Does Assessment equal Evaluation?

Assessment and Evaluation often brings to mind paper and pencils tests.....

What does it really mean?

ASSESSMENT:  Collecting evidence of learning as students move toward accomplishing objectives.

EVALUATION:  The process of using information to judge whether a program is meeting student's needs effectively.
                                                                                                                       -(Taken from Sunal & Haas (2011))

Assessment and Evaluation are not equivalent

Evaluation is a process to look at the ability of a program to meet student's needs.  Assessment is one piece of information that is necessary to have effective evaluation.



How do we verify students are learning.....Formative Assessment
Formative assessment should be ongoing and happen throughout the learning cycle.  It allows teachers to make changes in lesson plans; identifying what skills students have, what needs to be taught and what concepts need re-teaching or extra practice.  This allows a teacher to determine how well students are moving toward reaching objectives.

The impact of standardized testing on assessment and evaluation:
Teachers, administrators and students have all been impacted by the high-stakes standardized testing.  The focus has become student performance on the test related to specific units of knowledge.  We have forgotten the essence of twenty-first century skills that should be the focus; what students can DO with their knowledge (Sunal & Haas, 2011).  Teachers must now use assessment and evaluation as part of the instructional process in order to meet learning needs and allow students in the development of the knowledge that will aid them in test taking.

In this world of Standardized Testing we as teachers should not forget about, but focus more on Authentic Assessment. (see posting of 10/5/2012 Are You Learning?)

Authentic assessment are activities that require students to apply knowledge, think critically and use skills in real-world context.  Some suggestions in addition to methods that have been previously discussed

• Performance Tests
• Checklists
• Classroom Websites
• Quality Circles
• Self-Evaluation Reports

Particularly in Social Studies teaching, we aim to assist in the development of future citizens, we cannot forget to move beyond the pen and pencils of traditional testing.

Keep in mind...

"Not everything that counts can be counted and not everything that can be counted counts."
                                                                                               -Albert Einstein