaches thus
learning may not be the same.

Lesson 2: Difference between Portfolio Assessment/Collection

Portfolio Assessment
Portfolio assessment is a term with many meanings, and it is a
process that can serve a variety of purposes. A portfolio is a collection of
student work that can exhibit a student's efforts, progress, and
 achievements in various areas of the curriculum. A portfolio assessment
can be an examination of student-selected samples of work experiences
and documents related to outcomes being assessed, and it can address
and support progress toward achieving academic goals, including student
efficacy. Portfolio assessments have been used for large-scale
assessment and accountability purposes (e.g., the Vermont and
Kentucky statewide assessment systems), for purposes of school-to-work
transitions, and for purposes of certification. For example, portfolio
assessments are used as part of the National Board for Professional
Teaching Standards assessment of expert teachers.

While portfolios have broad potential and can be useful for the
assessments of students' performance for a variety of purposes in core
curriculum areas, the contents and criteria used to assess portfolios must
be designed to serve those purposes. For example, showcase portfolios
exhibit the best of student performance, while working portfolios may
contain drafts that students and teachers use to reflect on process.
Progress portfolios contain multiple examples of the same type of work
done over time and are used to assess progress. If cognitive processes
are intended for assessment, content and rubrics must be designed to
capture those processes.

Portfolio assessments can provide both formative and summative

opportunities for monitoring progress toward reaching identified
outcomes. By setting criteria for content and outcomes, portfolios can
communicate concrete information about what is expected of students in
terms of the content and quality of performance in specific curriculum
areas, while also providing a way of assessing their progress along the
way. Depending on content and criteria, portfolios can provide teachers
and researchers with information relevant to the cognitive processes that
students use to achieve academic outcomes.

Lesson 3: Comparison of Portfolio and Traditional Assessment

The intent of a portfolio assessment is to show the depth and scope of a

student's understanding of the applications being taught. One of the most
effective elements of a portfolio is a student's ability to show their
contributions at a comprehensive level. This assists students with a
visual of their own progress. Consider what a student would see when
they reviewed a line of assignment and test scores on a grading sheet.
These numbers may show some relative progress but they do not
necessarily directly signal where the improvement has been or where the
opportunity for development might be without further understanding of
what the score relates to.
 By using a portfolio assessment, the lesson plans of a teacher are
aligned with the output by the student in a visual way. The student,
teacher and parents can see the alignment of student progress as it
relates to the class curriculum. There are also typically grading criteria,
rubrics and other methods for developing the overall grading strategy that
are incorporated into the portfolio assessment plan. These guidelines
help to designate the expectations for students.

The Challenges of Implementing Portfolio Assessments

In today's learning environment, there are many different educational

mediums that can challenge the development of a portfolio. It may be
difficult to provide a portfolio representation of oral communication or if
the class is held virtually/through the internet there can be challenges to
some of the typical dynamics of portfolio building. Traditional portfolios
have been physical documentation of student progress, worksheets and
actual class work that reflect lesson plans. However, there is a great
opportunity to create a multi-media portfolio as an option in order to best
represent student work.

Teachers can consider using a video portfolio or an electronically based

representation of a students work in a presentation format. This would
also enable for easy electronic transmission of the portfolio information
between parents, students and teachers to assess progress at intervals
and provide feedback when needed.

The availability of technology resources is generally the limiting factor for

students and teachers looking for creative implementations of portfolio
assessments. Teacher resources and student accessibility should be
accounted for when developing a portfolio assessment strategy. The
ability to incorporate all forms of student progress should be considered
in the overall designation of work to be incorporated into a portfolio
assessment

Traditional assessment

The most widely used traditional assessment tools are multiple-choice tests,
true/false tests, short answers, and essays.

True/false tests:

True/false items require students to make a decision and find out which
of two potential responses is true. Since they are easy to score, it is easy
to administer true/false tests. However, guessing might increase the
 chance of success by 50%. Especially, when the test item is false, it is
quite hard to find out whether the student really knows the correct
response. One possible solution is to ask student to provide with an
explanation for the incorrect item, or rewrite the statement correctly.
However, this affects the ease in scoring negatively.

Multiple-choice tests:

Multiple-choice tests are commonly utilized by teachers, schools, and

assessment organizations for the following reasons.

1. They are fast, easy, and economical to score. In fact, they are machine
scorable.

2. They can be scored objectively and thus may give the test appearance of
being fairer and/or more reliable than subjectively scored tests.

3. They “look like” tests and may thus seem to be acceptable by convention.

4. They reduce the chances of learners guessing the correct items in

comparison to true-false items.

Essays:

Essays are effective assessment tools since the questions are

flexible and assess the higher order learning skills. However, they are not
very practical due to the fact that it is very difficult and time consuming to
score the essays. Moreover, subjectivity might be an issue in scoring.
Creating a rubric might be helpful to grade the essays. A rubric can be
defined as “a criteria-rating scale, which gives the teachers a tool that
allows them to track student performance”. Instructors have an option to
create, adapt, or adopt rubrics depending on their instructional needs.
The templates provided on the web might be helpful for them to adjust
the generic rubrics into their own instruction.

Short-answer tests: In short-answer tests “items are written either

as a direct question requiring the learner fill in a word or phrase or as
statements in which a space has been left blank for a brief written
answer”. Furthermore, the questions need to be precise. Otherwise, the
items that are open to interpretations allow learners to fill in the blanks
with any possible information.

Lesson 4: Types of Portfolios/Uses of Portfolio

A portfolio can demonstrate your development. In addition, you can also
use it to present your competences in particular areas. In education you
can utilise a range of products to do this, such as a reflection document,
results of assignments, examples or feedback received from lecturers,
 fellow students or external supervisors; all are instances of products you
can include in your portfolio.

Three types
There are three types of portfolio in education:

1. A showcase portfolio contains products that demonstrate how capable

the owner is at any given moment.
2. An assessment portfolio contains products that can be used to assess
the owner’s competences.
3. A development portfolio shows how the owner (has) developed and
therefore demonstrates growth. This type of portfolio will often also contain
products from various stages of the process, stages in which feedback has
been received, and possibly also products from work still in progress.At
Radboud University, both students and lecturers can benefit from
assembling a portfolio.
Who can benefit from a portfolio?

Supported by a portfolio, lecturers can develop their lecturing skills and

demonstrate their educational skills towards obtaining their UTQ
(University Teaching Qualification) or ETQ (Extended Teaching
Qualification).
For example, with a portfolio students can show their development of academic
skills or how they have morphed into competent professionals during their
work experience placement or internship. After completing their studies,
students can also use their portfolio in some instances to demonstrate
their work to prospective employers.

Uses of Portfolios
Much of the literature on portfolio assessment has focused on portfolios as
a way to integrate assessment and instruction and to promote meaningful
classroom learning. Many advocates of this function believe that a
successful portfolio assessment program requires the ongoing involvement
of students in the creation and assessment process. Portfolio design
should provide students with the opportunities to become more reflective
about their own work, while demonstrating their abilities to learn and
achieve in academics.

For example, some feel it is important for teachers and students to work
together to prioritize the criteria that will be used as a basis for assessing
 and evaluating student progress. During the instructional process, students
and teachers work together to identify significant pieces of work and the
processes required for the portfolio. As students develop their portfolio,
they are able to receive feedback from peers and teachers about their
work. Because of the greater amount of time required for portfolio projects,
there is a greater opportunity for introspection and collaborative reflection.
This allows students to reflect and report about their own thinking
processes as they monitor their own comprehension and observe their
emerging understanding of subjects and skills. The portfolio process is
dynamic and is affected by the interaction between students and teachers.

Portfolio assessments can also serve summative assessment purposes in

the classroom, serving as the basis for letter grades. Student conferences
at key points during the year can also be part of the summative process.
Such conferences involve the student and teacher (and perhaps the
parent) in joint review of the completion of the portfolio components, in
querying the cognitive processes related to artefact selection, and in
dealing with other relevant issues, such as students' perceptions of
individual progress in reaching academic outcomes.

The use of portfolios for large-scale assessment and accountability

purposes pose vexing measurement challenges. Portfolios typically
require complex production and writing, tasks that can be costly to score
and for which reliability problems have occurred. Generalizability and
comparability can also be an issue in portfolio assessment, as portfolio
tasks are unique and can vary in topic and difficulty from one classroom to
the next. For example, Maryl Gearhart and Joan Herman have raised the
question of comparability of scores because of differences in the help
students may receive from their teachers, parents, and peers within and
across classrooms. To the extent student choice is involved, contents may
even be different from one student to the next. Conditions of, and
opportunities for, performance thus vary from one student to another.

These measurement issues take portfolio assessment outside of the

domain of conventional psychometrics. The qualities of the most useful
portfolios for instructional purposes–deeply embedded in instruction,
involving student choice, and unique to each classroom and student–
seem to contradict the requirements of sound psychometrics. However,
this does not mean that psychometric methodology should be ignored, but
rather that new ways should be created to further develop measurement
theory to address reliability, validity, and generalizability.

Lesson 5: Advantages/Disadvantages of Portfolio

What are the advantages and disadvantages of portfolio assessment?

 Portfolios used well in classrooms have several advantages. They
provide a way of documenting and evaluating growth in a much more
nuanced way than selected response tests can. Also, portfolios can be
integrated easily into instruction, i.e. used for assessment for learning.

What are the benefits/advantages of portfolio assessment?

Portfolio assessment offers a variety of benefits, including:

 A Record of a Child's Ongoing Development Over Time.
Portfolios contain examples of children's work at different time
periods in a school year. For instance, you can take a photograph of a
child's completed block structure in the fall, winter, and spring. Or a child
can draw and file a series of self-portraits.
 Information to Help You Design Instruction.
Portfolios help you begin to construct a well-rounded and authentic picture
of each child so you are better able to plan your program to build on
individualized strengths and support each child's growth.
 Children's Involvement in Assessing Their Own Work.
As children participate in the portfolio process, they begin to reflect on and
understand their own strengths and needs. This, in turn, helps them feel
responsible for their own learning. Children also enjoy comparing examples
of their past work with what they are doing in the present. You can help your
children recognize their own progress by asking questions and commenting
as they compare such things as drawings or photographs of math
manipulatives, block structures, or writing samples. You might ask: "What
can you tell me about your work?" "If you were to build this again, would you
do it differently? What might you change?" "What was the hardest part?"
"What was your favorite part?"
A Method of Communication.
Portfolios are a collaborative effort involving teachers, children, parents,
and often other family members too. They are great to share at family-
teacher conferences. (You might want to involve individual children in these
sharing times and together use the portfolio to illustrate efforts, progress,
and achievement.) Some early childhood programs sponsor "Portfolio
Days," a special time when parents and other family members come in to
look at and enjoy portfolios.
 GETTING STARTED
Talk to your children about portfolios. They need the same kind of
explanation they would about any new material or procedure in your setting.
 Explain what a portfolio is, why everyone is going to keep one, and how
much fun it will be to put one together. Give children time to ask questions.
Afterward, ask children for their ideas about creating these important
personal
"files."
 Before you begin, there are some practicalities to consider. Start by asking
yourself these questions:

1. What will I use to organize and contain children's work?

The answer to this question might be as simple as a designated
space, shelf, or cubby where children stack work samples of what they
write, draw, and find interesting. Better still, you might use individual
oversize file folders, pocket folders, accordion files, ring binders, or
shopping bags. Whichever you choose, try to make the container large
enough to hold most art and work samples without your having to fold them
- along with a wide variety of materials, including audiotapes and videotapes
and sturdy enough to withstand frequent handling by you and your children.
If the portfolios are too small to safely contain pieces of art, take
photographs of the work. And, to develop a strong sense of ownership,
allow and encourage children to personalize their portfolio holders by
decorating them.
2. Where will I keep the portfolios?
Because you want portfolios to be integrated into your daily program,
they need to be within children's easy reach. Children enjoy looking back
through their work, and browsing and reflection are important parts of this
process. Consider storing portfolios in more than one learning area so that
when it's time to get them out, children won't be crowding into one space.
3. What developmental areas will I be assessing?
Portfolios need to illustrate growth in all developmental areas, so
you'll need examples other than concrete products. In addition, young
children engage in many activities that do not result in a product that you
can hold in your hand. For example, when a child counts cups for snack,
we know she is developing one-to-one correspondence skills. By taking a
photograph, or recording this learning in an anecdotal note, we are able to
document the child's mathematical thinking and include this important step
in her portfolio.
Here are suggestions for recording children's development in several
different and important areas:
Gross-motor:
Take photographs throughout the year of individual children on an outside
climber. You can also include parent communication about things such as
the child's climbing up and down stairs.
Fine-motor:
 Keep a checklist of when a child learns to button, zip, and tie his shoes.
Include cutting and pasting art samples as well.
Social-emotional:
Include a survey you do with a parent or other close family member on
each child's interests at home. Write anecdotal notes on how individual
children take turns and share. Consider using a weekly checklist that
records which centers children choose to spend their time in. Take a
periodic inventory of the child's three favorite friends in the room.
Cognitive:
Throughout the year, take photographs of block structures. Save
drawings of the results of science discoveries.
Literacy and Oral language:
Save examples of the way a child writes her name. Include children's
illustrations of stories they love and stories they write themselves. Take
an inventory of each child's favorite books a few times during the year.
Include a list of songs the child sings. Make audiotapes of story retellings
or conversations during circle time.

