Evaluation

Student Evaluation

While the comments which follow relate specifically to the Kindergarten program, teachers may also refer to Student Evaluation: A Teacher Handbook, Saskatchewan Education, 1991 for further support.

Student evaluation is an important component of the teaching-learning process. The main purposes are to facilitate student learning and to improve instruction. Information about student progress assists teachers in planning or modifying their instructional programs and assists students in identifying personal learning goals.

Evaluation has a strong influence on teaching and learning. It provides a framework for instructional planning. If used appropriately, evaluation can promote learning, build confidence, and develop students' understanding of themselves and their abilities. To assist teachers in planning for student evaluation, Saskatchewan Education has developed five general guiding principles:

Information is collected by a teacher on a student's learning development. It addresses both the learning process and the student's product or behaviour.
Collection of information is done over time.
Samples of student activities or records relating to student activities are selected and interpreted.
Accommodations are made if necessary to ensure that a student is able to demonstrate her/his learning. Assessment and evaluation should be sensitive to family, classroom and community situations and be free of bias regarding gender, disabilities, culture and language.
Assessment and evaluation are active processes of making decisions that involve the students and parents/caregivers, and are important, interdependent parts of the teaching-learning process.

Consideration of the evaluation process necessitates that a distinction be made between the terms assessment and evaluation. Assessment is a preliminary phase in the evaluation process in which various techniques are used to gather information about students' growth and development. Evaluation refers to the decision-making which follows assessment. Assessment information is weighed against the objectives of the Kindergarten program.

There are three main types of student evaluation that occur regularly throughout the school year: formative, summative and diagnostic.

Formative evaluation is a continuous classroom process that keeps students, parents/caregivers and teachers informed of students' progress toward curriculum objectives. The main purpose of formative evaluation is to guide instruction and student learning. It provides teachers with valuable information upon which instructional decisions and modifications can be made and provides students with direction for future learning.

Summative evaluation occurs most often at the end of an instructional theme or a reporting period. The primary purposes are to determine what knowledge, skills, abilities and attitudes have developed over a period of time, to summarize student progress, and to report progress relative to the curriculum objectives to students, parents/caregivers and teachers.

Seldom are evaluations strictly formative or summative. For example, summative evaluation can be used formatively to assist teachers in making decisions about changes to instructional methods, curriculum content or the learning environment. Similarly, formative evaluation assists teachers in making summative judgments about student progress.

Diagnostic evaluation usually occurs at the beginning of the school year or before a new theme is introduced. The main purposes are to identify students with particular developmental needs so that individual assistance can be provided, to ensure that all learners are sufficiently challenged, and to identify student interests. Diagnostic evaluation provides information essential to teachers in designing appropriate learning experiences for all students.

Gathering Information

Student assessment should encompass the whole child and involve repeated observations over time. A variety of methods of gathering information should be used in which teachers observe students, record information and collect information in an assessment portfolio and a student file. These methods are elaborated on as follows.

Observing and Recording

Systematic observation of children in the Kindergarten program is an essential first step in planning and the most effective way of assessing children's progress. Even a few minutes daily of focused observation and recording can be of great assistance in planning an appropriate program. There are numerous means of recording observations, including videotapes, audiotapes and photographs. Three of the most common formats are anecdotal records, observation checklists and rating scales. In schools where computers are available, this data could be recorded and stored on student data filesthat are available on various software programs.

Anecdotal Records

An anecdotal record is a written description of the observations made of students. It may be recorded as a running account of what a child says and does during a particular period of time, or as a record of a significant incident. Although there are not many fixed rules for anecdotal note taking, the following suggestions may be helpful:

Observing and recording should not interfere with communication with children. Their immediate needs take priority.
Records should be dated.
All the children in the class should be observed in turn (e.g., alphabetically) rather than the teacher focusing only on children with special needs or abilities.
Focused observations should be limited to a few children daily or weekly.
Each child should be observed in a variety of situations (e.g., arrival, dismissal, free play, teacher-directed activities).
Records should be factual and should exclude personal reactions and interpretations.
The teacher should make notes brief using abbreviations and blanks, then, if necessary, fill in the details after the children have left.
The child being observed should not be compared with others.
Students should be made aware of the purpose of observation and recording since awareness is the first step towards self-assessment.
Adhesive-backed notes, scrap paper, or index cards and pencils could be planted around the room and/or carried with the observer as much as possible so that they are readily available for recording noteworthy experiences.
Anecdotal comments could be recorded on adhesive-backed notes and then affixed to a large chart that lists the students and the days of the week. At the end of the week, the recorded information could be transferred to each student's file and the chart could be reused the following week.
Notes should be organized in asystematic fashion (e.g., file folders, notebooks, electronic data files). The patterns of development of each child become obvious if consistent records are maintained.

Examples of anecdotal record-keeping devices.

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Observation Checklists

An observation checklist is a listing of specific concepts, skills, processes or attitudes. It is designed to allow the observer to quickly record the presence or absence of specific qualities or understanding. If the same observation checklistis used relatively frequently and over time, a longitudinal profile is assembled. The observation checklist is most appropriately used in situations where teachers wish to record information on explicit student behaviours, abilities, processes, attitudes or performances. For example, it can help to assess communication skills, cooperative learning skills, extent of participation, and motor skills. Some suggestions for using observation checklists follow.

