Assessment Development The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards has developed an assessment development to develop assessment exercises and pilot tests them with http://www.nbpts.org/standards/dev.cfm
Extractions: Resource Center National Board Certified Teachers ... Become an Assessor The handwriting option in assessment centers has been eliminated effective July 1, 2003, for all certificates, with the exception of mathematics, science and other certificates as necessary due to specific prompt requirements. This is effective for all first-time and retake candidates. posted 4/21/2003 The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards has developed an innovative process to determine whether a teacher possesses the attributes of accomplished teaching based on the NBPTS standards in each of the certificate areas. National Board Certificates are structured around student developmental levels and subject(s) taught. Click here to view the framework of National Board Standards and Certificates. Determining whether teachers meet the standards requires performance-based assessment methods that are fair and valid and that call on teachers to demonstrate principled, professional judgments in a variety of situations. The National Board believes a valid assessment of accomplished practice must allow for the variety of forms sound practice takes, must sample the range of ways teachers know their content, and must provide appropriate contexts for assessments of teaching knowledge and skill. Teaching is not just about knowing things; it is about the use of knowledge - knowledge of learners and learning, of schools and subjects - in the service of helping students grow and develop. Consequently, the National Board believes the most valid teacher assessment processes engage candidates in the activities of teaching - activities that require the display and use of teaching knowledge and skill and that allow teachers the opportunity to explain and justify their actions.
Assessment Alternatives Home Teaching and Learning Strategies assessment Alternatives The test s assessment determined that reading would not come easily for Dr. Fuller, http://www.newhorizons.org/strategies/assess/front_assess.htm
Extractions: Related links There is growing recognition that true/ false, multiple choice, and short answer tests do not give a true picture of what students know and have accomplished. These are primarily measures of memorization and recall, and do not always even test comprehension. They certainly do not give students opportunities to demonstrate that they can apply what they have learned or use their knowledge in creative or even just practical ways. Many teachers have long used their own tests involving such hands-on measures as the arts, constructions, dramatizations, and multimedia reports. Recently there has been impetus on the state and national level to expand the repertoire of assessing strategies. In this section we will describe numbers of examples of work in this area. See our Glossary of Assessment Terms to clarify terminology.
Collecting Student Feedback Classroom assessment is both a teaching approach and a set of techniques. Classroom assessment differs from tests and other forms of student assessment http://www.iub.edu/~teaching/feedback.shtml
Extractions: Indiana University Bloomington Bloomington Instructional Support Services Units Staff ... Home CAMPUS INSTRUCTIONAL CONSULTING Business Education HPER Search CIC CIC Resources Campuswide Resources Events How to Use Oncourse ... CIC Resources There are four important points concerning student feedback: Four main ways to collect feedback from students Interpretation of teaching evaluation results Classroom Assessment Techniques Here are a few papers (on other pages) that are also of interest: Instructors at Indiana University Bloomington typically use one or more of four options for collecting feedback from students: MultiOp interpret the feedback . Call BEST at 855-1595 for information on designing these evaluations, or visit their website at http://www.indiana.edu/~best/ Student Evaluation of Teaching. SETs are student evalution forms available through the CIC. They are a teaching diagnostic, designed to provide instructors with ideas for changes they might make in their teaching. The questionnaire takes about 20 minutes of class time to administer. After the quantitative data are tabulated and the written comments typed, a CIC staff member meets with the instructor to present and interpret the feedback.
