Introduction

It will come as no surprise to you that evaluating students is an integral part of your teaching. It is something that you do virtually every day, and, most likely, you have become comfortable with the techniques you use to gather information on your students and to report your evaluations to students, parents/guardians, and other teachers. Why, then, do we need a new handbook on student evaluation? Here are some of the reasons.

Evaluation in Education, the report of the Minister's Advisory Committee on Evaluation and Monitoring, recommended that "continuing education and professional development opportunities be provided for all teachers to support improvement of their capabilities in the evaluation of student achievement and progress and in the diagnosis of student learning needs" (p. 12). As part of the action plan, the committee recommended that: "Saskatchewan Education should revise the Student Evaluation Handbook and incorporate its use into inservice activities" (p. 12).
The introduction of the Common Essential Learnings and their incorporation into all new curricula demands a wider variety of teaching strategies from teachers. Procedural knowledge, the processes and attitudes necessary for learning how to learn, has become a much more important part of what we want students to acquire. An integral part of these new strategies is an expanded range of techniques of student evaluation to help assess these forms of knowledge. Some of the traditional techniques are just not appropriate in the new situations.
The responsibility for seeing that student evaluation is appropriately carried out lies within two divisions of Saskatchewan Education. The Evaluation and Student Records Division works to enhance teachers' overall competence in student evaluation. This division also cooperates with the Curriculum and Instruction Division to provide teachers with subject-specific student evaluation strategies when new curriculum guides are produced. This handbook and the accompanying inservice opportunities focus on issues in student evaluation that transcend specific subject-area concerns.
Teachers are under increasing pressure to be more accountable to students, parents/guardians, and the public at large. A well-planned student evaluation program can help teachers meet these accountability pressures.
Student evaluation is one of those responsibilities that requires the highest degree of professional judgment and expertise on the part of the teacher. The stakes are high when decisions are made that affect students" lives. Improving student evaluation practices improves teacher professionalism.

Background

This handbook has been developed by the Evaluation and Student Records Division of Saskatchewan Education in consultation with an inter-agency advisory committee representing the Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation; the Saskatchewan School Trustees Association; the League of Educational Administrators, Directors and Superintendents; Saskatchewan Education; the University of Saskatchewan; and the University of Regina. At the needs assessment stage, feedback from groups of teachers helped to set the general boundaries of the handbook. Its overall philosophy is in accordance with the guiding principles of student evaluation developed from Evaluation in Education.

The essence of these guiding principles is that student evaluation should be an integral part of good teaching practice. It should be treated as an ongoing and comprehensive process that is pervaded by careful planning and systematic implementation. Evaluation is considered a critical element that influences teacher decision making and guides student learning. The guiding principles of student evaluation as stated below are more fully developed in the various sections of the document.

Evaluation should be an integral part of the teaching-learning process.
Evaluation should be a planned, continuous activity.
Evaluation should reflect the intended outcomes of the curriculum.
Evaluation should assist teachers in meeting individual needs and providing appropriate programs for students.
Evaluation should include not only measurement but also interpretation and judgment.
Evaluation should be sensitive to socio-demographic differences such as culture, gender, and geographic location.
Evaluation should be based on a variety of indicators that may be norm-referenced, criterion-referenced, or self-referenced.
Evaluation should use assessment techniques for formative, diagnostic, and summative purposes.
Evaluation should provide information within the cognitive, affective, and psychomotor domains.
Evaluation should respect and safeguard confidentiality of student information.
Evaluation should be fair and equitable, giving all students opportunities to demonstrate the extent of their knowledge, skills, and abilities.
Evaluation should provide positive, supportive feedback to students.
Evaluation should foster students' abilities to transfer knowledge into life experiences.
Evaluation should encourage active participation and student self-appraisal to foster lifelong learning.
Evaluation should provide opportunities for student development and improvement.
Evaluation should include the communication of a teacher's overall evaluation plan to students in advance. Students should be made aware of the objectives of the program and the procedures to be used in assessing performance relative to the objectives.
Evaluation should be regularly communicated to parents/guardians and students in a meaningful manner.

During the development and piloting of this handbook, the writer, the overseeing advisory committee on student and program evaluation, and the Evaluation Division personnel have worked closely with the Curriculum and Instruction Division of Saskatchewan Education to make the handbook as compatible as possible with the curricula being developed. An extensive field testing process has helped to sharpen the focus of the handbook.

Scope of the Handbook

'Evaluation' is a term that has many meanings for teachers. In this handbook, the emphasis is upon those activities you need to carry out to formulate a professionally developed judgment concerning students" performance. Although this is a standard objective of resources on student evaluation, it is important to spell out the boundaries. In some instances, the term 'student evaluation' has come to include issues that are usually considered parts of instructional practice. The shift from a teacher- centered classroom to a more child-centered classroom places more emphasis upon involving students in reflection and self-evaluation so that they may more completely take control of their learning. While these wider applications of the notion of evaluation are discussed in the handbook, you will find it useful to draw upon the techniques described in the pertinent curriculum guides as you foster your students' skills of independent and lifelong learning.

Working With the Handbook

The main body of the handbook is divided into four chapters.

The first three chapters of the handbook present a plan of action that you can use to refine your own student evaluation program. The basic idea behind these chapters is that planning a student evaluation program is primarily a matter of making decisions about what you want to do and how you will do it. You already make such decisions, but this section will allow you to make your decisions explicit and systematic.

Chapter 1 shows you how to take stock of your current student evaluation practices. Chapter 2 outlines a process for helping you consider whether you should modify your student assessment techniques in light of what you uncover in Chapter 1. Chapter 3 extends your student evaluation planning to include working with other colleagues within a total school setting. Throughout these chapters, there are points at which decisions have to be made concerning your own professional practice. These sections are highlighted in bold print and placed in shaded boxes.

Chapter 4 explains the development and use of a variety of student assessment techniques. Some of these are traditional while some may be less familiar to you. None of them are particularly difficult to develop or use, but they do require you to exercise your professional judgment in specific ways so that you can make them fit into your overall student evaluation program.

Throughout Chapter 4, a variety of examples of assessment instruments is provided. These can be used in their given form or adapted as starting points for teachers who wish to develop their own instruments.

Using the Handbook

The handbook has been designed for teacher use in several ways.

As a workshop manual
If you attend an inservice session on student evaluation you can work through the activities of the handbook with the help of a facilitator.
As a guideline for developing a school policy on student evaluation
Many of the activities in the handbook lend themselves to group situations such as developing departmental, school, or division student evaluation policies.
As a self-learning unit
You can work through the handbook methodically, making your own professional planning decisions on student evaluation.