ARBs and assessment Assessment is primarily concerned with providing teachers and/or students with feedback information. Case studies Find out how some schools have used the Assessment Resource Banks for Case Studies Formative assessment Formative assessment is an integral part of the teaching and learning process.  Assessment becomes formative when the evidence from assessment during instruction is used to adapt teaching to improve learning.   Formative assessment and the Assessment Resource Banks Selecting ARB resources for formative assessment Choose resources that: can be included as part of normal classroom activities encourage conversation, either between students, or between student and teacher clearly match the intended learning focus show the criteria against which performance is judged allow students to show what they can do (generally, but not always, open-ended tasks are better) provide feedback to students and the teacher about skills and understanding. If a resource meets most but not all the criteria for formative assessment, use MS Word to adapt it. For example, the class may decide on success criteria for making judgements to their work. The teacher can add these to the resource and adapt the marking as well as the content of the resource as required. How to change a resource Self- and peer-assessment Self- and peer-assessment are an integral part of formative assessment. Selecting ARB resources for self- and peer-assessment Use keywords "self-assessment" or "peer-assessment" when searching for resources. Use keyword "exemplars" to search for annotated examples of student work. These can be used by students to set goals for their own work. Use Teacher Information to develop your own self- and peer-assessments. Summative assessment Summative assessment is intended to summarise student achievement at a particular time, whereas formative assessment is intended to promote further improvement of student attainment (Crooks, 2001). Summative assessment can also be used formatively, if it provides feedback to the student that leads to further improvement. Selecting ARB resources for summative assessment Check that the assessment focus matches all the learning outcomes/intentions for the unit of work. Items chosen should accurately reflect the content of the unit. Check that the level of difficulty fits the range of achievements expected by the class. Consider whether the resource assesses "deep" learning or surface features. Does this match the intention of the unit of work? You may want to put together several resources that assess a broad range of learning intentions. Use the My Folder facility to sort a range of related assessments. How to group resources using My Folder Think about what you want students to know about their performance. A mark will tell them whether they were right or wrong.  A total score may give an indication of their ranking in the class.  Written or oral feedback related to the assessment focus may provide information that leads to further learning. Diagnostic assessment Diagnostic assessment assists teachers to identify possible strengths and weaknesses of individual students. It may be specific, to check on a particular skill or understanding, or it may be broad to indicate at the beginning of a unit of work areas that need attention. Selecting ARB resources for diagnostic assessment If the focus is specific, make sure that the assessment focus of the resource matches the area of interest. It can sometimes be useful to select four or five resources with a similar focus, but with an escalating level of difficulty. Refer to the level of difficulty provided for many resources (select Diagnostic Information when searching). For a pre-test include the range of skills/knowledge to be covered in the unit of work. Select at least some easy or very easy items. Total marks are unimportant. Analyse the student responses to identify patterns of strength and weakness, and plan to cater for these during teaching. Pre- and post-tests Teachers may select resources to assess levels of knowledge and understanding before a new phase of teaching. The same collection of resources, or a selection of similar ones, may be administered at the end of the teaching phase. Monitoring school-wide performance over time By repeated administration of selected resources over time, a school may develop a database of information to help monitor school-wide performance. Selecting ARB resources for school-wide monitoring Many resources incorporate a difficulty estimate within the teacher information, which may provide a benchmark for monitoring performance against a sample of students beyond the school. The estimates of the percentage of national trial samples answering each question in a resource correctly may also be used to monitor school-wide performance. Clusters of ARB resources may be selected and administered under standard conditions, to provide scores that will act as benchmarks. When using the ARB resources in this way, users will need to bear in mind that any interpretation of differences in student achievement must be made with due regard for such matters as test reliability, the reliability of gain scores, errors of measurement, cohort comparability, changes in curriculum and/or teaching emphases. If school-wide monitoring from one year to the next is being contemplated, teachers/administrators should remember that comparisons may only be made legitimately at the group level, not for individuals. Teacher-made assessment Teachers who need to prepare their own assessment materials may wish to adapt some of the approaches and ideas used in the ARB resources. Many resources have an MS Word version that enables the resource to be tailored to meet specfic needs. A different picture can be inserted, a question deleted, or a word changed, as required. How to change a resource Please Note: If you change a resource, the information and difficulty levels in the Teacher information page may no longer be appropriate for the modified resource. ARB Home    Please Note: ARB material may be reproduced for school-based assessment purposes, not for sale or other purposes.   The ARBs   Assessment information   Support materials   Help   Contact us   Site map

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