Creative expression:
Videotape a creative movement activity. Photograph a clay creation.
Audiotape songs the child sings. Include samples of easel paintings and
artwork from home.
MANAGING PORTFOLIOS
The more you and your children work with portfolios, the better you'll
become at important organizational skills. Here are a few hints to get you
on track:
Create a system.
Skilled observation is an essential component of compiling meaningful
portfolios, and this takes time and practice. To maximize your
effectiveness, you will probably need to try several methods of observing
and recording before you find a method that reflects your personal style.
Develop a plan.
As part of your weekly planning, decide on a focus for your observations.
For instance, you might decide to observe two or three specific children a
day; the same group of six children for a week; or one particular
developmental area, such as fine-motor development or creative
expression.
Be prepared.
 In addition to honing your observation skills and developing a system for
recording them, prepare a variety of tools to help you carry out your
observations efficiently and effectively. Here are some suggestions:

• Preprint labels. To help record observations in various learning areas of

the room, make a set of labels for each one. (You can print these up on a
computer or have them printed.) Attach a sheet of labels to a clipboard
and place it in the appropriate learning space. Then, using a loose-leaf
binder, create a separate page for each child. As you observe children in
a particular area, jot down your notes on a label, date it, and put it on the
child's page in your binder.
• Color-code index cards. Designate a color for each developmental area
you're assessing and then store children's cards by color on a (continued
from page 26) ring or file them in a box.
• Mount photographs. Write anecdotal notes on the back or encourage
your children to review the photographs with you and dictate their
comments.
• Organize. It's helpful to keep the contents of each portfolio in
chronological order. And since all information is dated, arranging
interviews, work samples, and checklists should be simple.

What are the disadvantages of a portfolio?

The Limitations of Portfolios

 Portfolio Assessment’s Inherent Limitations.
There are three major reasons portfolios are not appropriate for higher
education assessment programs: They are (a) not standardized, (b) not
feasible for large-scale assessment due to administration and scoring
problems, and (c) potentially biased. Indeed, course grades, aggregated
across an academic major or program, provide more reliable and better
evidence of student learning than do portfolios. Here’s why.

 Lack of Standardization.
Standardization refers to assessments in which (a) all students take the
same or conceptually and statistically parallel measures; (b) all students
take the measures under the same administrative conditions (such as on-
site proctors and time limits); (c) the same evaluation methods, graders,
and scoring criteria are applied consistently to all of the students’ work;
and (d) the score assigned to a student most likely reflects the quality of
the work done by that student and that student alone (without assistance
from others).

Portfolios do not and cannot meet the requirements for standardization

because by their very nature, they are tailored to each student. AAC&U’s
attempts at “metarubrics” are not even close to being an adequate solution
 to address this problem. Portfolio advocates simply ignore the evidence
that valid comparisons in the level of learning achieved can only be made
when students take the same or statistically “equated” measures (such as
different versions of the SAT).

 Not Feasible for Large Scale Learning Assessment.

By their un-standardized nature, portfolios (even electronic ones) are not
practically feasible on a large scale. A moment’s reflection reveals why this
is true. Because of their length, a single grader will typically need an hour
or so to grade a single portfolio. To assure adequate score reliability, each
portfolio needs at least two independent graders (and major differences
between them should be resolved by a third). In addition, due to the
potential interdisciplinary nature of a portfolio’s contents, raters with
different areas of expertise might be needed which could lead to even
more scoring time and feasibility problems.

For portfolios to be truly authentic, they have to relate to each student’s

academic major or combination of majors. Hence, different teams of
graders (and most likely different scoring rubrics) are needed for students
with different majors. These and related concerns preclude combining
results across students with different and perhaps unique combinations of
majors.

Computer technology cannot solve portfolio feasibility and reliability problems. For
example, computers with natural language processing have been softwareto
provide a costeffective and accurate way to grade shown large
numbers of student responses to essay questions and other open-
ended tasks. However, these machine grading methods require standardized
prompts. They require that thousands of students respond to the same prompt and
thus they are not applicable to portfolios.

 Bias.

A portfolio may include a photograph, videoclip, or other information about

student identities. Their gender, race, ethnicity, and other characteristics
also may be known by those evaluating the portfolio. This lack of
anonymity may bias results.

Faculty are understandably skeptical of standardized tests. In an article

last year in Academe, Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein pointed out that
many faculty erroneously equate standardized exams with the highly
questionable multiple-choice tests that characterize the implementation of
the No Child Left Behind Act. Professors and administrators rightly
celebrate the diversity of American higher education and therefore do not
see how the same standardized test could be used across this range of
institutions. However, colleges may share some important goals.
What are the disadvantages of portfolio assessment?
Disadvantages of Using Portfolio Assessment  It may be seen as less
reliable or fair than more quantitative evaluations.  Having to develop
one’s individualized criteria can be difficult or unfamiliar at first.  It can be
very time consuming for teachers to organize and evaluate the content of
portfolios.
Lesson 6: The Development of Portfolio Assessment
Portfolio assessments grew in popularity in the United States in the
1990s as part of a widespread interest in alternative assessment. Because
of high-stakes accountability, the 1980s saw an increase in norm-
referenced, multiple-choice tests designed to measure academic
achievement. By the end of the decade, however, there were increased
criticisms over the reliance on these tests, which opponents believed
assessed only a very limited range of knowledge and encouraged a "drill
and kill" multiple-choice curriculum. Advocates of alternative assessment
argued that teachers and schools modeled their curriculum to match the
limited norm-referenced tests to try to assure that their students did well,
"teaching to the test" rather than teaching content relevant to the subject
matter. Therefore, it was important that assessments were worth teaching
to and modeled the types of significant teaching and learning activities that
were worthwhile educational experiences and would prepare students for
future, real-world success.

Involving a wide variety of learning products and artifacts, such

assessments would also enable teachers and researchers to examine the
wide array of complex thinking and problemsolving skills required for
subject-matter accomplishment. More likely than traditional assessments
to be multidimensional, these assessments also could reveal various
aspects of the learning process, including the development of cognitive
skills, strategies, and decision-making processes. By providing feedback to
schools and districts about the strengths and weaknesses of their
performance, and influencing what and how teachers teach, it was thought
portfolio assessment could support the goals of school reform. By
engaging students more deeply in the instructional and assessment
process, furthermore, portfolios could also benefit student learning.

Lesson 7: Content of Portfolio

A portfolio is a living and changing collection of records that reflect

your accomplishments, skills, experiences, and attributes. It highlights and
showcases samples of some of your best work, along with life
experiences, values and achievements. The personal information that you
incorporate into your portfolio can greatly reflect on your abilities as an
individual as well as become a useful tool in marketing yourself to
employers, corporations, colleges and universities. A portfolio does not
 take the place of a resume, but it can accentuate your abilities and what
you can offer in the chosen field.

Why do I need a portfolio?

A portfolio can set you apart from other applicants, whether in a
professional or academic setting. • It allows you to be more personal and
creative in order to expand on and exhibit your skills, knowledge, projects
and experiences.

 A portfolio is a method of self-discovery and confidence building.

 It is a multi-faceted way to organize your accomplishments, goals,
aspirations, and personal thought. It showcases your personality to
potential employers and organizations.
 It is a useful tool to include in an interview. It provides tangible proof of
your skills and abilities and demonstrates to the employer that you are
qualified for that specific job.
 It can be helpful in applying for bonuses, scholarships, grants and
negotiating promotions and raises.
 A portfolio demonstrates prior work or learning experiences that can be
useful for educational credit.

How do I create a portfolio?
First, you need to determine what type of portfolio is best suited for your needs:

1. Student Portfolio—Useful in an academic setting; demonstrates knowledge

attained in a given class or throughout your school career. This portfolio can be
very helpful if you plan on continuing your education beyond the undergraduate
level.

2. Project Portfolio—Useful in an academic and professional setting; shows the

efforts or steps taken to complete a specific project or independent study. For
example, if you have the experience of producing a school play, you would
create a portfolio that incorporated the materials and research that was involved.
If you wanted to apply for a grant in order to do another play then you could use
your portfolio as a form of proof that you did a good job and would be a prime
candidate to receive the requested grant.

3. Professional Portfolio—Useful in a professional setting; demonstrates your

skills, background, accomplishments and experiences. This portfolio is versatile
and can be arranged for a specific position. For example, a teaching portfolio
would be a type of professional portfolio that would highlight experiences,
achievements, goals and ambitions for a position as a teacher within an
educational institution.

4. Online Portfolio—Useful in an academic and professional setting; enables

your credentials to be more easily accessible via the internet. This should not
take the place of a hard copy portfolio, but be created in addition to one. This
portfolio can be very helpful for those planning on applying for a job in the field of
technology and/or graphic design. Also, an online portfolio can be useful to
anyone in any given field. As the Information Age progresses, prospective
employers are beginning to request online portfolios. Bear in mind that several
employers may be located afar and with one click of a mouse, they can access
your information more readily.

5. Personal Portfolio—Simply for your personal use. This portfolio is a collection

or a scrapbook of things that interest you. This portfolio could be used as a
stepping block towards understanding who you are and where you would like to
be in the future.
What should I include in my portfolio?
As you begin to create your portfolio, there are several different categories that
you should consider: Personal Information, Values, Personal Goals and History,
Accomplishments and Job History, Skills and Attributes, Education and Training
as well as Testimonials and Recommendations.

IMPORTANT: Always be as specific as possible. Your portfolio can become

quite a large collection of materials. For interview purposes, it would be a wise
strategy to select items from your portfolio to be included in a smaller interview
portfolio. The smaller portfolio can be presented during the interview and would
be less overwhelming to the interviewer. Here is a list of possible information to
include.

• Letters of reference
• Resume or Vitae
• Lists of accomplishments
• Samples of work (e.g., items produced on internship or co-op experiences,
class projects, items produced from previous job) • Memos and/or reports
(optional)
• Designs and Photographs (optional)
• Transcripts
• Licenses or Certifications
• Evidence of specific skills (e.g., writing, graphic design, public speaking,
leadership, event management)

Activity:

Test I: Give me!!!!!

Write the answer in the space given.

_____________________________1. It is a collection of student works that are

associated with standards you are required to learn.

_____________________________2.This item require students to make a

decision and find out which of two potential responses is true.
 _____________________________3.They is fast, easy, and economical to
score. In fact, they are machine scorable.

_____________________________4. It can be defined as “a criteria-rating

scale, which gives the teachers a tool that allows them to track student
performance”.

_____________________________5. This is effective assessment tools since

the questions are flexible and assess the higher order learning skills.

_____________________________6. tests “items are written either as a direct

question requiring the learner fill in a word or phrase or as statements in which a
space has been left blank for a brief written answer”.
_____________________________7. It contain multiple examples of the same
type of work done over time and are used to assess progress.

_____________________________8. It may contain drafts that students and

teachers use to reflect on process.

_____________________________9. It provides a snapshot of what a student

can do on a particular day.

____________________________10. It contains products that demonstrate

how capable the owner is at any given moment.

Test I-A: Types of Portfolio

____________________________11. Useful in an academic and professional

setting; enables your credentials to be more easily accessible via the internet.

____________________________12. Useful in an academic and professional

setting; shows the efforts or steps taken to complete a specific project or
independent study.

____________________________13. Useful in an academic setting;

demonstrates knowledge attained in a given class or throughout your school
career.
____________________________14. This portfolio is a collection or a
scrapbook of things that interest you.

____________________________15. This portfolio is versatile and can be

arranged for a specific position.

Reflection
 NDC-TAGUM
EDUC 6
FOUNDATION, INC.
Assessment of Learning 2

Grading and Reporting Systems

LEARNING
MODULE 5

SEMI-FINAL

Submitted to:

PROF. REMEDIOS C. MAGHANOY

INSTRUCTOR

Submitted by:
JENNIE LAE T. CABRERA
STUDENT
Lesson 1: Purposes of Grading and Reporting System
The purpose of a grading system is to give feedback to students so they
can take charge of their learning and to provide information to all who
support these students—teachers, special educators, parents, and
others. The purpose of a reporting system is to communicate the
 students’ achievement to families, post-secondary institutions, and
employers. These systems must, above all, communicate clear
information about the skills a student has mastered or the areas where
they need more support or practice. When schools use grades to reward
or punish students, or to sort students into levels, imbalances in power
and privilege will be magnified and the purposes of the grading and
reporting systems will not be achieved. This guide is intended to highlight
the central practices that schools can use to ensure that their grading and
reporting systems help them build a nurturing, equitable, creative, and
dynamic culture of learning.

