In my math classes I try to spend more time on formative assessment with my students than summative assessment. However, when I give a summative assessment, I want to get students more involved in this process so they reflect on their work and learn from their mistakes. In the past I gave students their tests back and all they did was look at the mark and put them away. For this reason I have made some changes in this process.
When I prepare a test, I don't put points on the test itself. At the beginning of the year, students ask how many points the questions are worth. I tell them that they must answer each as thoroughly as they can, and they must decide what this looks like. I am judging their level of performance and understanding, not focusing on points. (This can be very frustrating for them, especially the students who want very high marks)
I organize the summative assessment by outcome (In the United States an outcome is called a standard). I indicate the outcome and then include questions that meet that outcome. I often use a mix of multiple choice (MC), numerical response (NR) and written response (WR) questions.
When I mark the tests I indicate if questions are correct but I also add ask questions, make comments, underline things but I don't make any corrections for them. (I used to do a lot of corrections in the past!)
When I hand back the marked tests, I don't put the grade(s) on the paper anywhere. I record the letter grades (A, B, C or D) in my mark book for each outcome but not on their tests. Students have been surprised to receive 3 letter grades, for example, on a summative assessment that addressed 3 different outcomes. They are used to receiving one mark for the whole test. If you are interested, here is our assessment plan which outlines the descriptors for what an A, B, C and D look like (Page 6)
I give students their grade(s) after they have reflected on their work and made corrections. At the beginning of the year students (and parents) find this frustrating because they want to know their mark but they learn that this is the way things work in Mrs. Campbell's class. I give out one of these sheets (these are under construction) that students work on individually or collaboratively. Sometimes they need my help but, often, I find students work really well together and seem more open to sharing their mistakes and learning together. They aren't focused on who has the highest/lowest marks. Instead they help each other learn from mistakes or communicate their answers more thoroughly.
- My favourite mistakes
- Math Self-Assessment with 2 Outcomes (A quick quiz with 2 outcomes only)
- Math Self-Assessment for Quizzes (fewer outcomes than a test)
- Summative Assessment Correction Sheet
Ideally, over the following few days, I make time to meet with each student to see how how they assessed their own work and where they learned the most. Most of the time, as students become comfortable with this process, the students and I agree on their grades and I feel that they don't need me as much to tell them how well they are doing. I also find that students enjoy these short conversations and I feel more confident in my assessment of their achievement.
If you like these or want to adjust them for your purposes, please feel free to use them. I'd be curious how you adapt them.
Do you do anything similar to this? I think I am moving in the right direction but would appreciate your ideas, suggestions and feedback. Thanks.
Replies
Hey Cathy,
Loving the ideas you've presented here. I'm definitely shifting towards a more progressive process-based assessment style in my classroom as well and your thoughts on the topic are very helpful.
As an aside, Otterson has also invested in a formative assessment and math learning tool called Mathletics, which has also been a nice addition to the classroom. I've used it more as a supplementary support for students when they have extra time in class and particularly for review and practice at home. If people are interested, perhaps I can write a more formal post about it. It's definitely worth checking out!
Hi Cathy.
Your work aligns perfectly with what we were discussing at our first in-school Norcan meeting! We are determined to change our assessment and evaluation practices so that learning, and not performance, is celebrated and measured. It looks like you're on track to doing this. We are moving in this direction as well, but still need so much work! Some members of our team have tried similar approaches, but it seems like it's going to be difficult to get our community members on board with the change. Thank you so much for sharing! Your work will promote much discussion among our team members. I will keep you posted on our continued learning in this respect. Thanks again Cathy!