Introduction

For this Question, you will begin constructing your project, the Assessment and Evaluation of Learning Plan. Your project will not be just a paper about assessment, but a real-world, on-the-job, practical plan that you are encouraged to propose for implementation either in your current position or in the future.

First, keeping in mind that you will be proposing this plan to decision-makers who will consider whether to implement your plan, you will develop an introduction that concisely summarizes the program, course, department, or experience that you have selected for your project.(attached below) The introduction will also describe how you propose to apply the cycle of assessment to your plan to assess the learning outcomes of students or trainees in a specific learning situation.

Then you will present the first three sections of the actual proposed assessment plan:

1. The learning goals that students are to achieve. 
2. The means of measuring their achievement of the goals. 
3. The standards and/or targets to define successful achievement.

Each of these sections will be followed by an explanation of the reasons—your rationale—for the decisions you made for the sections of the proposed plan. Your explanations must be well supported by the required course readings, because when we develop assessment, we establish our credibility by using and citing authoritative sources.

Instructions

Construct the following components of your Assessment and Evaluation of Learning Plan to assess the learning outcomes of students or trainees in a specific learning situation and the rationale for the decisions you make for each of the components. Use and cite the readings to support your claims in the rationale sections. Provide a list of references from the readings that you use. *Be sure to apply the submission requirements described below.*

First, write a concise summary of the program, course, department, or experience that you have selected, keeping in mind how much information the decision-maker to whom you will present your proposed plan needs. In addition, describe how the cycle of assessment will be applied to the proposed plan.

Under the heading “Learning Goals,” present the learning goals that the students or trainees are to achieve. Then, under the sub-heading “Rationale for Learning Goals,” present a rationale for your goals, using and citing the readings.

Under the next heading, “Assessment Instruments,” present the types of assessment instruments (the means of measuring the outcomes of the assessment) that the students or trainees will complete. Then, under the sub-heading “Rationale for Assessment Instruments,” present a rationale for the assessment instruments, explaining how using those instruments are appropriate to measure achievement of the learning goals and using and citing the readings.

Under the final heading, which might be “Setting Standards,” “Setting Benchmarks,” “Setting Targets,” or some combination of these or similar terms, present your recommendations for interpreting the results of the assessment. Then, under the sub-heading “Rationale for Setting Standards” (or whichever term you selected), present a rationale for your decisions, using and citing the readings.

Do not add a conclusion, for the remaining components of your Assessment and Evaluation of Learning Plan will follow these components.

Submission Requirements

Your submission should meet the following requirements:

• Written communication: Written communication is free of errors that detract from the overall message.
• APA formatting: Paper, resources, and citations are formatted according to current APA style and formatting.
• Length: 6–7 pages, double-spaced with headings and sub-headings.
• Font and font size: Times New Roman, 12 points.

Readings

Use

Assessing Student Learning: A Common Sense Guide

to read the following:

• Chapter 16, “Creating Effective Assignments,” pages 205–214.           

  In this chapter, you will begin to consider the most effective means of determining how to measure students’ achievement of the learning goals.

Briefly scan the following chapters. For the Question, you will determine which of these chapters to read in detail to inform your discussion, which will become an important part of your Assessment and Evaluation of Learning Plan.

• Chapter 15, “Designing Rubrics to Plan and Assess Assignments,” pages 189–204.
• Chapter 17, “Writing Multiple-Choice and Other Objective Tests,” pages 215–234.
• Chapter 18, “Assembling Evidence of Student Learning Into Portfolios,” pages 235–244.
• Chapter 20, “Other Assessment Tools,” pages 259–272.
• Chapter 21, “Assessing the Hard-to-Assess,” pages 273–284.

Use the Internet to read the following:

• Suskie, L. (2018, May 27). What are the characteristics of well-stated learning goals? [Blog post]. Retrieved from http://www.lindasuskie.com/apps/blog/show/45689916-what-are-the-characteristics-of-well-stated-learning-goals-

Xavier Williams

Unit 4 Discussion 1

Learning Outcomes

Part 1

The reading and writing course is a 6 month course that is designed especially for individuals that love book reading, writing and public readings. Book genres and preferences are very personal and they vary from person to person and age group to age group. Books are said to be a man’s best friend and are a source of immense knowledge, confidence and imagination. (ECOLE GLOBALE, 2018) The purpose of this course is to help individuals read complex books that might be a little hard to interpret. This will also help students who want to read books but cannot get into the habit of doing so or get bored very easily. This course is also designed for students who aim to be writers and are passionate about book writing. Students mostly have trouble writing because they do not know how to start writing. Our skilled teachers are motivated to provide each student with the individual attention he/she deserves.

