Module 8: Communicating & Reporting Assessment Data PDF

COMMUNICATING AND REPORTING OF ASSESSMENT DATA FROM ALTERNATIVE METHODS At the end of the lesson, you should be able to demonstrate your knowledge and skills in giving feedback to learners based on the results of alternative forms of assessment like performance...

COMMUNICATING AND REPORTING OF ASSESSMENT DATA FROM ALTERNATIVE METHODS At the end of the lesson, you should be able to demonstrate your knowledge and skills in giving feedback to learners based on the results of alternative forms of assessment like performance-tasks, checklists, scales, and portfolios. 4 hours In order to provide proper feedback to learners and inform them about their progress, you need to know the techniques on how to give feedback and the guide that you need to use to determine the contents of your feedback. You are expected to read this before you can practice giving feedback. Why is feedback a powerful means to help learners improve? Feedback is a powerful means of helping the learners improve their academic performance. Feedback is a specific means that allows the learners to determine which part of their performance needs improvement. Feedback provides specific information to learners on what they need to do to revise or redo their task in a better way. The content of feedback can be: The part of the answer or response that needs to be corrected The specific strategy to be used to perform the task The suggested procedure that needs to be undertaken by the learner A direction to the learner where to find the answer A challenge to the learner to think about the appropriate response A clarification on some misconceptions of the learner Feedback is given every time students perform a task whether it is a paperand-pencil test or performance task. Feedback is provided either during or after the performance. 1. Feedback during performance. Feedback during performance can be verbal or nonverbal. Verbal feedback can be written in a big signage (like a poster or a handy white board) visible to the learner. This is possible to do when a performance cannot be stopped like when one is currently dancing or singing. The teacher can also provide feedback in segments of the performance where the learner can pause like when performing drama or doing some presentations. The feedback during performance is useful to immediately correct the performance to avoid further mistakes. 2. Feedback after performance. Feedback can also be given after the performance of the task. This is appropriate when learners are provided another opportunity to revise and show again the performance. This is applicable for writing essays and compositions where students submit the completed work before a full feedback is provided. Students in these tasks have the opportunity to rewrite their work and resubmit for another round of feedback. To make feedback a powerful means to help learners improve, the following can be considered: 1. Feedback needs to be specific and concrete. The following are illustrations of general and specific feedback. General Feedback Specific Feedback The essay is good. You started the paragraph in your Note: Saying that the essay is good does essay with a topic sentence and not provide idea to the learner which supporting sentences were provided part was good. The learner might think after. This helped strengthen the that the essay is good in all aspects. point you want to make. Note. This feedback is specific in saying why the feedback is good based on the structure of the sentences in the paragraph. The painting needs improvement. I Perhaps you may want to use other can't see any object! colors in your painting so that we can Note. This is a broad feedback because distinguish the objects. it does not say what specific part needs Note: This feedback is specific in giving to be improved. ' a recommendation on what can be done about the painting. 2. Feedback needs to be based on the agreed criteria. The criteria serve as a guide to provide feedback on the work..For example, the criteria in writing a technical paper are as follows: The parts are organized according to the guide questions. The ideas are well understood by the reader. The information included are accurate. More than 5 references are used. Feedback NOT based on Criteria Feedback based on Criteria There are several grammatical errors in the Check again the idea conveyed by the author in paper the journal because there are discrepancies on page 3 (Pertaining to the criteria on accuracy of information) The heading needs to be in bold font. Add one more reference to support further your claim on the benefits of using organic fertilizers on page 5 (pertaining to the criteria on references) 3. Feedback should provide recommendations or suggestions on how to improve performance. Bad Feedback Good Feedback I cannot hear your voice. Make your voice louder. Why are you looking at the ceiling while Look at your classmates when you speaking? speak in front. What are the different forms of feedback? There are three areas to focus when giving feedback. These areas are feedback on the product or performance, on the procedure or process performed, and on the strategy in improving the work. 1. Focus on the product or performance. This kind of feedback describes how well the performance was done. Examples of such feedback are: "All the parts of the paper are complete." "You have used up-to-date references in your paper." "Include a definition of the term based on the main author." "Rephrase the findings stated by the author on page 25." 