Observing and recording should not interfere with communication with children. Their immediate needs take priority.
Entries should be dated.
All the children should be observed in turn rather than focusing only on those with special needs or abilities.
Observations should be limited to a few children daily or weekly.
Students should be made aware of the purpose of observation and recording since awareness is the first step towards self- assessment.
Checklists should be organized in a systematic fashion (e.g., file folders, binders or electronic data files). The patterns of development of each child become obvious if consistent records are maintained.
Checklists should be based on the foundational and learning objectives of the curriculum.
The format should be designed so that it could be used to discuss student progress during conferences with students and parents/caregivers.
The characteristics listed on checklists must be specific and easily observable.
Anecdotal comments may be recorded as teachers use or interpret checklists.
Checklists should not be used as report cards.

Examples of checklists are offered in the "Sample Themes" section.

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Rating Scales

Rating scales are similar to observation checklists, but they include representation of the degree to which specific concepts, skills, processes or attitudes exist in students and their work. Rating scales should not be used as report cards.

Examples of rating scales.

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"I Like to Play Outside on the Monkey Bars"

by Alix

The following list is a list of forms that you may want to use. To view this list you need a program like Adobe Acroread that reads .pdf files.

Sample Anecdotal Record-keeping Devices
Anecdotal Comments
Anecdotal Record Chart for Activity Centres
Anecdotal Record Form for Activity Centres
Sample Checklists
Cooperative Group Learning Checklist:
Emerging Literacy Checklist
Kindergarten Checklist
Motor Skills Development Checklist
Sample Rating Scales
Cooperative Group Skills Rating Scale
Cooperative Group Learning Rating Scale
Kindergarten Rating Scale

Participation and Contribution to Classroom Activities Rating Scale

The following is another example of a way that a rating scale based on the Kindergarten foundational and specific objectives could be developed. However, the completion of a scale like this on all the foundational and specific objectives for every student would be an unrealistic expectation.

Date:________________ Student's Name

demonstrates interest and enthusiasm for classroom activities

is willing to try new activities

is beginning to follow rules

shows an appreciation of rules by remigding others about them

generates rules where needed

offers constructive suggestions to other children and adults

willingly participates in routine activities

accepts responsibility for the care of the classroom environment (e.g., feeds pets, waters plants, washes paintbrushes)

Self-Assessment Rating Scale to Assess Attitude

The following rating scale could be used to assess students' attitude. Other questions could be added or substituted.

Date:__________________________________________________
Student's Name:__________________________________________

Directories: Have available three faces (one sad, one happy, one nuetral). These can be drawn on heavy paper and laminated, or made from two circles of cloth, stuffed and finished with buttons for eyes, felt for the nose, and felt or wool for the mouth. Ask the student the following questions and explain that she/he should respond by choosing the appropriate face. Record the answer by drawing the shpe of the mouth chosen and by noting any pertinent verbal response.

When you look at a book all by yourself, how do you feel?
When I ask you to talk about your picture, how do you feel?
When you get up in the morning and you know you are going to school, how do you feel?
When I read a story to the whole class, how do you feel?
When you are working at a centre all by yourself, how do you feel?
When someone asks you to play, how do you feel?
When we fo to the gym, how do you feel?
When we sing in class, how do you feel?
When it's time to play outside at recess, how do you feel?

Comments:
_________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________

The Assessment Portfolio

The assessment portfolio is a method of organizing and storing student-produced materials over an extended period of time. It could also include checklists, rating scales, etc. that the teacher has completed on the students' progress. It allows teachers to assess student growth and overall learning progress during that period of time. Work samples are a major component of the assessment portfolio. Examples are:

samples of students' emergent writing
samples of students' drawing
photos of block constructions, etc.
audiocassettes of children telling stories, etc.
videotapes
print-outs of computer work.

The following are suggestions for using assessment portfolios as an evaluation tool.

Items should be dated.
Materials should be organized according to category and in chronological order.
Items should be added at least once a month.
Adhesive-backed notes are useful for attaching observations and comments.
A copy of the foundational and learning objectives should be included in the portfolio.
Students' work should be compared with their own previous work and not with that of other students.

Refer to the sample of an assessment portfolio rating scale.

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Analyzing Information

After assessment information has been collected, it must be carefully analyzed before it is shared with the students and their parents/caregivers. In analyzing the information collected about a child, a teacher needs to consider the development of the child in light of the foundational and specific objectives of the program. The teacher should synthesize the progress of the child in terms of strengths, weaknesses and patterns, and then plan instructional approaches for the future. Questions such as the following should be considered.

What patterns in the student's development have I observed?
How does the child's development compare with her/his previous progress?

Date:________________	Student's Name
demonstrates interest and enthusiasm for classroom activities
is willing to try new activities
is beginning to follow rules
shows an appreciation of rules by remigding others about them
generates rules where needed
offers constructive suggestions to other children and adults
willingly participates in routine activities
accepts responsibility for the care of the classroom environment (e.g., feeds pets, waters plants, washes paintbrushes)