The following tenets must be at the core of the school’s grading and
reporting practices:

Communicate Information About Effective grading systems communicate

Learning information about learning to help
students be proactive, overcome failures,
and excel. In equitable schools and
classrooms, grades will never be used as
rewards, punishments, or tools to force
compliance.
Design Clear Grading & Reporting When each teacher designs their own
Guidelines unique grading system, consistency
becomes impossible. Clear,
collaboratively- designed school
guidelines for grading and reporting,
known and followed by everyone, help
create a school culture that supports all
students.
Use Common Rubrics or Scoring Guides An essential practice for educational
equity is establishing clear, agreed-upon
learning outcomes and defining the
criteria for meeting those outcomes.
These descriptions of what mastery looks
like are powerful tools for learning,
teaching, and assessment design.
Provide Low- Stakes Practice & In order for students to learn from
Feedback practice and feedback, they need
chances to practice, make mistakes, and
get feedback based on common scoring
criteria, without worrying that early
mistakes will count heavily against them.
Report on Habits of Work Separately Separating habits of work from academic
proficiency ensures that a student’s good
behavior or work habits cannot mask a
lack of proficiency, and that a student’s
 poor behavior or work habits cannot
mask their attainment of proficiency.
Organize Grade Books Consistently Design grade book categories in such a
way that they will yield the most useful
information to educators and learners.
The method used for organizing
information in grade books should be
consistent across the school.
Lesson 2: Types of Grading System
The two most common types of grading systems used at the university
level are norm referenced and criterion-referenced. Many professors
combine elements of each of these systems for determining student
grades by using a system of anchoring or by presetting grading criterion
which is later adjusted based on actual student performance.

1. Norm-Referenced Systems:
Definition: In norm-referenced systems students are evaluated in
relationship to one another (e.g., the top 10% of students receive an A,
the next 30% a B, etc.). This grading system rests on the assumption
that the level of student performance will not vary much from class to
class. In this system the instructor usually determines the percentage of
students assigned each grade, although this percentage may be
determined (or at least influenced) by departmental expectations and
policy.

Advantages:
• Norm-referenced systems are very easy to use.
• They work well in situations requiring rigid differentiation among
students where, for example, program size restrictions may limit the
number of students advancing to higher level courses.
• They are generally appropriate in large courses that do not encourage
cooperation among students but generally stress individual
achievement.

Disadvantages:
• One objection to norm-referenced systems is that an individual's grade
is determined not only by his/her achievements, but also by the
achievements of others. This may be true in a large non-selective
lecture class, where we can be fairly confident that the class is
representative of the student population; but in small classes (under 40)
the group may not be a representative sample. One student may get an
A in a low-achieving section while a fellow student with the same score
in a higher-achieving section gets a B.

• A second objection to norm-referenced grading is that it promotes

competition rather than cooperation. When students are pitted against
 each other for the few As to be given out, they're less likely to be helpful
to each other.

Possible modification:
When using a norm-referenced system in a small class, the allocation of
grades can be modified according to the caliber of students in the class.
One method of modifying a norm-referenced system is anchoring.
Jacobs and Chase in Developing and Using Tests Effectively: A Guide
for Faculty, 1992, describe the following ways to use an anchor:

"If instructors shave taught a class several times and have used the
same or an equivalent exam, then the distribution of test scores
accumulated over many classes can serve as the anchor. The present
class is compared with this cumulative distribution to judge the ability
level of the group and the appropriate allocation of grades. Anchoring
also works well in multi-section courses where the same text, same
syllabus, and same examinations are used. The common examination
can be 2 used to reveal whether and how the class groups differ in
achievement and the grade in the individual sections can be adjusted
accordingly... If an instructor is teaching a class for the first time and has
no other scores for comparison, a relevant and well-constructed teacher-
made pre-test may be used as an anchor."

Modifying the norm-referenced system by anchoring also helps mitigate feelings

of competition among students as they are not as directly in competition with
each other.
Before Deciding on a Norm-Reference System, Consider:
• What is the expected class size? If it is smaller than 40, do not use a
norm referenced system unless we use anchoring to modify the system.

• Is it important for students to work cooperatively in this class (e.g., do we

ask them to form study groups, or work on projects as a group)? If the
answer is yes, a normreferenced system is not appropriate for the class.

2. Criterion-Referenced System
Definition: In criterion-referenced systems students are evaluated against an
absolute scale (e.g. 95-100 = A, 88-94 = B, etc.). Normally the criteria
are a set number of points or a percentage of the total. Since the
standard is absolute, it is possible that all students could get As or all
students could get Ds.

Advantages:
• Students are not competing with each other and are thus more likely to
actively help each other learn. A student's grade is not influenced by the
caliber of the class.
 Disadvantages:
• It is difficult to set reasonable criteria for the students without a fair
amount of teaching experience. Most experienced faculty set these
criteria based on their knowledge of how students usually perform (thus
making it fairly similar to the norm referenced system).

Possible modifications:
• Instructors sometimes choose to maintain some flexibility in their criteria
by telling the class in advance that the criteria may be lowered if it seems
appropriate, e.g., the 95% cut off for an A may be lowered to 93%. This
way if a first exam was more difficult for students than the instructor
imagined, s/he can lower the grading criteria rather than trying to
compensate for the difficulty of the first exam with an easy second exam.
Raising the criteria because too many students achieved As, however, is
never advisable.

• Another way of doing criterion-referenced grading is by listing objectives

and assigning grades based on the extent the student achieved the class
objectives (e.g., A = Student has achieved all major and minor objectives
of the course. B = Student has achieved all major objectives and several
minor objectives, etc.).

Before Deciding on a Criterion-Reference System, Consider:

• How will we determine reasonable criteria for students? When teaching
the class for the first time, maintain some flexibility.

3. Other Systems: Some alternate systems of grading include contract grading,

peer grading, and self-evaluation by students.

• In contract grading instructors list activities students can participate in or

objectives they can achieve, usually attaching a specified number of
points for each activity (e.g. book report = 30 points, term paper = 60
points). Students select the activities and/or objectives that will give them
the grade they want and a contract is signed. It is advisable to have
qualitative criteria stated in the contract in addition to listing the activities.

• In some classes, a portion of a student's grade is determined by peers'

evaluation of his/her performance. If students are told what to look for and
how to grade, they generally can do a good job. Agreement between peer
and instructor rating is about 80%.
Peer grading is often used in composition classes and speech classes. It
can also be a useful source of information for evaluating group work;
knowing that group members have the opportunity to evaluate each
other’s work can go a long way in motivating peers to pull their weight on
a project and to reassure group members that their contributions will be
recognized. If used, peer evaluation should always be done
anonymously.
 • Students can also be asked to assess their own work in the class and
their assessment can be a portion of the final grade. This method has
educational value as learning to assess one's own progress contributes to
the university's goal of preparing our students to be life-long learners. A
research analysis found that the percentages of self-assessors whose
grades agree with those of faculty graders vary from 33% to 99%.
Experienced students tend to rate themselves quite similarly to the faculty
while less experienced students generally give themselves higher grades
than a faculty grader. Students in science classes also produced self-
assessments that closely matched faculty assessment. Not surprisingly,
student and instructor assessments are more likely to agree if the criteria
for assessment have been clearly articulated. Without these shared
understandings, students, for example, don’t know whether to assess
themselves on the amount of work they put into a course, on the
improvement they’ve seen in certain skills, or on their final level of
achievement. If self-assessment is used, the instructor and student
should meet to discuss the student's achievement before the self-
evaluation is made.

Lesson 3: Types of Reporting System

Two options are commonly used: absolute grading and relative grading.
In absolute grading grades are assigned based on criteria the teacher
has devised. If an English teacher has established a level of proficiency
needed to obtain an A and no student meets that level then no As will be
given.

Teachers have two ways of grading students, either by assigning a letter

grade to each point value earned by a student or based on how a
student's score compares to the rest of the class. Learn the differences
between absolute grading and relative grading, and explore the instances
in which teachers should choose to use one or the other.

Grading in the Classroom

Imagine that you are a teacher giving a test to a class full of students. As
you are grading, you think about the importance of giving the proper grade
to each student. See, the grade that each student gets can determine
whether that student passes or fails. If your class is a prerequisite for
another class, giving a student a grade that will cause him or her to fail will
mean that you can potentially hold a student back from continuing in his or
her studies. How should you grade? Let's look at two different kinds of
grading systems: absolute and relative.

Absolute Grading
The first kind of system is called absolute grading. In this system, each
point value is assigned a letter grade. This is the system that most
 students in primary school are under. For example, the most common
absolute grading system in the United States is the one that assigns an A
for points 90 to 100, a B for points 80 to 89, a C for points 70 to 79, a D
for points 60 to 69, and an F for points 0 to 59. All of these points are
from a test worth 100 points.
In this system, it is possible for all of your students to pass and even for
all of them to get As. If all of your students score a 90 or above on the
test you have just given, then all of your students will get an A on this
test.

Relative Grading
The other kind of grading system is called relative grading. In this
system, grades are given based on the student's score compared to the
others in the class. This system is used in some universities and colleges
and even in some advanced high school classes. In this system, a few
students are guaranteed to receive an A and a few students are
guaranteed to receive an F.
Point values in this system don't translate directly into letter grades. For
example, if most of your students scored between 80 and 90 out of 100,
then this would mean that scores around 85 points are assigned a C.
Scores around the 90 mark are assigned a B, and the highest scores are
assigned an A or A+. If the highest score is a 92, then 92 will equate to
an A+. The lowest score will equate to an F. If the lowest score is a 75,
then that 75 is an F.
Is this system fair? It is if your student's grades are spread far enough
apart. For example, if some of your students score a 20 out of 100 and
some of your students score 90 out of 100, then this system of relative
grading will work because it will assign an F to those students who did
not perform and an A to those who performed very well.
It is also very possible for students to receive an A when they don't really
understand the material at all. For example, on a test worth 100 points, if
the highest score is 30 points, then this would mean that 30 is an A. But
does scoring 30 out of 100 mean that the student has understood the
material? Probably not. It is also possible for students to receive an F
even though they have a good grasp of the material. If the lowest score is
90 out of 100 on a particular test, then this would mean that 90 is an F
when using relative grading. In these instances, you have to ask yourself,
if this a fair letter grade for this student.
Lesson 4: Grading System of Public Elementary
and Secondary Schools

The grading system in elementary and secondary schools is designed

to reflect consistency between the true level and degree of mastery of
competencies by students in each subject area. In this way the actual
effectiveness of the teaching-learning process may be correctly
assessed by all concerned, including students, parents, teachers and
administrators. Accordingly, the following policies and guidelines are
hereby prescribed:

1. Transmutation of Scores and Ratings. Test scores and other numeric or

descriptive ratings shall be converted into percentage grades without applying a
base percentage, i.e., perfect scores shall equal 100% while zero scores shall
equal 0%. We disclaim the transmutation table that uses 70% as the baseline
published in commercially distributed class records.

2. This should not be followed. This table has never been sanctioned officially
by the Department of Education (DepEd) and teachers should immediately stop
using it.

3. Passing Grade. The passing grade shall be 75% and should be a faithful
reflection of student achievement of the competencies for the subject area.
4. Weight of Periodical Tests. Periodical tests shall have a uniform weight of
between 25% to 40% in all subject areas, with the rest to be distributed among
the other components to be rated in each subject area.

5. Lowest Grade on the Report Card. Any grade lower than 65% shall be
reflected as 65% on the individual report card. However, the actual grade shall
be retained in the class record and used for aggregating group performance at
all times and for all purposes.

Lesson 5: Guidelines for Rating Elementary/Secondary

Students
“Guidelines for Rating Elementary School Pupils Enclosure No. 5 to DepEd
Order No. 73, s.
2012”

Assessment of the Four Levels of Assessment

A. Assessment of Level of Knowledge (15%)

These types of test can be used to determine the pupil’s knowledge of specific
facts and information.
 1. Paper and Pencil Test
• Multiple Choice
• Test True or False
• Matching Type
• Constructed response type of test (To determine if the pupil’s
knowledge of facts and information is of sufficient; breadth and depth,
the following test type maybe appropriate. A rubric or scoring guide will
be necessary).

2. Oral Participation
3. Periodic Test

B. Assessment of Process or Skills (25%)

How pupils construct meanings or make sense of the facts and information.