Educating Preservice Teachers: The State Of Affairs The assessment tests teaching knowledge in the following content categories. Linguistic and cognitive bases of the reading process; Comprehension http://www.ncrel.org/litweb/ept/region.php
Extractions: Educational Laboratory NCREL Home Site Map ... Resources Literacy Educating Preservice Teachers: The State of Affairs Teacher testing is gaining widespread attention within NCREL's region, especially in Illinois. Recently, a Chicago Sun-Times investigation revealed that 5,243 Illinois teachers, some of whom are currently teaching, failed at least one certification test (Rossi, Beaupre, and Grossman, 2001). Certification testing includes a basic-skills test and a subject-area test. Based on the results of the Chicago Sun-Times investigation, it seems evident that more attention needs to be focused on teacher testing to determine who is failing the tests and whether the failure is linked to the quality of the tests and student achievement. Supporting this premise, the American Federation of Teachers (2000a) also investigated teacher testing and found that "individual states and institutions generally set very low cutoff scores for demonstration of mastery" (p. 20). Within NCREL's seven-state region, there is a variety of testing requirements and cut-off scores for teacher candidates. The following is a synopsis of those requirements and scores by individual state. Illinois The Illinois State Board of Education requires every preservice teacher to take the Illinois Certification Testing System (ICTS) Basic Skills test before licensure. Preservice teachers are required to receive a passing score of 240 out of 300. Candidates in elementary education must also take the K-9 Elementary test. This test covers language arts, math and science, social studies, health, physical education, fine arts, and professional knowledge. Preservice teachers must receive a score of 70 out of 100 to pass (P. Wieke, personal communication, November 20, 2000).
Praxis.html Praxis II is a Subject assessment Test. One Subject assessment Test is required and must be taken in your teaching endorsement area and is content specific. http://www.wm.edu/education/profserv/praxis.html
Extractions: THE PRAXIS SERIES Registration Information For information regarding registration, test administration, fees, the policy for testing individuals with handicapping conditions, etc., please contact the Educational Testing Service (ETS) at 1-800-772-9476 or 609-771-7395 for THE PRAXIS SERIES Registration Bulletin or write to THE PRAXIS SERIES, ETS, P.O. Box 6051, Princeton, NJ 08541-6051. Hearing impaired individuals using a Telecommunications Device for the Deaf (TDD) may call 1-800-275-1391 for information. You may visit THE PRAXIS SERIES online at www.teachingandlearning.org. Candidates seeking licensure must take and pass the following two tests: Praxis II Specialty Area Test appropriate for their endorsement area Students are encouraged to come by the Office of Professional Services in the School of Education to pick up a Praxis Registration Bulletin for information on appropriate tests and how to register for them. Registration bulletins can be found outside of Jones 100. You are encouraged to direct your questions to Deborah Walker, in the Office of Professional Services, at dswalk@wm.edu or 221-2320. Information on the Praxis tests can also be found at the Educational Testing Service website (www.ets.org/praxis). The Praxis I is an Academic Skills Assessment of mathematics, reading, and writing that includes the option to take the traditional written form known as the Pre-Professional Skills Tests (PPST) or a Computerized-PPST version.
With Assessment Tests, The Stakes Are High For Testers And Testees With assessment tests, the stakes are high for testers and testees Critics say the line between teaching to the test and cheating is blurred at best. http://www.post-gazette.com/regionstate/20000827highstakes3.asp
Extractions: With assessment tests, the stakes are high for testers and testees Education 2000: Reforming Schools for a New Century Sunday, August 27, 2000 By Rachel Smolkin, Post-Gazette National Bureau Armed only with No. 2 pencils and fact-soaked brains, students plot their futures and those of their schools as they struggle to answer standardized test questions about the clash of church and state in the Byzantine Empire, the cause of the Panic of 1819 and the range of a function given an algebraic domain. These are sample questions in a new breed of exams the so-called "high-stakes tests" that are being used more and more in states across the country in an effort to prove that teachers are teaching and students are learning. Related story: Pennsylvania's tests growing teeth And if they're not, there are consequences. While the full consequences of these high-stakes tests won't be known for some years, in most states they now determine whether a student advances to the next grade or graduates from high school; whether a teacher or principal keeps a job or merits bonus pay; whether a school is praised or punished by a state takeover. As deadlines for imposing penalties get closer, several state education officials already are considering changes because they're concerned that students will be punished for the failings of their schools or the improper use of tests.
