Summative assessments are useful to determine a student's level of mastery and can be an indicator of potential for success in subsequent courses or units. If a student does poorly on a summative assessment, for example, remedial instruction may be required. Summative assessments help teachers evaluate content and delivery and make adjustments as needed. Summative assessments are not always useful for informing instruction. When they are used at the end of a course, for example, the teacher may not have the opportunity to work further with that particular group of students.
Assessments can be misused when results are interpreted according to a certain agenda. For example, a school district may be facing a severe budget crisis and opt to reduce services to save money. Particularly when a test is evaluated subjectively, the results can be skewed to show that a child does not need a referral for special services.
The discussion so far has focused on authentic assessments. "In a high-stakes approach to assessment, the test is the major tool; in an authentic approach, the teacher is the major tool" (Vacca, Vacca and Mraz, 2011, p. 94). The teacher is well positioned to observe students and provide feedback. Teachers use observational assessments all the time, sometimes formally with the use of observation forms or anecdotal logs, but most often informally, as a matter of daily course. Many teachers believe, and it is difficult to argue with this, that they know their students better than any assessment tool could possibly reveal. Nevertheless, high-stakes testing is a fact of life in today's education system. Teachers must be prepared to guide their students through the process. They must adhere to the highest ethical standards as they do so.
There are reports every year in Massachusetts of teachers or teachers' aides helping students on the high-stakes Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) test. Passing the MCAS is a high school graduation requirement in the state. Colleges look at MCAS scores as part of the admission process. Teacher effectiveness is judged, in part, on students' achievement and it may not be long before jobs and salaries are tied directly to students' test scores. With all those pressures, it is no wonder educators are tempted to cheat. State Education Commissioner Mitchell Chester recently noted there are roughly ten incidents...
Instructional Design and Needs Assessment Instruction design could be defined as an activity which is purposeful in behavior in which reflection on decisions to be taken in design plays a significant role. (Shambaugh, 2000) There are various models of instructional designs which are used in education of which a popular method is ADDIE model. The ADDIE model is a simple model used for design of instructions and can be widely used
Instructional Design offers teachers a number of advantages and disadvantages. Instructional design can provide a framework and allow the coordination of assessment, objectives and teaching. However, instructional design can be limited by weak learning objectives, and potentially supersede real concerns over learning. Despite these disadvantages, instructional design is a valuable teaching tool. Instructional design can be defined as "is the analysis of learning needs and systematic development of instruction. Instructional design
This creates a problem in terms of homework exercises: students without a computer at home could hardly be expected to complete computer assignments outside of the classroom. This widens the digital divide, as students with computers at home have a large advantage in terms of learning and concomitant future opportunities. Solutions for the Digital Divide The digital divide is a significant problem not only in education, but also in terms of
Much like the Knirk and Gustafson design model, Kemp's model is also small scale and can be used for individual lessons. In comparing Gange's Nine Steps of Instruction and Kemp's Design Model, several topics are included in both. Obviously both identify goals and objectives and making this information known to the student. Designing and delivering instructional experiences with specifically selected resources that will allow learners to master the objectives. The
instructional design models, including elements defining ways traditional methods encourage learner involvement. References required. A peer reviewed journal article, textbooks, and current journal articles credible websites. Discuss the various instructional design models, including elements defining ways in which traditional methods encourage learner involvement. The foundational instructional design model is called the 'ADDIE' model: analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation. During the analysis (planning) phase, the designer identifies the "learning problem, the
If the teacher believes that something there is missing, then he or she will have to make some of the pre-requisite knowledge part of the objective to be achieved (Scott, 2001). Prioritizing and sequencing the information now becomes the important task for the teacher ("Techniques of Analysis," 2000). In order to process the information, students need it to be presented in a logical manner which includes ranking what is most
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