1. Quiz
• Outlining, organizing, analyzing, interpreting, translating, converting, or
expressing the information in another format;
• Drawing analogies
• Constructing graphs, flowcharts, and maps or graphic organizers
• Transforming a textual presentation into a diagram
• Drawing or painting pictures f. Other activities

2. Oral Participation
•Doing role playss
•Other Activities
C. Assessment of Understanding (s) (30%)

Quiz
• Explain/justify something based on facts/data, phenomena or evidence
• Tell/retell stories
• Make connections of what was learned within and across learning areas
• Apply what has been learned in real life situations

Oral Discourse/recitation
• Explain/justify something based on facts/data, phenomena or evidence
• Tell/retell stories
• Make connections of what was learned within and across learning areas
• Apply what has been learned in real life situations

Open-ended test

D. Assessment of Products/Performances (30%)

• Participation (e.g. in group projects)
• Projects
• Homework
• Experiments
 • Portfolio
• Other Outputs

II. Sample Computation of Pupil Rating

To determine the rating for the learning area in a grading period, which
includes Mother Tongue, get the average of all ratings entered in the Class
Record under each measure of achievement. Multiply the result by the
corresponding percentage weight.

Formula Computed Value = Average x Weight

Level of Proficiency Equivalent
Beginning (B) 74% and below
Developing (D) 75-79%
Approaching Proficiency (AP) 80-84%
Proficiency (P) 85-89%
Advance (A) (0% and above
III. Marking for MAPEH
Example:
Music 84 AP
Art 88 P
P.E 90 A
Health 89 P
___________________________
351/4=87.75 (88) P

IV. Marking for Oral Fluency in Filipino and English

Filipino
• For the first semester (second grading period), pupils shall be assessed
on oral fluency
• During the second semester, pupils shall be rated the way they are rated
in the other learning areas.

English
• Second semester, pupils shall be assessed on oral fluency.

Examples of Activities/Oral Tests for oral fluency (Filipino and English)

• Retelling Personal Stories Pupils retell anecdote which they heard from
their classmates or friends.
• Retelling Stories Pupils retell stories which they have heard from their
teacher, classmates or parents.
• Role playing a Dialogue Pupils role play a dialogue, guided by some
keywords. Pupils role play according to instructions on role play card.
• Pupils role play a telephone conversation.
 • Story telling by Turns Through group work, pupils create a story. They
take turns to speak while providing details for the story.
• Spotting Differences and Similarities Pupils are asked to speak in order to
find differences and similarities of two similar pictures.
• Interview
• Pupils may be interviewed by their teacher on topic interesting for him.
• My Favorite Cartoon Character Pupils are asked to speak in order to
describe their favorite cartoon character.
• Oral Filipino and English Tests

V. Assessing the Mother Tongue Subject

Mother tongue is a generic and international term that refers to the
first language (L1) or home language of the child. It is a language subject
that aims to develop the literacy, cognitive and reasoning skills of
students. It focuses on the four aspects of development as follows:

A. Language Development via small and big group activities on oral

language for extensive use and deeper understanding of the language
(Language competence) and the child’s confidence on the use of
language in academic oral and even written discourse;

B. Cognitive Development via art of questioning that will encourage

higher order thinking skills of not only the students but also the teachers;

C. Academic Development via small and big group activities on

vocabulary development using the concept map, diagrams and others;
and

D. Socio-cultural Development via use of local and indigenized materials

for relevance to student’s background and deeper understanding of the
concept. - Oral language proficiency will be measured using rubrics.

VI. Marking for Character Traits

Existing Guidelines stipulated in DepEd Order No. 33, s. 2004 for Marking
Character Traits shall be applied.

VII. Scoring Quizzes and Periodic Test

Transmutation table shall not be used in computing grades. Test scores
for quizzes shall be recorded as raw scores, totalled at the end of a grading
period and then computed as percentage (Pupils Total Score ÷ Highest Possible
Score x 100). Periodic test score shall also be computed as percentage using
the same formula.

VIII. Rating Oral Participation, Group Participation, Projects, Performances,

Homework,
Experiments, Portfolio and Others
a. Rubrics shall be utilized for rating individual or group participation, project,
performances, etc. (Teachers are encouraged to prepare their own rubrics.)

IX. Computation of the Final Rating for each Learning Area

X. Computation of the General Average

To arrive at the General Average of the pupil, add all the numerical ratings
for the Descriptive Equivalents under the column for Final Ratings in the
Progress Report Card. Divide the sum by the number of learning areas in the
grade level.

XI. Rounding Numbers

• Applied when computing for the rating of each learning area for a quarter,
final rating of each learning area and general average.
• For the selection of honors/ranking purposes , “rounding numbers” shall
not be applied for the following:
- Final rating for each learning areas
- General Average

XIII. Promotion and Intervention

• Like those in the Advanced, Proficient and Approaching Proficiency,

pupils in the Developing (D) level of proficiency as the general average,
shall be promoted to the next grade level. However, appropriate
intervention is necessary for those at the Developing Stage.

• If after school year, these pupils still get the Beginning (B) Level of
Proficiency as the general average, they shall be advised to take make-up
or summer classes in the learning areas where they need help to be able
to cope up with the competencies in the next grade level.

Lesson 6: Components of Students Grade

Explore how teachers should weigh the various components of student

grades to best calculate the overall grade. Discover more about grading,
examine the components that make up grades, and see calculations to
determine overall grades.

Grading
Tyler is a teacher. He needs to submit student grades for report cards, but
isn't sure how to do that. When he's asked to grade a test or a paper, he's
fine. But how does he take all of the tests, papers, and assignments into
consideration and come up with a total grade?
 Grading involves evaluating student work. There are two types of grades
that teachers have to keep track of. The first type is grades for individual
assignments, like grading a test or paper or other piece of work. The
second type, grades for how students are doing in the class overall, is
sometimes harder to calculate. What makes it difficult is that there's a lot
that goes into overall grades. As Tyler has seen, with all the different
assignments involved, this can get very complicated.
To figure out a student's overall grade, Tyler needs to figure out
components that make up the overall grade and then calculate the grade
itself. To help him do this, let's look closer at both of these elements.

Components
As we've seen, Tyler's having trouble figuring out how to calculate his
students' overall grades for his class. There seems like there's a lot
involved in the grades! The first thing Tyler needs to do is to figure out the
components that will go into his grading calculation.
There are lots of different possibilities, but there are generally four large
categories that teachers use:
1. Class work and quizzes.
Class work is, as the name implies, work that is done in class. For
example, if Tyler gives his students a worksheet to fill out while they are in
his class, that worksheet goes into their class work grade. This category
can also include quizzes, which are mini-tests given on information learned
over a day or two.
2. Homework.
Like class work, homework is aptly named because it is work that is done
at home, or outside class time. Homework should be something that is
given on one day and then collected a day or two later. For example, if on
Tyler assigns students a reading passage and questions on Monday and
then collects their answers on Tuesday or Wednesday, it's homework.
3. Tests, projects, & papers.
These are assignments that cover a longer period of time than homework
or class work. For example, after teaching a unit on World War I, Tyler
might give his students a test. Alternatively, he might ask them to do a big
project or write a paper.
To determine if an assignment should be class work or homework, or if it
should be a test, project, or paper, Tyler should think about how much
information the assignment covers. If it's about one day or one week of
material covered in class, then it's probably going to be class work or
homework. On the other hand, if it covers a longer time period, like a
couple of weeks or a month, it's probably a test, project, or paper.
4. Participation.
Though it's not completely necessary, many teachers also count a
student's participation in their overall grade. For example, if a student sits
silently in class and ignores Tyler, doesn't ever ask or answer questions,
and always has his headphones in, he's not participating in class. On the
other hand, if a student is very attentive and asks lots of questions, she's
doing a good job with participation.

Calculations
All right, Tyler understands the different categories of assignments that he
might want to use in calculating his students' grades, but he's still not sure
exactly how to calculate the grades. There are several steps that Tyler can
take to figure out what each student makes in his class.
They are:
1. Figure out what weight each component has.
Usually, tests, projects, and papers are weighed heavier than class work and
homework, which are weighed heavier than participation, but each teacher
needs to figure out the exact weight of each component. All weights should
equal 100%.
For example, Tyler might want to make class work and quizzes worth 20% each,
and make homework worth 25%. He could then make tests, projects, and papers
worth 40%, and participation worth 15%. Together, all of these add up to 100%.

Methods of Computing Final Grade

Grade Calculator

We provide a free grade calculator to help calculate your final

grade. While the article explains how to calculate yourself, our calculator
will help you determine percentage or letter based final grades.

(3 steps to calculate your final grade)

Computing your final grade consists of finding your average in each

category, then multiplying it by the percentage of the class it's worth and
adding all the adjusted categories together.

Find- Finding your average in each category

Multiply - Multiply by the percentage worth in your class. Usually found on a

syllabus .
Add- all the adjusted categories together

1. Find the average of each category by adding all the grades in one
category together, then dividing them by the number of grades there are.

For example:
if you got a 95, 100, 90, and 85 on your homework, your homework grade
would be 91.25 (95+100+90+85 = 365) (365/4 = 91.25). Repeat this for
each category.

2. Multiply your average in a category by the percentage the category is

worth.

Using the above example

if homework counts for 20 percent of your grade, then 91.25 x .20 = 18.25.
Repeat this for each category.

3. Add together all the categories after multiplying them by what percent of
the class they're worth.

Using the example,

If your adjusted number for three categories was 18.25, 22, and 40, then your
final grade would be 80.25.

5 Tips for College Success

1. Read and understand your syllabus. If your course requires

recitation, attend those because they are more often the course graders too.
One person I know got an A in statistics because she was the only one in a
class of 100 to attend - the rest did not attend because of the instructor’s
thick accent.

2. If attendance counts, attend. I worked several jobs in college to

make ends meet and sometimes had to miss class. If you have the luxury to
attend class, do so.

3. Important paper? Get started early and ask for feedback. In

graduate schools I watch many friends grade final papers, those cherry-
picked points smashed together to make a page count are obvious. When
the grader is opinionated, and they always are, they implicitly grade to some
course curve. The secret of college grading is the final course grades need
to meet an expected grade distribution. The instructor will get called to task
if everyone gets a C, even if everyone deserves one.
 4. Reserve time each week and holistically review. The course
syllabus is your guide. In my time, I only met one person who could pull an
all-nighter before the final exam and get an A. The people, who consistently
scored well, repeatedly reviewed the material. One person I knew would re-
read six to seven times. Another friend articulated a more reasonable
approach, ask why we are learning about the syllabus items. If you review
and ask yourself each week, your next lecture will be more interesting and
you will feel more comfortable at the final exam.

5. Your goal in college is to learn what you want to do. That does not
happen solely in a classroom. Explore and enjoy the activities and
opportunities your school affords. Complete the circle of who you aspire to
become.

Lesson 7: Under K-12 Curriculum

The K to 12 Program covers Kindergarten and 12 years of

basic education (six years of primary education, four years of
Junior High School, and two years of Senior High School [SHS]) to
provide sufficient time for mastery of concepts and skills, develop
lifelong learners, and prepare graduates for tertiary education, middle-
level skills development, employment, and entrepreneurship.

Levels of Assessment /Proficiency

Assessments in higher education are crucial in measuring the educational

effectiveness and quality of an institution’s offering. Assessments help different
stakeholders – students, instructors, and administrators – and answer various
questions about student development, the value of specific courses, and the
credibility of an institution.
From the Student to the Institution, have identified five levels of complexity in
assessments that should be achieved in higher education.

The two assessment types recommended by Miller and Leskes:

• Formative: used to monitor student learning and plan for subsequent

instruction. Data gathered from formative assessments provides insight
into student strengths, weaknesses, and developmental progress.
 • Summative: used to gather data about the attainment of knowledge and
development of skills proficiencies. Allows stakeholders to measure how
well students meet learning objectives and provides insight into the
effectiveness of instructional tools and curriculum design.

Level 1 – Assessing individual student learning within courses

The first level refers to the assessment of individual student learning within
courses. The goal is to measure learning as the student progresses
through a specific course. The assessment tools utilized should provide
data that highlights student strengths and weaknesses and guides
development with actionable recommendations for improvement.

Formative and summative assessments that minimize the assignment of

holistic grades (A to F) because they fail to provide the tailored and
actionable feedback needed to nurture meaningful student development.
These grades “represent averaged estimates of overall quality and
communicate little to students about their strengths, weaknesses, or ways
to improve.”

The assessment of individual student learning within courses is often

carried out through the implementation of pre-test/post-test. This allows
stakeholders to assess a course’s impact by gauging student knowledge
before and after the course.

Level 2 – Assessing individual student learning across courses

The second level is the assessment of individual student learning across
courses. This level of assessment allows stakeholders to measure student
development as they move through their specific major or program
curriculum.

Assessing individual student learning across courses accomplishes the following

goals:

• Provides students evidence of their development across courses

• Provides students with actionable feedback over time
• Provides stakeholders insight into how well students are performing
against program learning objectives
• Informs remediation efforts needed to address development gaps and
improve educational quality

In order to gather meaningful data, Miller and Leskes suggest that formative and
summative assessments in this level address the following three questions:
 1. Has the student’s work improved and/or met the standards during the
program or since admission to college?
2. How well has the student achieved the disciplinary outcomes of the major
program?
3. How well has the student achieved the general learning outcomes of the
institution across four years?