Assessment Tests And Exams Grayson H. Walker Teaching Resource Center. (2003). Designing Test Questions. /FacultyDevelopment/assessment/testquestions.html http://edu.georgianc.on.ca/teaching/teaching/assessment/tests/
Extractions: Assessment General Info and Strategies Portfolios Rubrics Technology Tests and Exams Teaching Active Learning Strategies Assessment Assignment Design Classroom Management ... Send a suggestion Tests and Exams Workshop Resources Writing Multiple Choice Items which Require Comprehension (PowerPoint developed by Bob Marchessault) Designing and Evaluating Tests (Handout developed by Annique Boelryk) Felder, R.M. (2002). Designing tests to maximize learning. Retrieved October 22, 2003 from http://www.ncsu.edu/felder-public/Papers/TestingTips.htm In this article Felder identifies practical and valuable considerations for testing in postsecondary courses. Grayson H. Walker Teaching Resource Center. (2003). Designing Test Questions. Retrieved October 22, 2003 from: http://www.utc.edu/Administration/WalkerTeachingResourceCenter/FacultyDevelopment/Assessment/test-questions.html
Extractions: Assessment Data-Driven Decision Making Standards and Correlations Valid and Reliable Items Data Reporting CompassLearning Odyssey assessment and management solutions ensure educators know how each student is achieving. Odyssey solutions assess student performance, diagnose their strengths, and prescribe specific instruction targeting areas of non-mastery. Teachers spend less time on administrative tasks and more time working one-on-one with students to achieve results. CompassLearning Explorer
Undergraduate Resources teaching practicum and passing the appropriate teacher assessment tests. PRAXIS II this is a test of your knowledge in the specific teaching field http://www.undergradstudies.gatech.edu/teaching.htm
Extractions: shortcuts... Alumni Current Students Parents Prospective Students Visitors About Tech Economic Development Employment Libraries News Room Research Sports Events Calendar FAQ Important Contacts News Quick Links Home Undergraduate Resources Return to Academic Success page Georgia Tech does not offer any teacher training programs; this web site is for information only . The state of Georgia has 57 different teaching licenses that are issued by the Professional Standards Commission www.gapsc.com (PSC) with three license types. Pay scales are determined by the highest college degree attained. The state of Georgia pays its teachers by the highest college degree attained. The three types are: Clearly Renewable Certificate Non-degree programs Bachelors in Education : Program provides the education courses, teaching field coursework and teaching practicum at the undergraduate level. License: T-4 once PRAXIS II is passed
Teaching Assistants Pursuing Certification New York State assessment of Teaching Assistant Skills Test; Teaching Assistant Application; Credit by Examination; Teaching Assistants and Teacher Aides http://www.highered.nysed.gov/tcert/career/ta.htm
Extractions: Quick Links: Select here Applications and Forms Frequently Asked Questions Having Problems Using This Site? News Regulations Related Links Search Certification Requirements Topics A-Z Go to Topics A-Z Teaching in New York Certification Resources - Educators ... Fingerprinting TEACHING IN NEW YORK What New York Has to Offer Teaching Assistants Pursuing Certification Teacher Preparation Programs in NYS Troops to Teachers ... teaching in new york Employment NOTICE: Applicants for teaching assistant (paraprofessionals) certificates (effective February 2, 2004) are required to take the New York State Assessment of Teaching Assistant Skills Test (NYSATAS). The test for teaching assistants was originally going to be the Communication and Quantitative Skills Test (CQST), but this changed and a new test was developed for teaching assistants. The CQST still exists, but it is not the test for teaching assistants. Employment Teaching assistants, unlike teacher aides, are members of the teaching staff and must be given a probationary appointment as a teaching assistant. Recognizing that teaching assistants are not intended to replace licensed or certified teachers, it is not appropriate to assign primary instructional duties to a teaching assistant, regardless of any teaching license or credential the individual may possess.
FAQ's About NYS Certification Teaching Assistants Can the New York State assessment of Teaching Assistant Skills Test be used to satisfy the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) requirement? http://www.highered.nysed.gov/tcert/faqta.htm
Extractions: Quick Links: Select here Applications and Forms Frequently Asked Questions Having Problems Using This Site? News Regulations Related Links Search Certification Requirements Topics A-Z Go to Topics A-Z Teaching in New York Certification Resources - Educators ... Fingerprinting OFFICE OF TEACHING INITIATIVES Teaching in New York Certification Resources - Educators Resources - Public ... frequently asked questions What funding exists for providing professional development to teaching assistants in order to comply with No Child Left Behind (NCLB) requirements? Will individuals holding a Temporary teaching assistant license, a Continuing certificate or a Level I, II, III or Pre-Professional teaching assistant certificate be able to request a waiver of the college-supervised student teaching requirement based on their experience working as a teaching assistant?