Learning goals after completing this course:

1) Students will learn about the basic concepts of retaining information so that it can help them in the process of becoming a writer. They will identify their own genres in both reading and writing as this course will help them in developing an understanding of themselves, what they like to read, and what genre they want to write about.

2) They will apply the learned techniques and learning in efficient and effective ways that helps them perform better than everybody else should they choose to take their learning into the practical world hence they will qualify to be excellent writers and public readers.

3) Students will read in multiple different accents as they will learn the root of all of them and their reading skills will be improved. Students will also overcome stage fright, if they have any because confidence boosting activities will be conducted throughout the course which will help them be better public readers.

4) With our weekly assessments and class work, students will create a liking for reading more and more books every day and will improve their vocabulary because the more books they read, the better vocabulary they will have.

Students who know more than one language, will read and write in all the languages they know, once they are done with this course. Extra attention will be paid to students who are bilingual or multilingual because we understand that just because a student can speak more languages, does not mean that he/she can write professionally, in all of them too.

Part 2

In this science course I have been teaching the learners about types of soils and now we must learn about the use of each of them. We will require the soil samples in class to demonstrate the differences first before engaging on the role of each. First, the class will mention the types of the soils and the characteristics of each. In case there are features which the learners will have left out, the learners will be provided with the three samples of soil for close observation. After observation, the learners will give the rest of the features. The teacher will then conduct a soil capillary test to show the learners the ability of retaining and releasing water as a prompt into the roles of the types of soil. The class will then engage in groups to determine what role each type of soil can possibly have in relation to the characteristics of soil. At the end of the Lesson the teacher will lead in demonstration of various functions the soil can serve. The student learning goals are:

1. Before the lesson commences, students will orally mention the characteristics of the three types of soils.

2. After closely observing the samples, students will give more characteristics of the soils.

3. The learners will demonstrate the ability to relate water retention abilities of the soils with the possible roles they serve.

4. The learners will sit in groups and write a list of roles they believe each type of soil can offer and why they think that is so.

5. The learners will be able to use the soil in showing various roles the types of soil can serve in real world.

Since this was a Science lesson, it was necessary that we conduct a practical experience. According to Piaget learners play an active role and acquire knowledge more when they engage in practical learning that theoretical practices (Millar, 2004). Through a practical situation, learners experience, and construct meaning of what they are learning. Besides, the practical lesson enable such learners to practice skills they learn not only in class but in other real-world situations. Furthermore, classroom discussions have a great role in teaching and learning as they enhance democratic learning, accommodate individual differences, and complement reflective learning (Carrasco & Irribarra, 2018). Thus, I had a class with both low and high-ability learners and I had to mix them and lead discussion groups so as to enhance achievement of the teaching and learning goals by the end of the lesson. It worked quite well.

References

Carrasco, D. & Irribarra, D.T. (2018). The role of classroom discussion.

Millar, R. (2004) The role of practical work in the teaching and learning of science. National Academy of Sciences, Washington: DC.1-25.Retrieved fromhttps://sites.nationalacademies.org/cs/groups/dbassesite/documents/webpage/dbasse_073330

ECOLE GLOBALE. (2018, DECEMBER 5). Retrieved FEBRUARY 9, 2020, from ECOLE GLOBALE: https://www.ecoleglobale.com/blog/importance-of-books-in-student-life

Xavier Williams

Unit 4 Discussion 2

Creating Effective Assignment

Designing Rubrics to Plan and Assess Assignments

The structure of the rubric describes the level of the information which is required for the assessment of the learning strategy to ascertain quality. It provides the essential description for the identification on whether the assessment strategy shows a high reflection of practices which are included in the evaluation of the program. The design constitutes the procedures that a learner should undertake towards meeting the basic quality standards of a test and in development of needs too (Reddy, 2011). Remarkably, the rubric provides key information in the plan and also shows the explanations for the learner to make additional views and comments necessary for earning more points on a given program or the assessment plan. It also provides rating on each of the item answered well. The summary section at the end of the rubric shows the information with the total assessment of the information required.

The rubric is also useful in allowing the students to be confident on the knowledge of whatever being assessed. It not only helps in grading assessment but also in understanding assignment and to enhance preparation in meeting the requirements. Therefore it aids in measuring the goals of learning. The objective of using rubric in achieving the educational goals is to avail programs having feedback with regards to the strengths and weaknesses of the evaluation activities. It does not evaluate the program itself or students’ performance (Suskie, 2018). The rubric outlines the expectations of the assignment and provides certainties on the procedures of doing assignments.

