Is assessment literacy merely a fashionablefocus for todays professional developers. Another study conducted by popham 2009 revealed that assessment literacy is the required skills and knowledge of teachers which enable them to effectively. Formative assessment lincs adult education and literacy. An investigation of the development of preservice teacher. By synthesizing and analyzing 100 studies on teacher al, a new conceptual framework of teacher assessment literacy in practice talip is proposed. And if a college student scores poorly on an advanced aptitude tests such as the graduate record examination or the miller analogies test, will. In recent years, increasing numbers of professional development programs have dealt with assessment literacy for teachers andor administrators. Popham 2008 defines formative assessment as a planned process in which teachers or students use assessmentbased evidence to adjust what they are currently doing. This paper aims to reconceptualize teacher assessment literacy al by connecting two fields of research. Development of classroom assessment literacy training. The chapter on bias, for example, would feel at home in the 1970s. Assessment, whether it is of formative or summative in nature, is a procedure for making inferences about learning wiliam 2017a, p.
Pdf assessment literacy components across subject matters. Assessment literacy for teachers faddish or fundamental. This is a book about educational testing, written specifically for the classroom teachers and school and district administrators who keep our schools running. Pdf a framework for examining assessment literacy of. Demystifying the tools that shape our schools by w. The turn of the twentyfirst century has witnessed a phenomenal increase in the testing and assessment responsibilities placed upon language teachers fulcher 2012, p. Written with style and humor, this text focuses on what classroom teachers really need to know about assessment rather than looking at a collection of measurement esoterica. The impact of conceptions of assessment on assessment literacy in a teacher education program christopher charles deneen1 and gavin t.
What makes popham s definition elegant is that it does not divorce understanding of. Choose from 465 different sets of popham classroom assessment flashcards on quizlet. To add to the discussion of this construct, the article focuses on the specific language assessment literacy for language teachers and proposes a core list of. Assessment literacy is considered essential to modern teaching. Psychometric properties of the teacher assessment literacy. Formative, datadriven, highstakeswe all know the buzzwords surrounding educational testing. The operative word in this definition is process, in that formative assessment is happening throughout the learning, as opposed to summative. I dont know if this is because popham is stuck in the past, or if he doesnt want to introduce the complex developments in the.
Assessment literacy consists of an individuals understandings of the fundamental assessment concepts and procedures deemed likely to influence educational decisions. With its constant attention to the instructional implications of educational assessment, classroom assessment. Develop and use wellwritten tests, master the essentials of educational assessment, and improve instruction and learning written with both clarity and wit, classroom assessment shows pre and inservice teachers how to use classroom testing accurately and formatively to dramatically increase your teaching effectiveness and make a difference in how well students learn. This article is adapted from a presentation to the annual meeting of the american educational research association, chicago, april 2007. The educator analyzes an actionable instructional plan to identity how assessment literacy competencies should be applied to strengthen the connection between teaching and learning. Pdf this study aimed at discovering general and specific assessment. The standards, endorsed by the michigan state board of education in 2016, provide a common framework to assist k12 educators, students, families, and policymakers in becoming more knowledgeable about. The aim of the present paper is to describe the development and initial findings of a largescale questionnaire the language assessment literacy survey which was designed to address the. This literacy leadership brief is available in pdf form for free download through the international literacy associations website.
James popham an ascd study guide for assessment literacy for educators in a hurry this study guide is designed to deepen your comprehension of assessment literacy for educators in a hurry, a book by w. The operative word in this definition is process, in that formative assessment is happening. Formative assessment can work wonders when teachers realize its a process of using assessment results to adjust how they work with their students, w. The impact of conceptions of assessment on assessment. Thirteen mustunderstand topics are set forth for consideration by those who design and deliver assessment literacy programs. James popham 2009 assessment literacy what do r with what i know and understand about assessment and testing. In addition to the standards above, popham 2009 explains that assessment literacy includes knowledge of reliability and threats to it, tests content validity. Popham on an expansion of the knowledge and skills that argues that assessment literacy is needed so teachers teachers and other stakeholders are expected. Classroom assessment is the process of collecting and interpreting information about.