Tools For Teaching - Chapter Match your tests to the content you are teaching. Ideally, the tests you give Issues in Student assessment. New Directions for Community Colleges, no. http://teaching.berkeley.edu/bgd/quizzes.html
Extractions: [From the hard copy book Tools for Teaching by Barbara Gross Davis; Jossey-Bass Publishers: San Francisco, 1993. Linking to this book chapter from other websites is permissible. However, the contents of this chapter may not be copied, printed, or distributed in hard copy form without permission.] A note on terminology: instructors often use the terms tests, exams, and even quizzes interchangeably. Test experts Jacobs and Chase (1992), however, make distinctions among them based on the scope of content covered and their weight or importance in calculating the final grade for the course. An examination is the most comprehensive form of testing, typically given at the end of the term (as a final) and one or two times during the semester (as midterms). A test is more limited in scope, focusing on particular aspects of the course material. A course might have three or four tests. A quiz is even more limited and usually is administered in fifteen minutes or less. Though these distinctions are useful, the terms test and exam will be used interchangeably throughout the rest of this section because the principles in planning, constructing, and administering them are similar.
Teaching To The Test There is a big difference between teaching to the test and teaching the test, The school also has its own assessment program, which is different from http://www.asbj.com/achievement/aa/aa4.html
Extractions: By Kevin Bushweller Teaching to the testthe very words have always been heresy to educators. Teaching to the test puts too much emphasis on standardized tests that are poorly constructed and largely irrelevant, the theory goes; it stifles creativity and encourages cheating.m m m m m iBut today a new perspective (and a new education buzz phrase) is emerging. It's called curriculum alignment, and it means teaching knowledge and skills that are assessed by tests designed largely around academic standards set by the state. In other words, teaching to the test. Better alignment, proponents argue, will make better schools. And indeed, ignoring the link between what is taught in the classroom and what is tested can have painful consequences. In Texas, principals can lose their jobs if their schools' standardized test scores don't measure up; superintendents can be fired and school boards can be dissolved if districts perform poorly. In Maryland, schools that don't do well on tests forfeit thousands of dollars in reward money; if their performance is consistently dismal, they can be taken over by the state. And beginning this school year in Broward County, Fla., one indicator of a teacher's overall evaluation will be based on standardized test scores, a significant motivator for teaching to the test. The push to forge tighter links between instruction and assessment is sparking a fierce intellectual battle that is being waged in newspapers and teacher lounges across the country. In an opinion piece for the
No Pain, High Gain Ideally, standardized tests would be only one part of the overall assessment system. Teaching Tip On practice tests, encourage students to read, http://teacher.scholastic.com/professional/assessment/nopain.htm
Extractions: By Nell K. Duke and Ron Ritchhart Let's face it, standardized tests are a fact of life. They remain a mainstay in most districts largely because of the comparative information they provide information that too often is used alone to judge school, classroom, and individual performance. Ideally, standardized tests would be only one part of the overall assessment system. But until that day, we must make sure our students have the skills they need to ace standardized tests. Preparing kids for tests doesn't have to mean drills. In our work, we make explicit connections between good test-taking practices and good general-learning practices. Here, we share some of the strategies and ideas that have grown out of our efforts. In this article you'll find: Three Surefire Strategies
Web Teaching Articles: Do-it-yourself Assessment warrant assessment its usability and its effectiveness as a teaching tool. To test a Web site, all you really need is a quiet room with a couple of http://www.dartmouth.edu/~webteach/articles/assessment.html
Extractions: @import "../files/styles/main.css"; Go back to Articles menu Once you have invested valuable time and resources in setting up and maintaining a course Web site, it is well worth the effort to evaluate its effectiveness. Evaluation can reveal unexpected results: perhaps your students are using only specific areas of the site, or perhaps they're using the site in ways you had not anticipated, or perhaps they're not using the site at all. This knowledge, though potentially disheartening, can save you from misspending time and effort. Understanding the strengths and failings of your approach will allow you to adapt your strategy and to make best use of the medium. Two main areas of your site warrant assessment: its usability and its effectiveness as a teaching tool. Usability testing is a method for evaluating the effectiveness of your site's information architecture, navigation, and design. It measures how successful users are in locating information on your site and how they felt about the experience: Were they lost or derailed at any point in the process? Learning assessment measures the effect your site has on the learning process: Did students learn the materials as presented? There is great demand for substantive evaluative studies on the effectiveness of the Web as a tool for teaching. Some institutions are investing heavily in such studies, particularly when the Web is used in place of regular classroom teaching. Formal assessment is complicated, costly, and time-consuming, however, and it must be done by professionals to ensure experimental rigor. For projects with limited resources, consider conducting an informal assessment study. You aren't likely to reach a scientific conclusion about the overall effectiveness of computer-based teaching, but you will gather useful information about the effectiveness of your course Web site. With this information you can structure your further development efforts.