2. Focus on the procedure. This kind of feedback focuses on the step-by-step process that needs to be done by the learner. "Follow the guidelines stated in the workbook in conducting the experiment to get accurate results." "Try a different procedure in solving the problem." "Use more adjectives to describe the main character in your story." 3. Focus on the strategy to improve the work. Strategies refer to the different cognitive and, metacognitive actions that the learner needs to think about in order to arrive at a better work or performance. "Given the criteria on delivering a speech, which parts did you achieve well and provide evidence." "Use a different method to check if your answers are correct." "Compare your work with the model, which parts are different? How can you improve these parts further?" How to use portfolios to help learners improve? One of the important roles of the teacher is to communicate the progress of the learners based on the learning targets. Progress of the learner is better communicated if there is a good documentation of their formative assessment. The works that learners have produced can be collected and compiled in a portfolio. This is d visual representation on what the learners, have achieved from their initial work to their improved work. For example, their essay in an English class is collected from the first draft to the revised draft. This progress is communicated when the teacher creates an opportunity to sit beside each learner to show progress in learning as evidenced in the portfolio. The following are some tips in making portfolios a powerful vehicle in communicating learning progress and areas needing improvement. 1. Schedule a time slot to sit beside each child to show progress in learning. The teacher may focus on the first work to the present work for one learning target at a time (one objective). The teacher may need about 5 minutes with each learner to show evidences of attainment of each learning target. 2. Let the learners reflect on each entry in the portfolio. This can be guided when the teacher starts to ask questions pertaining to the learning strategy used. 3. Let the learners report their observation on the transition of one work to another. Ask questions for the learners to describe and compare their previous work with their present work by pointing at the differences, things that are present and missing among the entries, and the changes that happened from one entry to another. 4. Ask the learners to reflect on the other areas that need to be continued and improved for the succeeding work. Make the learners commit to their future plan of strategy when engaging on the same task. Help the learners focus on making specific and achievable plans. 5. End the conversation with the learners with an encouragement and a belief that they can improve and are capable of mastering the task. How to organize meeting with parents? Assessment results are also communicated to parents. The parents are partners in the child's learning, and information about the academic standing of their child should be communicated with them. They are needed to provide further support in their learning. Assessment results are communicated through the process of parent and teacher conferences. The school usually sets schedule and guidelines for teachers to confer with parents. These guidelines are communicated during the parents' orientation at the beginning of the school year. The following are guidelines that can be followed in conducting parent and teacher conferences: 1. Send a letter inviting parents for a meeting. Indicate availability for this meeting to happen. 2. Greet the parents in a positive tone. Express how you care about their child that is why you set a meeting with them. 3. Let the parents talk. Avoid interrupting them while they say their concerns. 4. When responding to parents' concerns, you may want to restate or clarify their ideas, report relevant incidents, or ask further questions. 5. When reporting assessment results, avoid judging on the ability of the child. Focus on the performance based on the criteria. Prepare evidence of the performance and show the parents how rating was done. Describe the performance based on the rubric. 6. When describing the performance of the child, use words that are understandable to the parents. Avoid too technical terms. If technical terms cannot be avoided, explain the terms to the parents. 7. Commit to the parents a course of action that you can realistically do but do not guarantee a result. Some course of action would be to verify an incident further, check documents, and to try to ask the child again. Bennet, R. E. (2011). “Formative assessment: A critical review.” Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice 18(1):5-25. Ubina-Balagtas, M., David, A., Golla, E., Magno, C., Valladolid, V. (2020). Assessment in Learning 2 (1st edition). Navarro, RL & Santos, RG (2017): Assessment of Learning Outcomes 2 (3rd ed). Lorimar Publishing, Inc. Palm, T. (2008). Performance assessment and authentic assessment: A conceptual analysis of the literature. Practical Assessment, Research & Evaluation, 13(4). Retrieved from http://pareonline.net/getvn.asp?v=13&n=4.