The board embraced this as a means to make data matter and, in august 20, chair driscoll appointed an assessment literacy work group to develop a strategy to reach board audiences. In a survey of assessment literacy of 69 teacher candidates, volante and fazio 2007 found that the selfdescribed levels of assessment literacy remained relatively low for the candidates across the four years of the teacher education program, and hence agreed with pophams 2006 assertion about the need for inservice assessment training to. James popham strips away the psychometricianspeak and condenses the complexities of educational. With characteristic humor and aplomb, assessment expert w. Pdf 1assessment literacy and students academic achievement. Classroom assessment literacy for l2 writing teachers. Teachers should recognize that formative assessment works and advocate for using it with honesty and unparalleled zeal, argues w. Learn popham classroom assessment with free interactive flashcards. If youre at all skeptical that formative assessment is just another buzzword, then heres a book that will change the way you think about the role that formative assessment can play in transforming education into a more powerful and positive process. Assessment literacy standards michigan assessment consortium. Popham 2008 defines formative assessment as a planned process in which teachers or students use assessment based evidence to adjust what they are currently doing. An ascd study guide for assessment literacy for educators.
Towards a comprehensive, empirical model of language. Method components assessment literacy defined assessment literacy is the possession of knowledge about the basic principles of sound assessment practice. James popham clarifies what formative assessment really is, why its right for your school or classroom, and how to use. View assessment literacy for teachers faddish or fundamental. And it just might be the most costeffective means of real school improvement. Waving the flag for formative assessment education week. Identifying and developing valid and reliable assessments.
Assessment literacy for educators in a hurry is the fastest route to acquiring the measurement moxie necessary to understand and advocate for better assessment practices and build a case for stopping ineffective and harmful ones. This signifies assessment practices and therefore, the study was designed to investigate teachers classroom assessment practices and the challenges and opportunities they have at secondary level. What makes pophams definition elegant is that it does not divorce understanding of. You work backward from there, building a gradual and compelling chain of lessons and learning activities that virtually ensure that. Eric ed586055 assessment literacy for educators in a. As such, assessment literacy must be a pivotal content area for current and future staff development endeavors. Assessment literacy about the author for educators in a hurry video conference with w.
Building a conceptual framework for assessment literacy. To increase assessment literacy, the michigan assessment consortium mac spearheaded the development of assessment literacy standards by michigan educators and national experts. Thirty five items related to classroom assessment literacy were part of tcal test. Assessment literacy is seen, therefore, as a sine qua non for todays competent educator. Assessments cornerstone if a high school student scores high on an academic aptitude test, how accurate is a scorebased predication that the student will do well in college. Two major issues in language assessment literacy have been addressed but not fully resolvedwhat exactly language assessment literacy is and how it differs among stakeholders e. Its a handful of fundamental understandings about the testing concepts and procedures that influence educational decisions. Chaired by jim popham, the work group consists of board members lucille davy, lou fabrizio, rebecca gagnon, andrew ho, and tonya. The assessment literacy work group was formed in the fall of 20 to increase understanding of educational assessments among parents, students, and policy makers. Assessment literacy is defined as the knowledge about how to assess what students know and can do, interpret the results of these assessments, and apply these results to improve student learning and program effectiveness. This is a book about educational testing, written specifically for the classroom teachers and school and district. It is a handful of fundamental understandings about the testing concepts and procedures that influence educational decisions. The second assessment activity is constructing an achievement test. Over time, assessment literacy has evolved to include both measurement and assessment for learning perspectives.
Understanding the advantages and disadvantages of assessment types is a critical skill for teachers to develop siegel and wissehr, 2011, because a teacher with assessment literacy can interpret assessment data, communicate with students about the status of. James popham, the author of more than 30 books, most dealing with educational testing, is the author of assessment literacy for educators in a. Assessment literacy for educators in a hurry ascd book. Student learning objectives, student growth measures, and formative instructional practices. But we often shelve our understanding of these because they are overwhelmingly complex. Assessment literacy al, traditionally defined as a basic understanding of educational assessment and related skills stiggins, 1991, is increasingly recognized as an integral part of teacher expertise popham, 2009.
Jim popham proposed increasing assessment literacy. The result of that effort, the assessment literacy initiative strategic communications plan for. Some of pophams viewpoints are grossly out of date. In just a few hours time, you can pick up the knowledge you need to do a whole lot of goodfor your students. We learned this in our understanding by design tasks in edu6171.