Level 3 – Assessing Courses

The third level of assessment asks programs and institutions to evaluate
the effectiveness of courses in helping students meet learning objectives,
prepare for future courses, and obtain expected levels of knowledge and
skills proficiencies.

As with the previous two levels, both formative and summative

assessments can be used in the assessment of courses. Examples of
assessment tools that can be used include embedded course
assignments (papers, exams, and projects), commercially developed
tests, and course portfolios.

The assessment of courses allows stakeholders to identify areas of the

curriculum where remediation is needed to improve educational
relevance. As Miller and Leskes express, instructors and committees are
responsible for “understanding how the course fits into a coherent
pathway of learning and using analysis of the evidence to improve
teaching and course design.”

Level 4 – Assessing Programs

The fourth level of assessment involves the assessment of programs with
the goal of measuring the alignment between curriculum designs and
learning objectives. The data gathered at this level of assessment
demonstrates how well a program prepares students to meet learning
objectives and further highlights educational gaps within the curriculum.

Accordingto Miller and Leskes, the assessment of programs

mostly requires the implementation of summative assessments that
address the following six questions:

1. Do the program’s courses, individually and collectively, contribute to its

outcomes as planned?
2. How well does the program fulfill its purposes in the entire curriculum?
3. How well do the program’s sub-categories contribute to the overall
purposes?
4. Does the program’s design resonate with its expected outcomes?
5. Are the courses organized in a coherent manner to allow for cumulative
learning?
 6. Does the program advance institution-wide goals as planned?

The effective assessment of programs requires the collection of data at the

entry, midpoint, and end of the program. “End point data is particularly valuable
as a summative indicator of how well the program, taken as a whole, is achieving
its goals.”

Level 5 – Assessing the Institution

The fifth level of assessment in higher education involves measuring the
effectiveness of the institution in educating students and preparing them
for success post-graduation. The results gathered from institution-level
assessments are used to improve curriculum designs and meet both
internal and external requirements for educational quality.

Multiple stakeholders, including administrators and faculty, are responsible

for this level of assessment. Their collaboration is crucial for the institution-
wide establishment of systematic processes that ensure the continuous
improvement of educational quality. These processes also allow
stakeholders to close the loop between assessment data, analysis, and
consequent remediation efforts.

Assessment tools that provide valid data to measure how well an

institution prepares students for educational- and career-relevant learning
objectives include previous program-level assessments, individual or
cohort-level assessments taken at the entry- and graduation-level, and
course-level assessments from required general education and core
courses.

Promotion and Retention

RETENTION AND PROMOTION

Student Progress on Grade Level Standards

The Governing Board expects that each student will progress

systematically through the grade levels and will meet grade-level
standards of academic achievement established by the district before
being promoted to the next grade level of work.

The Board recognizes that a student who fails to meet the grade-level
achievement standards at the end of the academic year may nonetheless
be able to catch up and meet the grade level standards by the end of the
next academic year with appropriate supplemental instruction. Grade-level
achievement standards and minimum standards required for promotion
shall reflect this fact. The district will clearly identify those students who
have failed to meet expected minimum grade level standards or who are at
risk of failing to meet those standards, and will develop supplemental
 instructional programs to address the academic deficiencies pursuant to
the Education Code's requirements.

The Superintendent shall establish and administer procedures and regulations

for:

1. Identifying those students who are to be retained or who are at risk of being
retained as early in the school year and as early in their school careers, as
practicable;

2. Reviewing each student, at least once annually to determine whether or not

each student is working at established grade-level standards; and

3. Providing written notice, as early in the school year as is practicable, to the

parents/guardian of those students who are at risk of being retained at grade
level.

District Standards for Promotion and Retention

The standards used in determining whether or not a student should be

retained or is at risk of being retained shall consist of multiple measures,
including the individual student's grades and other measures of student
success in meeting state and district achievement standards.

Retention of Students

Mandatory Retention
A student in any of the grade levels listed in #1 and #2 below will be
retained at the student's current grade level if the student is performing
below the minimum standards required for promotion, unless the regular
classroom teacher determines in writing that retention is not the appropriate
intervention for the student's academic deficiencies.
1. For students in the second and third grades, the retention decision will
be based primarily on the level of proficiency in reading.

2. For students in grades four, five, and eight, the retention decision will
be based primarily on levels of proficiency in reading, English language arts,
and mathematics.

A teacher's written determination that retention is not the appropriate

intervention for the student's academic deficiencies shall specify the
reasons that retention is not appropriate and shall include recommendations
for other interventions necessary to assist the student to attain acceptable
levels of academic achievement.

Discretionary Retention
 At grades K, 1, 6, and 7, a student may be retained at the current grade
level by the regular classroom teacher if that student fails to meet the
established minimum academic standards at that grade level.

Definition of Retention and Promotion "Promotion" for purposes of this

policy, shall mean that the student, by the end of the school year, has
achieved the minimum level of competency on those standards for the
student's current grade level. "Retention" for purposes of this policy, shall
mean that the student has not met the minimum standard required for
promotion, and that the student will continue to receive systematic, direct,
and intensive instruction directed at removing the academic deficiencies.
The student will not be considered promoted to the next grade level until the
student meets minimum standards required for promotion.

Retention of any student does not necessarily require the placement in a

particular student grouping based on age or academic achievement.
Retention involved an official academic deficiency designation coupled with
specific interventions prescribed for removing that designation.

Implementation

The Superintendent will establish and administer procedures and

regulations for implementing the promotion and retention policy, including:

1. Specific minimum expected achievement level required for promotion

for each grade level in each core learning area;

2. A format for notifying the parent/guardian that the district is retaining

the student or has identified the student as at risk of retention, and for
offering the parent/guardian the opportunity to consult with the teachers
making the retention decision;

3. A system for identifying, at the beginning of the school year which

teacher or teachers will be responsible for the decision to retain a student.
The system shall ensure that:

o For students who have a single regular classroom teacher, the

regular classroom teacher shall be responsible for promotion and
retention decisions.

o For students at any grade for which the student does not have a
single, regular classroom teacher, a team including the
reading/language arts and math teachers shall be responsible for
the promotion/retention decisions.

4. A procedure for assuring that if the teacher's recommendation to promote is

contingent upon the student's participation in a summer school or interim session
remediation program:
 o The student's academic performance will be reassessed at the end
of the remediation program, and the decision to retain shall be re-
evaluated at that time; and

o The re-evaluation shall be provided and discussed with the

principal and the parent/guardian before any final determination to
promote or retain; and

5. A system for obtaining the appropriate reimbursement for the mandated

costs attached to establishing and administering this policy.

Guidelines for Effective and Fair Grading

 Keep your eyes on the prize.

We communicate our values with grades. In a grading system based

on the curriculum transfer model of school, the only thing that matters
is how much of the content the student has nominally mastered. Test
scores and other assessments of learning will typically carry great
weight in determining a grade.

If, however, we start from the bedrock belief that the purpose of school
is to prepare students to live their lives well, we must shape our
grading system accordingly. Every aspect of the grading system must
been seen through this filter. Because we understand that tests rarely
distinguish between genuine, long-lasting learning and “mastery” that
will be forgotten in a few days or weeks, we must change the way tests
are used. We must also look for other means of assessing learning
that can supplement testing.

Furthermore, with our new framework — the Student Agency Model —

the personal growth of students becomes much more vital. Training
students to be internally motivated, responsible learners is more
important than, say, whether they are punctual. When designing the
“formula” for grades, all our priorities must be founded on self-directed
learning. This must be the basis for the relative weights of what we are
measuring.

Grades are of one of the most important structural factors that will
affect whether your students are doing school or becoming self-
directed learners. If we are preparing them for life, our grading
structures must be designed to steer them away from meaningless
activity and towards a relationship with learning that is intentional and
rewarding.

 An effective grading system fosters communication.

 Your grading system should include regular communication between
you and your students. Optimally, this feedback will come in a range of
formats, not just points. Self-evaluated contracts, portfolios, quizzes
and tests, test re-submittals, and grade conferences are all possible
pieces of a final grade. Creating a form that summarizes all these
aspects can serve as a basis for generating appropriate and authentic
grades. An example of such a structure is described in detail in the
section 9.13 below.

 Grades should reflect a nonjudgmental posture.

If we want students to acquire the skill of learning from their mistakes,

our grading system must avoid penalizing mistake-making as much as
possible. This is even true for mistakes in judgment, like copying
someone else’s homework. It is more important to teach students to
act responsibly than to train them to not make mistakes out of fear of
getting caught. In other words, be sure your grading scheme is not
overly punitive in nature. Our goal is to cultivate integrity, not
compliance.

If you want to be nonjudgmental in your working relationship with your

students, your grading system must reflect that. Generosity of spirit
can be built into an honest system of evaluation.

 Intentional imprecision.

Recognizing the limits of precision in grading certainly runs counter to

the current focus on data collection. But quantification is, in itself, often
misguided and counterproductive. Using a 13step scale from A
through F, for instance, leads both student and teacher to focus on the
difference between a B- and a C+, rather than on how much the
student has learned. Besides, how precisely can learning be
measured? Even more problematic, how precisely can traits such as
grit or self-directedness or creativity be measured?

Whenever possible, use means of measuring learning with as few

decimal places as possible. Having a student receive a 3 on a 1 - 5
scale, for instance, is less fraught than getting a 62.6% on homework
mastery. Creating “soft” rubrics — replacing a complex and overly
defined structure with less specific quantifiers of evaluation — helps
avoid student preoccupation with collecting points. Whenever possible,
try to avoid direct translations to letter grades.

A flexible interpretation of the importance of different aspects of the

grading system also helps ground feedback in personal meaning for
the student. For instance, rather than defining the three factors in a
marking period grade as
Evidence of Work - 40.0%

Evidence of Learning - 40.0%

Personal Outcomes - 20.0%,

The same information can be communicated effectively without the unnecessary

precision, as seen in the diagram to the right.

 Use points only when necessary.

Distinguish between the aspects of grades that are overtly quantifiable,

like the number of correct answers on a multiple choice test, from
those which are not, like how much effort a student has put into the
learning process, or how well organized her written journal is, or how
well she collaborates with her peers. The lack of quantification itself
leads to more meaningful conversations about these topics.

One legitimate function of points is to quantify the relative weight of

different activities. Another is to keep track of how many questions a
student got right out of the total number of questions asked. In your
subject, with your students, you may find other situations where points
are the only practical way to derive grades. Nevertheless, there are
some serious disadvantages to point-based grades that are worth
thinking about.

It may be that your school has a required grading system that insists
on measuring all grades in points. As long as your students
understand how their grades are composed and are comfortable with
the process within your classroom, translating the results to fit into the
computer whenever required will not pose an impediment to their
authenticity.

 No surprises.

The process for deriving a grade should be transparent and clear.

Whatever structure you use, a student should never be surprised by
how the pieces are combined to make the whole grade. The relative
weights of the different factors that make up grades should be built in
to the structure.
 sOn the other hand, a certain flexibility is important in the process.
This would seem to contradict the need for transparency, but
intentionally building in flexibility in deriving a grade acknowledges the
inherent subjectivity of grades. The amount of flexibility is, of course,
something that every teacher must decide for herself.

 Find a balance that works for you.

The approach you take to grades will be a mixture of student self-

evaluation and teacher evaluation. In general, more self-evaluation
leads to more independence and metacognitive thinking on the part of
the students. On the other hand, teacher-generated evaluations allow
you to stay in control of the process. You should be comfortable with
the balance between the two. That balance can and probably will also
evolve over time as you become accustomed to this new way of
dealing with grades.

 Valuing the learning process.

One of our goals is to cultivate attributes like responsibility, willingness

to learn from mistakes, and honest self-appraisal. Therefore, how a
student learns can be as important as what she learns. Meeting
deadlines, being prepared to participate in conversational learning,
choosing to work at the appropriate level of challenge, and
collaborating well with other students — these are all skills to be
valued and our grading systems should reflect it.

 Valuing the evidence of learning.

Our intent is to measure what the student has genuinely learned, but
to do so we must distinguish between doing school, which is a
simulation of learning, and the real thing. In particular, test scores by
themselves are not reliable tools, since they do not distinguish
between materials that the student has integrated and that which she
will forget in days or weeks.

When a student has genuinely learned new material, she will be able
to apply the new knowledge appropriately and understand its
relevance and connection to other knowledge, and she will still know it
months or years later. Determining whether such learning has taken
place is not easy. Even retesting the same material at a later date (as
often happens with semester exams) can be “gamed” by a student if
she crams for the same material a second time. Therefore, assessing
self-directed learning requires multiple measures of proficiency,
including various forms of feedback and evaluation.

Most importantly, to make testing a better measure of learning, a full

assault on the habits of doing school must be built into the classroom
 culture. When the community is grounded in the act of self-directed
learning, a student is much less likely to indulge in cramming and
regurgitating on tests because doing so feels pointless.

 Valuing personal attributes.