Multiple-Choice and Other Objective Tests

Multiple choice of assessment is an evaluation in which the learners or respondents are asked questions based on the identification and selection of the correct answers only from the series with the offered choices in the educational settings (Fellenz,2004). The structure consists of the stem and the alternative answers which are correct among the incorrect answers. The stem represents the task to be solved and the option section consist consist of the choices whereby the correct answers earn points. Choices should provide convincing alternatives towards the correct answers to scaffold the thinking of the student. The assessment improves liability which is shown by the availability of the numerous items in the test.

Multiple choices require relatively minimum time to be administered thereby providing less time for assessments to be evaluated. By doing this, multiple questions enhances the development of the learning objectives. Multiple choice allows the test takers to be graded depending on their selected choices therefore reduces the likelihood of the teacher becoming bias on the result hence motivates the learner (Suskie,2018). It is the best predictor of the learners’ performance as it involves recognition and recall of the subject and memorization. It also tests the learners ability to critically make inferences from a set data and understanding of the of the concepts which enhance problem solving. Therefore multiple choices serve as a summative oriented evaluation with the procedures that can be developed into tools which supports learning activities.

Reference

Reddy, M. Y. (2011). Design and development of rubrics to improve assessment outcomes. Quality Assurance in Education.

Suskie, L. (2018, May 27). What are the characteristics of well-stated learning goals? [Blog post]. Retrieved from http://www.lindasuskie.com/apps/blog/show/45689916-what-are-the-characteristics-of-well-stated-learning-goals

Fellenz*, M. R. (2004). Using assessment to support higher level learning: the multiple choice item development assignment. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 29(6), 703-719.

3

APPLYING BENCHMARKS OR STANDARDS TO ASSESSMENT

Running head: APPLYING BENCHMARKS OR STANDARDS TO ASSESSMENT

Applying benchmarks or standards to assessment

Name

Institution

Assessment fulfills a purpose: to interpret and use the results effectively and appropriately to promote improvement and accountability in an organization. An organization is obligated to identify appropriate standards for assessment to ensure quality and effectiveness of the results. I shall discuss good assessment practices, steps to setting good quality benchmarks and criterion to judge the quality and effectiveness of an assessment (L. Suskie). To begin with, a good assessment practice has two qualities: it yields results that are used to improve teaching and learning, is sustained and pervasive. Improvement provides opportunities for stakeholders to engage in self-reflection of the institutional goals and determine if the activities, products and performance correspond to the mission, vision and objectives consequently, improving achievement. Sustainability and pervasiveness means assessment should be used for an extended period while involving all the relevant stakeholders (KENT STATE UNIVERSITY).

There are steps involved in setting good quality benchmarks as discussed below. First, is knowing how the assessment results will be used: who will use the results and what decisions the results will inform. The purpose should either to identify areas of improvement or maintain status quo. The decisions would either be to set standards high or low to complement the purpose. Second, is stating the harm of setting the bar too high or too low. In addition, involvement of external stakeholders i.e. Peer programs and colleges would inform decisions of the assessment discussion. Besides, having a clear category, with clear description of performance and evaluating the assignment that the category is appraising informs the assessor’s thinking as well as determines the importance of assessment. For every category identify a criterion to determine performance level i.e. grammar and have a group vote based on quality. Lastly, the benchmark should be grounded on data which is subjected to discussion to determine if they have achieved the benchmark standards (L. Suskie).

In conclusion, to determine the quality and effectiveness of an assessment the following should be considered: having a clear purpose by aligning the assessment with the culture of the organization, involving stakeholders in decisions involving formation evaluation and implementation of assessment, choosing of what and how to assess, telling the assessment story based on the evidence and lastly improvement and follow up based on lessons learned from the process (Brans Kamp). Assessment is an important part of strategic planning and organizational decisions making which determine the organization success. Therefore, organizations should allocate enough resources to ensure that assessment is feasible.

Works Cited
Brans Kamp, L. A., & Engberg, M. E. Guidelines for judging the effectiveness of assessing student learning. . 2014. 11 February 2020.
KENT STATE UNIVERSITY. WHY IS ASSESSMENT OF STUDENT LEARNING IMPORTANT? n.d. .
Suskie, L. What is good assessment? . 17 March 2014. 11 February 2020.
Suskie, L. Setting meaningful benchmarks or standards. . 23 March 2015. 11 February 2020.