Chapter 55

Chapter 55
“The Role of Assessment in a Learning Culture”
Lorrie A. Shepard examines the role of assessments and how they can be use as part of the teacher’s instruction to support and enhance learning. She has organized her article into three sections: 1) a historical framework; 2) social-constructivist conceptual framework; and 3) ways that assessment practices should change to be consistent with and support social-constructivist the method and practice of teaching.

1. Shepard creates a set of three interlocking circles that demonstrates the central ideas of social efficiency and scientific management in curriculum were linked to hereditarian theories of intelligence and associationist/behaviorist learning theories.

o Social Efficiency- modern principles of scientific management could be applied to not only factories, but equally to schools; task analysis of skills to be taught; mastery of each skill; scientific measures to determine future role in life and appropriate curriculum or differentiated curriculum for the role, don’t teach what they will never use.

o Hereditarian Theory of IQ- IQ as innate and fixed;
Associationist and Behaviorist Learning Theories- Concept of mind is
replaced by stimulus-response (Skinnerism), learning occurs by an
accumulation of atomized bits of knowledge, learning is sequenced and
hierarchical, each objective must be explicitly taught, testing to ensure mastery
before moving on, tests correspond with learning, motivation is external and
based on positive reinforcement of many small steps.

o Scientific Measurement- tracking through IQ testing, objective tests to measure achievement. Shepard continues discussion about objective tests and how they were first developed test what was important to learn. To this day, this type of testing affects teachers’ beliefs about the nature of evidence and principles of fairness. Testing was separate from instruction and was uniformly administered. Formative testing or holistic evaluations were worrisome for teachers due to the subjectivity involved.

2. Shepard continues by discussing the principles of a ‘social-constructivist’ conceptual framework.

o Cognitive and Constructivist Learning Theories- Concept of mind is reintroduced and that learning is an active process of mental construction and sense making; prior knowledge and beliefs work to enable or impede new learning; intelligent thought and learning involves metacognition; expertise or a deep understanding is developed, not just an accumulation of information; cognitive abilities are developed through socially and culturally supported interactions.

o Reformed Vision of Curriculum- All students can learn; challenging content aimed at higher-order thinking and problem solving; equal opportunity for divers learners, genuine opportunities for high-quality instruction; classroom routines and the socialization between teachers and students should help students in the ways of thinking and speaking in academic disciplines; authentic learning and connected to the real world, foster development of dispositions, perseverance in trying to solve difficult problems.

o Classroom Assessment- Elicit higher-order thinking and problem solving; addresses learning processes as well as the learning outcomes; ongoing process that is integrated with instruction; used formatively; student understand expectations and are active in evaluating their own work; used to evaluate teaching as well as learning.

3. Shepard describes ways that assessment practices should change to be consistent with and support social-constructivist the method and practice of teaching. Assessments need to be more open-ended so that students can apply their knowledge to real life situations. Assessments need to reflect metacognition development, dispositions, and the levels at which students have been socialized into the discourse and practices of content areas. Shepard lists several methods for gathering data: observations, clinical interviews, reflective journals, projects, demonstrations, portfolio work, and student’s self-evaluations. Teachers must use systematic analysis of the evidence.

• In Shepard’s next section, she describes the negative effects of standards-based reform but also the use of assessment for learning. The author proposes changes in classroom practices so that students can no longer fake their level of competency. Shepard discusses several specific assessment strategies that should be part of a more fundamental shift in classroom practices and learning expectations.

o Dynamic, Ongoing Assessment- should be moved to middle of the teaching and learning process to determine what student is able to do independently (Vygotsky) and allow the teacher to reshape their teaching process.

o Prior Knowledge- reexamining to take into account knowledge in social and cultural contexts and then using this information to first, shape instruction, and second, use as an activation technique (K-W-L).

o Feedback- when done correctly, leads to self-correction and learner improvement while maintaining motivation and self-confidence.

o Transfer- more likely if students have practiced with a variety of applications and new situations.

o Explicit Criteria- clear understanding of the criteria by which their work will be assessed. Features should be so ‘transparent’ that students can evaluate their own work at the same level that the teacher would have.

o Self-Assessment- increases collaboration between teacher and student, increases student responsibility and ownership.

o Evaluation of Teaching- using assessments, whether formal, informal, or on-going to adjust teaching while modeling to students why they are changing their lesson.

• In conclusion, Shepard states that teachers need to be able to ask the right questions at the right time, anticipate conceptual pitfalls, have a ready repertoire of tasks that will lead to a student’s deeper understanding of subject matter, learn to use assessment in new ways, need a theory of motivation, knowledge of how to develop a classroom culture with learning at its center, assistance to reflect on their own beliefs as well as those in the education community, and to fend off the negative effect of externally imposed tests.