This is important because the person is important. Her development as a

responsible, self-directed learner may, in her life, be more important than
any other factor that grades in your classroom are based on. These
attributes are legitimate aspects of a student’s grade, even if they are
harder to quantify than, say, the percentage of homework completed.
Including these factors in our grading systems lets students know that we
value them.

Student self-evaluation is particularly well-suited to assessing personal

outcomes. This can be done periodically throughout the year, especially
at the end of each marking period. It’s important not to assess these
factors too frequently, however, because students may stop taking them
seriously and they will start to lose their meaning.

Develop simple alternatives to points in evaluating these non-curricular

aspects. This can be a survey, a set of questions (as described below),
or a reflective essay. Using such techniques may at first seem to
complicate your grading system, but it will prove to be a more authentic
and reasonable approach than reducing everything to points. In a short
while, both you and your students will become used to it.

To begin, you will need to choose those attributes that you believe are
the most important to focus on with your students. Factors in making that
choice include how mature students are, how motivated to learn they are,
and how self-reliant they are. How many of them are suffering from a
fixed mindset (“I’m no good at math”)? How well do they collaborate with
each other? How ready are they to form a community?

The next step is to determine how each trait can be recognized. Where is
it visible? How can it be recognized by you and by the student herself?
Develop a mechanism for the student to evaluate herself on each trait. I
found the most direct approach was to have students answer a set of
simple questions. If you use this approach, think about how complex the
questionnaire should be. Too few questions can lead to
miscommunication, while too many can be cumbersome and repetitive. I
used three questions for each major trait, which worked well with my
students, but that is fairly arbitrary.
 Living within constraints.

Any discussion of grading policy must acknowledge the hard truth that
teachers rarely have the autonomy they once had in shaping how they
use grades. When I retired from the classroom in 2010, I was still able to
 keep a manual grade book and enter the grades on an as-needed basis,
including, of course, at the ends of marking periods. In many schools,
that is no longer an option — grades are entered immediately and very
frequently, sometimes daily.

The question of how to reconcile the looser, less point-driven

approach that I am recommending with the constraints by your
school’s grading system is likely to be an ongoing issue. One way to
resolve it is to determine the minimum frequency that grades are
required by the school’s system, and develop a means to translate
your system into something that can be entered into a computer only
at those times.
Activity
Test 1: Fill in the black.

1. The purpose of a ___________________________________is to give

feedback to students so they can take charge of their learning and to
provide information to all who support these students— teachers, special
educators, parents, and others.

2. The purpose of a _________________________________is to

communicate the students’ achievement to families, post-secondary
institutions, and employers.

3. In ________________________________________students are
evaluated in relationship to one another.

4. In ________________________________________students are
evaluated against an absolute scale.

5. The other kind of grading system is called

__________________________. In this system, grades are given based
on the student's score compared to the others in the class.

6. Like class work, homework is _____________ named because it is work

that is done at home, or outside class time.

7. These are ________________________ that cover a longer period of time

than homework or class work.

8. Student ____________________________ is particularly well-suited to

assessing personal outcomes.

9. The approach you take to grades will be a mixture of _______________

self-evaluation and
__________________ evaluation.

10. The __________________________________will establish and

administer procedures and regulations for implementing the promotion and
retention policy.
Reflection

NDC-TAGUM
EDUC 6
FOUNDATION, INC.
Assessment of Learning 2

Assessment of Children with

Special Needs

LEARNING
MODULE 6

FINAL

Submitted to:

PROF. REMEDIOS C. MAGHANOY

INSTRUCTOR

Submitted by:

JENNIE LAE T. CABRERA

STUDENT
Lesson 1: Definition: Assessment/Assessment in special Education
/Testing
Assessment plays a foundational role in special education. Students with
disabilities are complex learners who have unique needs that exist alongside
their strengths. Effective special education teachers have to fully understand
those strengths and needs. Thus, these teachers are knowledgeable regarding
assessment and are skilled in using and interpreting data. This includes formal,
standardized assessments that are used in identifying students for special
education services, developing students’ IEPs, and informing ongoing services.
Formal assessments such as state-wide exams also provide data regarding
whether students with disabilities are achieving state content standards and how
their academic progress compares to students without disabilities. Teachers are
also knowledgeable about and skillful in using informal assessments, such as
those used to evaluate students’ academic, behavioral, and functional strengths
and needs. These assessments are used to develop students’ IEPs, design and
evaluate instruction, and monitor student progress. As reflective practitioners,
special educators also continuously analyze the effect and effectiveness of their
own instruction. Finally, these teachers are knowledgeable regarding how
context, culture, language, and poverty might influence student performance;
navigating conversations with families and other stakeholders; and choosing
appropriate assessments given each student’s profile.

Students with disabilities present a wide range of both strengths and needs, in a
variety of areas (e.g., academic, social, emotional, adaptive and organizational,
communication)—which must be understood in order to develop instruction
specially designed to meet their needs. Their varied needs are most often the
result of problems with attention, memory, language, emotional regulation, social
regulation, and motivation due to repeated failure, and these underlying needs
can interfere with their ability to achieve successful outcomes. There is evidence
in the field of learning disabilities that performance on specific language and
cognitive variables (e.g., phonological awareness, rapid letter naming, oral
language skills, and morphological awareness) can be used to identify students
who need the most intensive, ongoing. Further, response to instruction in
reading and mathematics remains one of the strongest predictors of future
performance.

Environmental factors can play a role in student learning and behavior. Culture,
language, and family poverty (along with the teachers’ response to these factors)
can influence students’ behavior and learning. The instructional environment
also can affect what students are learning. Well organized environments where
student needs are supported positively influences students’ learning and
behaviour. Findings from research on individual learner characteristics, response
to instruction, and the role of environmental factors in student learning suggest
that special education teachers need to develop comprehensive learner
profiles. These profiles should delineate students’ strengths and needs,
describe how culture and language might be influencing a student’s
performance, contain information about students’ instructional environments,
and show how students are responding to instruction. A comprehensive learner
profile, continually revised based on instructional and behavioral data, is
essential to develop, implement, evaluate, and revise instruction in ways that are
sensitive to the individual students’ strengths and needs.

To develop a learner profile, special education teachers need to collect, over

time, information from a variety of sources and synthesize that information in
 order to develop a comprehensive understanding of the student. These sources
include, but are not limited to:
• Comprehensive, multidisciplinary assessments that produce information about
cognitive and language variables;
• Discussions with students’ family members that provide information about
students’ interests and motivations and how they adapt to their home and
community environment;
• Curriculum-based measurement data that can be used to provide information
about student progress in different curricular areas;
• Student interviews and surveys that generate data about students’ interests in
an academic area and their strategic approach to tasks;
• Inventories, classroom checklists, and student work samples that can be used to
help teachers understand the students’ strengths and needs in an academic
area and
• Direct observation of classroom performance and behavior (e.g., functional
behavioral assessment) that can be used to help teachers gather information
such as how students perform a task and how students respond to different
behavior and learning supports.

As special education teachers collect information, they need to look for and
interpret patterns in the data, as this will help them to synthesize the information
they are collecting and to use the collected data for educational decision making.
The synthesis of information can be used to develop a comprehensive profile of
the individual student’s strengths, needs, interests, and motivation in different
areas, both academic and non academic. Understandings gained from these
individual profiles can be used to communicate with professionals and parents in
order to develop a team-based approach to the education of students with
disabilities—one where information is used continually to design, evaluate, and
revise instruction.

Lesson 2: Difference between Assessment and Testing

What is an assessment?

Assessment is the systematic process of documenting and using

empirical data on the knowledge, skills, attitudes and beliefs. By taking
the assessment, teachers try to improve student learning. This is a short
definition of assessment.

What is testing?

What is testing in education? Almost everybody has experienced testing

during his or her life. Grammar tests, driving license test etc. A test is
used to examine someone’s knowledge of something to determine what
that person knows or has learned. It measures the level of skill or
knowledge that has been reached. A evaluative device or procedure in
 which a sample of an examinee’s behavior in a specified domain is
obtained and subsequently evaluated and scored using a standardized
process.

Difference

Test and assessment are used interchangeably, but they do mean

something different. A test is a “product” that measures a particular
behavior or set of objectives. Meanwhile assessment is seen as a
procedure instead of a product. Assessment is used during and after the
instruction has taken place. After you’ve received the results of your
assessment, you can interpret the results and in case needed alter the
instruction. Tests are done after the instruction has taken place, it’s a way
to complete the instruction and get the results. The results of the tests
don’t have to be interpreted, unlike assessment.
A test is one form of assessment and refers to procedures used to
measure a learners’ learning at a specific point in time and often involves
collecting information in numerical form. Common forms of tests are
multiple choice questions and gap-fill or cloze tests. In English classes,
teachers also need to assess their students’ learning to determine the
effectiveness of their teaching and of the materials they use. Assessment
refers to any of the procedures teachers use to do this, which may
include interviews, observations, administering questionnaires and
reviewing students’ work..
Lesson 3: Legal Basis of Assessment for Individual with Disabilities
Individual w/ Disabilities Act (IDEA)
Special Education refers to the education of persons who are gifted or
talented and those who have physical, mental, social or sensory
impairment and cultural differences that require modification of the school
curricula, programs and special services and physical facilities to enable
them to develop themselves to their maximum capacity. These persons
include those with cognitive deficits, visually impaired, hearing impaired,
with behavior problems, orthopedically handicapped, with special health
problems, learning disabled, speech impaired or multiple handicapped.

At a Glance
• IDEA is the nation’s special education law.
• Schools must find and evaluate students thought to have disabilities — at
no cost to families.
• To qualify for IDEA services, a child must have a disability and need
special education to make progress in school.

To get special education services for a child, you have to follow a legal
process. The most important law for this process is the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
 IDEA is the nation’s special education law. It gives rights and protections
to kids with disabilities.
It covers them from birth through high school graduation or age 21
(whichever comes first).
Parents and legal guardians also have rights under the law.
IDEA places two big responsibilities on states and their public schools.

First, school districts must provide a free appropriate public education

(FAPE) to kids with disabilities. And these kids must learn side by side
with peers as much as possible — something called the least restrictive
environment , or LRE.

Schools must find and evaluate students who may have disabilities, at no
cost to families. This is known as Child Find . If a child has a qualifying
disability, schools must offer special education and related services (like
speech therapy and counseling) to meet the child’s unique needs. These
are provided through an Individualized Education Program (IEP). The
goal is to help students make progress in school.

Second, schools have to give parents a voice in their child’s education. At

every point in the process, IDEA gives parents specific rights and
protections. These are called procedural safeguards . For example, one
safeguard is that a school must get consent from parents before
providing services to kids.
The reach of IDEA goes beyond traditional public schools. It includes
public magnet and charter schools. The law also provides early
intervention services to infants and toddlers up to age 3. Finally, IDEA
may impact some students in private schools .

No Child Left Behind (NCLB)

When most people think about the No Child Left behind Act, they think of
two things: former President George W. Bush, and standardized testing.
But the politics, policy, and history of the law are far more complicated
than that.

The No Child Left Behind law—the 2002 update of the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act—effectively scaled up the federal role in
holding schools accountable for student outcomes. In December 2015,
Congress passed the Every Student Succeeds Act to replace NCLB.
ESSA moved in the opposite direction—it seeks to pare back the federal
role in K-12 education.
 NCLB was the product of a collaboration between civil rights and
business groups, as well as both Democrats and Republicans on Capitol
Hill and the Bush administration, which sought to advance American
competitiveness and close the achievement gap between poor and
minority students and their more advantaged peers. Since 2002, it’s had
an outsized impact on teaching, learning, and school improvement—and
become increasingly controversial with educators and the general public.
Here are a few frequently asked questions about the law, its history, and
its policy implications.

What is ESEA?

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) it created a clear

role for the federal government in K-12 policy, offering more than $1
billion a year in aid under its first statutory section, known as Title I, to
districts to help cover the cost of educating disadvantaged students. The
law has been reauthorized and changed more than half a dozen times
since that initial legislation. And, for the most part, each new iteration has
sought to expand the federal role in education.

What is NCLB?

The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), which passed Congress with
overwhelming bipartisan support in 2001 and was signed into law by
President George W. Bush on Jan. 8, 2002, is the name for the most
recent update to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.
The NCLB law—which grew out of concern that the American education
system was no longer internationally competitive—significantly increased
the federal role in holding schools responsible for the academic progress
of all students. And it put a special focus on ensuring that states and
schools boost the performance of certain groups of students, such as
English language learners, students in special education, and poor and
minority children, whose achievement, on average, trails their peers.
States did not have to comply with the new requirements, but if they
didn’t, they risked losing federal Title I money.

What do states and schools actually have to do under the law?

