WELCOME TO THE  ASSESSMENT FOR DUMMIES GLOSSARY

assessment: the process of observing learning; describing, collecting, recording, scoring, and interpreting information about a student's or one's own learning.  Traditionally, student assessments are used to determine placement, promotion, graduation, or retention.
   

concept: an abstract, general notion -- a heading that characterizes  a set of behaviors and beliefs.

content: the academic subject matter studied in an educational program or class.

diagnostic: an assessment prompted by a perceived problem in order to determine current level of functioning. Test results are then used to prescribe a solution.

evaluation: both qualitative and quantitative descriptions of pupil behavior plus value judgments concerning the desirability of that behavior. Using collected information (assessments) to make informed decisions about continued instruction, programs, activities.

feedback: specific evidence and communication about how a person performed with respect to a standard for performance.

formative:  observations which allow one to determine the degree to which students know or are able to do a given learning task, and which identifies the part of the task that the student does not know or is unable to do. Outcomes suggest future steps for teaching and learning.

generalization: in behaviorism, applying skills learned in one situation to other situations. In research, applying the results of one study to the general population.
 

             goals: desired long term effects of
             individualized instruction.

multiple intelligences: a theory produced by Howard Gardner, a professor in the Harvard Graduate School of Education in 1983. 

  • Verbal-Linguistic Intelligence -- well-developed verbal skills and sensitivity to the sounds, meanings and rhythms of words

  • Mathematical-Logical Intelligence -- ability to think conceptually and abstractly, and capacity to discern logical or numerical patterns

  • Musical Intelligence -- ability to produce and appreciate rhythm, pitch and timber

  • Visual-Spatial Intelligence -- capacity to think in images and pictures, to visualize accurately and abstractly

  • Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence -- ability to control one's body movements and to handle objects skillfully

  • Interpersonal Intelligence -- capacity to detect and respond appropriately to the moods, motivations and desires of others.

  • Intrapersonal Intelligence -- capacity to be self-aware and in tune with inner feelings, values, beliefs and thinking processes

  • Naturalist Intelligence -- ability to recognize and categorize plants, animals and other objects in nature

  • Existential Intelligence -- sensitivity and capacity to tackle deep questions about human existence, such as the meaning of life, why do we die, and how did we get here.

objectives: concrete statements based on the learner’s present and future educational needs as determined through a variety of assessment procedures.

performance criteria: the standards by which student performance is evaluated. Performance criteria help assessors maintain objectivity and provide students with important information about expectations, giving them a target or goal to strive for.

             qualitative:

             quantitative:

reliability: the measure of consistency for an assessment          instrument. The instrument should yield similar results over time with similar populations in similar circumstances.

summative: evaluation at the conclusion of a unit or units of instruction or an activity or plan to determine or judge student skills and knowledge or effectiveness of a plan or activity. Outcomes are the culmination of a teaching/learning process for a unit, subject, or year's study.

taxonomy: a tool for classifying instructional objectives. Bloom's Taxonomy is hierarchical (levels increase in difficulty/sophistication) and cumulative (each level builds on and subsumes the ones below).

  • Knowledge

  • Comprehension

  • Application

  • Analysis

  • Synthesis

  • Evaluation

              terms:

validity: the test measures the desired performance and appropriate inferences can be drawn from the results. The assessment accurately reflects the learning it was designed to measure.

                           

               

                 *Many definitions taken from
                The Building Tool Room