Assessment-Reliability And Validity Clear introduction to the nature and assessment of test reliability and validity. http://seamonkey.ed.asu.edu/~alex/teaching/assessment/reliability.html
Extractions: Reliability and Validity Chong Ho Yu, Ph.D. Temporal stability : the same form of a test on two or more separate occasions to the same group of examinees (Test-retest). However, this approach is not practical. Repeated measurements are likely to change the examinees. For example, the examinees will adapt the test format and thus tend to score higher in later tests. Form equivalence : two different forms of test, based on the same content, on one occasion to the same examinees (Alternate form) Internal consistency : the coefficient of test scores obtained from a single test or survey ( Cronbach Alpha , KR20, Spilt-half). For instance, let's say respondents are asked to rate statements in an attitude survey about computer anxiety. One statement is "I feel very negative about computers in general." Another statement is "I enjoy using computers." People who strongly agree with the first statement should be strongly disagree with the second statement, and vice versa. If the rating of both statements is high or low among several respondents, the responses are said to be inconsistent and patternless. The same principle can be applied to a test. When no pattern is found in the students' responses, probably the test is too difficult and students just guess the answers randomly.
Centers For Excellence In Learning And Teaching Centers for Excellence in Learning and Teaching. The Center for assessment and Evaluation (CAE) provides the following assessment services to the University http://www.celt.lsu.edu/CAE/
Extractions: Text Only Version Centers for Excellence in Learning and Teaching The Center for Assessment and Evaluation (CAE) provides the following assessment services to the University community: Support faculty, administrators, and institutional committees in the development of methodologies for the assessment of student learning in undergraduate education programs and initiatives, and to administer and report the results of those institutional assessments. Consult with college and departmental administrators and faculty in the implementation of formats for the standardized assessment of courses and curricula. Support faculty needs for the administration and reporting of secure computer-based classroom testing and for electronic test scoring using scan technology.
Certification Main Page The test will be held at the McCormick Place. Only individuals that were registered for New Teachers Have an Illinois Initial teaching certificate? http://www.isbe.state.il.us/certification/default.htm
Extractions: CeRTS OTIS IWAS Teachers ... ISBE Home Announcements Form 77-33 - Request for Approval for Temporary Substitute Permit - Displaced Persons Important Information about Regional Offices of Education Regional Superintendents are locally elected officials that provide services through Regional Offices of Education , which are grouped by county or counties. Among many duties, the Regional Superintendents issue and register certificates and make recommendations for Standard/Master certificate renewal and for issuance for those moving from Initial to Standard certification. City of Chicago: Applications for state certificates and endorsements and certificate registrations are processed through the Division of Teacher Certification located at the James R. Thompson Center, 100 West Randolph Street, Suite 14-300 Chicago, IL 60601. Office hours are Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. To avoid a trip to the office and any unnecessary waiting during peak periods, you may want to register or apply for your certificate on-line using the