Under the NCLB law, states must test students in reading and math in
grades 3 through 8 and once in high school. And they must report the
results, for both the student population as a whole and for particular
“subgroups” of students, including English-learners and students in
special education, racial minorities, and children from low-income
families.
 States were required to bring all students to the “proficient level” on state
tests by the 2013-14 school year, although each state got to decide,
individually, just what “proficiency” should look like, and which tests to
use, the deadline had passed, but no states had gotten all 100 percent of
its students over the proficiency bar.)

Under the law, schools are kept on track toward their goals through a
mechanism known as “adequate yearly progress” or AYP. If a school
misses its state’s annual achievement targets for two years or more,
either for all students or for a particular subgroup, it is identified as not
“making AYP” and is subject to a cascade of increasingly serious
sanctions:
A school that misses AYP two years in a row has to allow students to
transfer to a betterperforming public school in the same district.

If a school misses AYP for three years in a row, it must offer free tutoring.
Schools that continue to miss achievement targets could face state
intervention. States can choose to shut these schools down, turn them
into charter schools, take them over, or use another, significant
turnaround strategy.

The law also requires states to ensure their teachers are “highly
qualified,” which generally means that they have a bachelor’s degree in
the subject they are teaching and state certification. Beginning with the
2002-03 school year, all new teachers hired with federal Title I money
had to be highly qualified. By the end of the 2005-06 school year, all
school paraprofessionals hired with Title I money must have completed at
least two years of college, obtained an associate’s degree or higher, or
passed an evaluation to demonstrate knowledge and teaching ability.
States are also supposed to ensure that “highly qualified’ teachers are
evenly distributed among schools with high concentrations of poverty and
wealthier schools.

What are some of the main criticisms of the current law?

Major portions of the NCLB law have proven problematic, particularly as

the law has matured without any congressional update or reauthorization.
For instance, it’s unclear that the two main remedies for low-performing
schools did much to improve student achievement. In many cases,
students did not take advantage of the opportunity to transfer to another
school, or get free tutoring. States and districts also had difficulty
screening tutors for quality. Some districts, including Chicago,
successfully petitioned to offer their own tutoring services. States also
generally shied away from employing dramatic school turnaround
strategies for perennially failing schools.
 The NCLB law has also been criticized for growing the federal footprint in
K-12 education, and for relying too heavily on standardized tests. And
others say its emphasis on math and reading tests has narrowed the
curriculum, forcing schools to spend less time on subjects that aren’t
explicitly tested, like social studies, foreign language, and the arts.

Education advocates also claim the law has been underfunded. The
original legislation called for major increases in education spending to
offset the cost of reaching NCLB’s ambitious goals for student
achievement, but federal spending never reached the lofty levels outlined
in the law. What’s more, many states and districts have ignored parts of
the law, including the requirement to ensure that highly qualified teachers
are evenly distributed between poor and wealthier schools.

In order to improve implementation of the NCLB law, President George

W. Bush’s second secretary of education, Margaret Spellings, allowed
states to apply to participate in pilot projects to try out changes to the law,
including a growth-model pilot that let states consider student progress in
rating schools instead of comparing different cohorts of students to one
another.
NCLB Terms to Know
Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP): The yardstick at the heart of the No
Child Left behind Act. Under the NCLB law, states must test students in
math and reading in grades 3-8 and at least once in high school. Schools
must report on the performance of different groups of students, such as
racial minorities, as well as the student population as a whole. Students
are expected to reach annual achievement targets, known as adequate
yearly progress, or AYP.

Lesson 4: Multidisciplinary Team for Assessment and Children w/ Special

Needs / - Lesson 5 Classroom Assessment and Children with Special
Needs

What is Multidisciplinary Team?

It is responsible for the assessment of children with special needs.

A Multidisciplinary team approach, including the integration of values,
perspective, and ideas gives an accurate decision-making process in
identifying the academic, social ,and vocational needs of the child to
develop an individualized educational program that will meet the needs of
the student with disability. The team functions to support students in the
Special Education and related services. Members would share
responsibility and have to maintain an open communication in the form of
collaboration.

In assessing a child with special needs, the major functions of the team are:
 • To determine if the student has a disability and would require special
Education services.
• To plan and evaluate educational experiences of students who have been
diagnosed to be in need of Special Education services ;and
• To develop an action plan that would meet the needs of the child with
disability bin terms of education ,social, and vocation, in the inclusion
process which indicates that the child with disability will not placed in
Special Needs to develop and individualized educational program to
address the needs

The Basic multidisciplinary team activities includes

• Evaluating student who are experiencing difficulty in the regular class

upon referral or student who are in need of Special Education upon
entering the educational system;
• Developing strategies that may used as intervention in the regular class
for those students who will benefit most from regular education while
providing modifications to suit their needs;
• Initiating the process of assessment for students who are suspected to
have disability;
• Reviewing existing information and student assessment data that will be
used as the bases for developing an individualized educational programs
for the students;
• Deciding on the appropriate placement for the student, educationally,
socially, and vocationally; and
• Acting as a support system for educators who will be serving students
with disabilities.

Members of the Multidisciplinary Assessment Team

1. Administrators
Whether it is the administrators, principal, or assistant principal,
each one is an essential member of the team. The administrators should
have the know-how of specific resources and the expertise within the
school.

Furthermore, administrators are qualified to supervise the programs and

can commit necessary resources.

Specific responsibilities of administrators in the assessment process are:

• Conducting administrative arrangement for team meetings. This includes

scheduling the date, time, and place of meetings;
• Organizing an agenda for the meeting with the assessment team;
• Identifying experts and appropriate personnel and inviting them to the
meeting;
• Inviting the parents of both the child with special needs and regular
students to the meeting;
 • Acting as the chair during the meetings or appointing qualified personnel;
• Ensuring that each person has the knowledge on what action the team
recommends, the person responsible for implementation, and the
resources needed to support implementation effectively;
• Ensuring administrative supports of the team to all members of the school
community; h. Promoting resources to secure the needed technical
assistance;
• Identifying the needed topics for in-service and developmental training

2. Regular Education Teachers

The Regular Education teacher and the special Education teacher

should have equal responsibility to all children in the classroom, whether
the child is regular or diagnosed under certain condition. The Regular
Education teacher’s role concerns the presentation of subject matter in
the classroom and is primarily in a charge of instruction in the classroom.

In assessing children with special needs, it is the general role of the

Regular Education teacher to accomplish the following:

• Maintain appropriate communication between the schools and home. The

teacher should keep parents informed about their child’s educational
achievement, grades, and educational programs;
• Help develop, review, and revise the Individualized Educational Program
(IEP) of the child;
• Determine appropriate behavioral interventions and strategies considered
positive for the students;
• Assess determined supplementary aids and services and program
modifications for the students; and
• Identify supports that school personnel need to help the student progress
in the general curriculum

3. Special Educational Teachers

The roles of the Special Education teachers are to individualized,

diagnose, and modify curriculum. A typical Special Education teacher
would teach students with disabilities in self-contained classes.

To be effective, the roles of the Special Education teacher in schools

include the following:
 Provides assessment and instructional planning for the student with disability;
• Conducts tutorial instruction and remedial classes among students with
sub-par performance; Provides consultation to the Regular Class teacher
as part of team teaching;
• Participates as members in the school’s assessment and eligibility
committee;
 • Examines ways of integrating students in Special Education to all aspects
of the school’s program which includes extracurricular activities; and
• Offers suggestions for modifying instruction, consults with the regular
Education teacher, and identifies resources, alternative learning
materials, and assistive devices that will be of benefit to the child with
disability(as part of the multidisciplinary).

Both the Special Education teachers can help parents in the following
ways:

• Learn useful information about the student from the parents;

• Explain the process and terms of the disability and the IEP
• Help the parents during IEP process, ensuring that their ideas, concerns,
and views are adequately expressed and heard;
• Furnish parents with narrative reports and suggestions on how to
effectively work with their child at home;
• Help the student and the parents in planning the students’/future after
leaving the school; and Advocate through representation of interest,
preferences, and rights of the student or parents

4. Students

Students are encouraged to be active participants in their own IEP

process. Priority is set in teaching self- determination skills and how to set their
own life gals and objectives.

5. School Psychologist

The school psychologist may assume the following responsibilities:

• Complete thorough assessment to determine if the child is suited for

special programs and services
• Provide interpretation and analysis of assessment data for parents and
other team members; Participate in the identification of curricula
modification and instructional intervention which are deemed appropriate
to the identified needs of the pupils ;and
• Conduct follow-up observations to establish the success
of modifications and interventions

6. Related Service
Personnel Related Support people will assist the Regular Education
and Special Education teachers include:

A. Speech/Language Therapists
The speech/language therapist plays a critical role in assessing,
and treating patients who have speech, language, and communication
disorders

B. Occupational Therapist
 After physical assessment, is an occupational therapist assists a
child with disability in developing and regaining skills important to
functions independently and develop health and well-being The
occupational therapist aims to improve or maintain the ability of the
child.
C. Physical Therapist
Physical therapist assesses each individual and devices a plan
using different treatment techniques to promote the ability to move,
reduce pain, restore functions, and prevent further disability.

D. Vision Specialists
A Vision specialist or usually termed as teacher of the
visually impaired, is a teacher who hold a special credential. A
vision specialist is trained to work with visually impaired students
from preschool through latter grades.

E. Dieticians
After the result of assessment, a dietician plans nutrition programs
and food programs for the child with disability. He helps prevent other
diseases and obesity problems because they educate their clients about
the role of food in their diet. He usually promotes healthy diet through
education and education programs.

F. Guidance Counsellors
The main role of a guidance counsellor is to aid clients with their
adjustment to some circumstances in their life, utilizing counselling
techniques in personal, educational, and vocational counselling.

Lesson 6: Common Areas to Assess for Individuals with Special Needs

Assessing students with learning disabilities can be challenging. Some

students, such as those with ADHD and autism, struggle with testing
situations and cannot remain at a task long enough to complete such
assessments. But assessments are important; they provide the child
with an opportunity to demonstrate knowledge, skill, and understanding.
For most learners with exceptionalities, a paper-and-pencil task should
be at the bottom of the list of assessment strategies. Below are some
alternate suggestions that support and enhance the assessment of
learning disabled students.

Presentation
A presentation is a verbal demonstration of skill, knowledge, and
understanding. The child can narrate or answer questions about her
task. Presentation can also take the form of discussion, debate or a
purely interrogatory exchange. Some children may require a small
 group or one-on-one setting; many students with disabilities are
intimidated by larger groups. But don't discount the presentation. With
ongoing opportunities, students will begin to shine.

Conference
A conference is a one-on-one between the teacher and the
student. The teacher will prompt and cue the student to determine the
level of understanding and knowledge. Again, this takes the pressure
away from written tasks. The conference should be somewhat informal
to put the student at ease. The focus should be on the student sharing
ideas, reasoning or explaining a concept. This is an extremely useful
form of formative assessment.

Interview
An interview helps a teacher to clarify the level of understanding
for a specific purpose, activity or learning concept. A teacher should
have questions in mind to ask the student. A lot can be learned through
an interview, but it can be time-consuming.
Observation
Observing a student in the learning environment is a very
powerful assessment method. It can also be the vehicle for the teacher
to change or enhance a specific teaching strategy. Observation can be
done in a small group setting while the child is engaged in learning
tasks. Things to look for include: Does the child persist? Give up easily?
Have a plan in place? Look for assistance? Try alternate strategies?
Become impatient? Look for patterns?

Performance Task
A performance task is a learning task that the child can do while the
teacher assesses his performance. For example, a teacher may ask a
student to solve a math problem by presenting a word problem and
asking the child questions about it. During the task, the teacher is
looking for skill and ability as well as the child's attitude toward the task.
Does he cling to past strategies or is there evidence of risk-taking in the
approach?

Self-Assessment
It's always positive for students to be able to identify their own
strengths and weaknesses. When possible, self-assessment can lead
the student to a better sense of understanding of her own learning. The
teacher should ask some guiding questions that can lead to this
discovery.

Lesson 7: Holistic Rubrics for Special Education

What is a rubric?
 A rubric is a scoring guide that evaluates a student’s
performance based on a full range of criteria rather than a single
numerical score. It is an assessment tool that evaluates students’ work
by measuring it against a set of scoring criteria or “rubric.” A rubric can
be an evaluation method used to measure a student’s progress toward
achieving his/her IEP annual goal. Rubrics are an effective and
concise way to clearly report progress in specific skill areas. They are
also a more efficient method for ongoing assessment and can assist
parents in clearly understanding their child’s growth.

Rubrics are a way to assess skills and behaviors that are not
measured easily by written tests. Rubrics can be used in the
observation of student’s performance and behavior in different settings
and at different times. For example, when assessing a student’s social
communication skills, the evaluator observes the student in a social
situation and uses the rubric to note the student’ s performance level in
initiating a topic, taking turns, etc (See secondary special education
social skills rubric).

Rubrics can also be used in assessing a student’s skills using

the student’s schoolwork at different points in time. For example, when
assessing a student’s skills in written expression, the evaluator uses
the rubric to note the student’s performance on several samples of the
student’s writing. These writing samples may be assignments done in
English class, resource room or other classes. The special education
rubric is used to measure the student’s progress on his/her writing
goals and is not tied to the grade in the other class.

A scoring rubric will help teachers define performance expectations

and plan how to help students achieve it. It will also provide parents
with a breakdown of the skills that will be taught and assessed toward
attainment of the annual goal. Rubrics generally use a four-point rating
and the criteria for each rating are clearly defined on the rubric.

Are rubrics widely used to assess student performance?

Yes. Rubrics are used at all levels of education. New York State uses
a rubric to evaluate student’s writing on State Assessments. For
example, the rubric the State has developed could be used to assess
the writing of a middle school student or an elementary level student.
Although the same criteria are considered, expectations vary
according to the student’s level of expertise. The performance level of
a first grader is expected to be lower than that of a high school
student. For example, in evaluating a story, a first-grade student may
not be expected to write a coherent paragraph to earn a high
evaluation. However, a tenth grader would need to write coherent
paragraphs in order to earn high marks.
 In the general education classrooms, rubrics are frequently used for
grading student projects and assignments. The rubric provides the
student with expectations and criteria for performance. The special
education rubrics are used only for measuring progress on the
student’s achievement of an IEP annual goal. They are not used or
tied to a student’s grade in his/her general education classes.

In what areas could it be applied to my child’s work or performance in the

classroom?
A rubric may be used in therapy, a special education setting or in the
general education classroom. The special education rubric, when used
in the classroom, is still measuring the student’s performance on
his/her IEP goal. The therapist or special education teacher is using
the rubric to assess the child’s progress on the IEP goal in the
classroom setting. What rubrics have been developed by the PPS
Department at BCSD for use with students?

The PPS Department has developed rubrics at the elementary, middle and high
school levels, such as:
• Writing
• OT
• PT
• Social Work
• Speech/Language
• Organizational Skills

Assessing for Conclusive learning

Teachers make professional judgements on learners’ performance in

every teaching and learning session undertaken, whether consciously
or subconsciously. Using these professional judgements and
translating them into feedback on the quality of individuals’ work is the
focus of Assessment for Learning.

Successful Assessment for learning strategies result in improved

learner progress on a continual basis. The principal characteristic of
Assessment for Learning is effective feedback provided by teachers to
learners on their progress. The value of the feedback is dependent on
two factors: p the quality of the feedback p how learners receive and
ultimately use it.

Teachers, therefore, need training and support to enable them

to make valuable assessment decisions, to provide quality feedback to
learners, and to teach learners to receive feedback positively and use
the information contained within it effectively to improve their work.
 Assessment for Learning and quality feedback can and do promote
increased learner progress.
However, assessment of learning rather than assessment for
learning has preoccupied the minds of the profession for many years
in an effort to meet awarding body requirements. Assessment of
learning can detract from effective classroom practice and prevent
feeding back assessment decisions to learners on their performance
with the view to improving their work.
Assessment as part of classroom activities is a fundamental process
required to promote learning and ultimately achievement. Learners
need to know and understand the following before learning can take
place:

• What is the aim of the learning?

• Why do they need to learn it?
• Where are they in terms of achieving the aim?  How can they achieve
the aim?

When learners know and understand these principles, the quality of

learning will improve. Sharing this information with learners will
promote ownership of the learning aims and a sense of shared
responsibility between the teacher and learner to achieve those aims.
Improving learners’ confidence and self-esteem reflects positively in
learners’ work and their motivation is improved.

To promote effective assessment, teachers need to:

• explain the learning aims to learners and check their understanding

• demonstrate the standards learners are required to achieve and help
them recognise when they have achieved that standard
• give effective feedback on assessment decisions, so that learners know
how to improve
• demonstrate high expectations and make it obvious to learners that they
believe that they can improve on their past performance
• provide regular opportunities for teachers and learners to reflect on the
last performance and review learners’ progress
• Develop learners’ self-assessment skills, so that they can recognise what
aspects of their own work need to improve.

Assessment for Learning is all about informing learners of their

progress to empower them to take the necessary action to improve their
performance. Teachers need to create learning opportunities where
learners can progress at their own pace and undertake consolidation
activities where necessary. In recent years, it has been stated that
teachers have become adept at supporting the less able learner,
sometimes to the detriment of the more able learner.
 Assessment for learning strategies should be implemented in such
a way that quality feedback provided to learners based on, for example, an
interim assessment decision, will help to challenge the more able learner
to reach new levels of achievement and, in doing so, reach their full
potential. The individuality of feedback, by its very nature, has the facility to
support weaker learners and challenge more able learners.

Lesson 8: Assessment Standards in Special Education

An assessment in special education is the process used to

determine a child’s specific learning strengths and needs, and to
determine whether or not a child is eligible for special education services.
Assessment in special education is a process that involves collecting
information about a student for the purpose of making decisions.
Assessment, also known as evaluation, can be seen as a problem-solving
process that involves many ways of collecting information about the
student. Assessment is “a process that involves the systematic collection
and interpretation of a wide variety of information on which to base
instructional/intervention decisions and, when appropriate, classification
and placement decisions. Assessment is primarily a problem-solving
process”.
Importance of Assessment
The importance of assessment should never be underestimated. In
special education, you will work with many professionals from different
fields. You are part of a team, often referred to as a multidisciplinary team
that tries to determine what, if any, disability is present in a student. The
team’s role is crucial because it helps determine the extent and direction of
a child’s personal journey through the special education experience

Consequently, the skills you must possess in order to offer a child

the most global, accurate, and practical evaluation should be fully
understood. The development of these skills should include a good
working knowledge of the following components of the assessment
process in order to determine the presence of a suspected disability:

• Collection: The process of tracing and gathering information from the

many sources of background information on a child such as school
records, observation, parent intakes, and teacher reports
• Analysis: The processing and understanding of patterns in a child’s
educational, social, developmental, environmental, medical, and
emotional history
• Evaluation: The evaluation of a child’s academic, intellectual,
psychological, emotional, perceptual, language, cognitive, and medical
development in order to determine areas of strength and weakness
 • Determination: The determination of the presence of a suspected
disability and the knowledge of the criteria that constitute each category
• Recommendation: The recommendations concerning educational
placement and program that need to be made to the school, teachers,
and parents
• Purpose of Assessment
• Assessment in educational settings serves five primary purposes:
• screening and identification: to screen children and identify those who
may be experiencing delays or learning problems
• eligibility and diagnosis: to determine whether a child has a disability
and is eligible for special education services, and to diagnose the specific
nature of the student's problems or disability
• IEP development and placement: to provide detailed information so that
an Individualized Education Program (IEP) may be developed and
appropriate decisions may be made about the child's educational
placement
• instructional planning: to develop and plan instruction appropriate to the
child's special needs
• Evaluation: to evaluate student progress.

The Difference between Testing and Assessment

There is sometimes confusion regarding the terms "assessment"

and "testing." While they are related, they are not synonymous. Testing is
the administration of specifically designed and often standardized
educational and psychological measures of behavior and is a part of the
assessment process. Testing is just one piece of the assessment
process. Assessment encompasses many different methods of
evaluation, one of which is using tests.

Role of the Education Professional in the Special Education Process

The professional involved in special education in today’s schools

plays a very critical role in the overall education of students with all types
of disabilities. The special educator’s position is unique in that he or she
can play many different roles in the educational environment. Whatever
their role, special educators encounter a variety of situations that require
practical decisions and relevant suggestions. No matter which type of
professional you become in the field of special education, it is always
necessary to fully understand the assessment process and to be able to
clearly communicate vital information to professionals, parents, and
students

Assessment and Federal Law

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Public Law
105-476, lists 13 separate categories of disabilities under which children
may be eligible for special education and related services. These are:
 • autism: a developmental disability significantly affecting verbal and
nonverbal communication and social interaction, generally evident before
age 3
• deafness: a hearing impairment that is so severe that the child is
impaired in processing linguistic information, with or without amplification
• deaf-blindness: simultaneous hearing and visual impairments
• hearing impairment: an impairment in hearing, whether permanent or
fluctuating
• mental retardation: significantly subaverage general intellectual
functioning existing concurrently with deficits in adaptive behavior
• multiple disabilities: the manifestation of two or more disabilities (such
as mental retardation-blindness), the combination of which requires
special accommodation for maximal learning
• orthopedic impairment: physical disabilities, including congenital
impairments, impairments caused by disease, and impairments from
other causes
• other health impairment: having limited strength, vitality, or alertness
due to chronic or acute health problems
• serious emotional disturbance: a disability where a child of typical
intelligence has difficulty, over time and to a marked degree, building
satisfactory interpersonal relationships; responds inappropriately
behaviourally or emotionally under normal circumstances; demonstrates a
pervasive mood of unhappiness; or has a tendency to develop physical
symptoms or fears
• specific learning disability: a disorder in one or more of the basic
psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language,
spoken or written, which may manifest itself in an imperfect ability to
listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or do mathematical calculations
• speech or language impairment: a communication disorder such as
stuttering, impaired articulation, a language impairment, or a voice
impairment
• traumatic brain injury: an acquired injury to the brain caused by an
external physical force, resulting in total or partial functional disability or
psychosocial impairment, or both
• visual impairment: a visual difficulty (including blindness) that, even with
correction, adversely affects a child educational performance

Conclusion

To determine if a child is eligible for classification under one of the 13

areas of exceptionality, an individualized evaluation, or assessment, of
the child must be conducted. The focus of this series is to take you, the
educator, step-by-step through the assessment process in special
education. The following is a list of the latest and upcoming issues of this
series.
Lesson 9: Universal Design for Special Education
• Universal Design for Learning (UDL) can be used in classrooms for
inclusive instruction of general education and special education students,
allowing general education student’s access to multiple ways of learning
and creating a greater sense of belonging for students with special needs,
according to School News report.

• UDL provides flexible approaches to instruction that can be adapted to

the individual needs of students across the learning spectrum.

• Teachers can create a more nurturing, equitable and inclusive space by

using five strategies. These include the three UDL principles (multiple
means of representation, multiple means of action and expression, and
multiple means of engagement) as well as reflecting diversity in teaching
and supporting the social justice goals of fellow teachers.

It is clear how UDL can benefit students with special needs. The
curriculum design allows for students to spend more time together in a
learning environment, fostering a sense of inclusivity that benefits all
students in the end. It also allows special needs students to see and hear
content presented in multiple ways that may increase their ability to
absorb the material, since all students learn in multiple ways.

In this way, the use of UDL, like differentiated learning, can benefit students at
all levels, because there are multiple pathways to learning and some work better
for individual students than others. UDL differs from traditional learning in
several ways, including the presentation of material in visual, auditory and tactile
ways, the use of different testing formats (including oral presentations and group
projects) and the increased motivation of students because of these varying
methods of instruction.

However, the implementation of UDL also presents challenges. Teachers may

require more professional development on the topic, especially if they have been
out of school for a while. The method requires the creation of an accessible
curriculum, which may require the input of multiple teachers and central office
staff. Additional funding and technology resources, depending on how UDL is
implemented, might also be needed. Administrators may wish to begin by
implementing the approach in certain courses or by combining special education
and general education classes for certain elements of instruction, such as a
multimedia presentation of the concept of the lesson, in order to judge the
potential benefits and challenges of this method of instruction in their school
environment.

Activity:

Test 1: Multiple Choices

 Write the letter in the space given.

_________1. It is a learning task that the child can do while the teacher
assesses his performance.

a. Performance Task b. Assessment c. Activity

_________2. The process of tracing and gathering information from the many
sources of background information on a child such as school records,
observation, parent intakes, and teacher reports.
a. Analysis b. Collection c. Determination

_________3. A developmental disability significantly affecting verbal and

nonverbal communication and social interaction, generally evident before age 3.

a. Autism b. traumatic brain injury c. visual impairment

_________4. Concerned educational placement and program that need to be

made to the school, teachers, and parents.

a. Determination b. collection c. recommendation

_________5. A visual difficulty (including blindness) that, even with correction,

adversely affects a child educational performance

a. visual impairment b. visual c. traumatic brain injury

_________6. A communication disorder such as stuttering, impaired articulation,

a language impairment, or a voice impairment.

a. specific learning disabilityb. language impairment c. serious emotional

disturbance

_________7. To provide detailed information so that an Individualized Education

Program (IEP) may be developed and appropriate decisions may be made about
the child's educational placement.

a. IEP development and placementb. IEP Evaluation c. IEP Determination

_________8. A physical disabilities, including congenital impairments,

impairments caused by disease, and impairments from other causes.

a. traumatic brain injury b. Impairment c. Orthopedic Impairment

_________9. To screen children and identify those who may be experiencing

delays or learning problems.

a. Evaluation b. Screening and Identification c. Screening

________10. It refers to the education of persons who are gifted or talented and
those who have physical, mental, social or sensory impairment.

a. Special Disabilities b. Special Education c. Special Ability

Reflection