The document discusses various types and purposes of assessment in education. It defines assessment of learning, assessment as learning, and assessment for learning. Assessment takes many forms including formal and informal observation, discussion, tasks, monitoring, and comparing evidence of achievement against standards. Effective assessment provides feedback, is consistent with learning objectives, and uses clear criteria. Authentic assessment involves real-world tasks that demonstrate application of knowledge and skills. Library staff can collaborate with teachers on assessment by developing learning goals and resources or designing their own assessments.

1. ASSESSMENT OF INFORMATION LITERACY LEARNING LIB 601 Libraries and Learning Fall 2008

2. What is assessment? Definition Assessment is the process of identifying, gathering and interpreting information about students’ learning. The central purpose of assessment is to provide information on student achievement and progress and set the direction for ongoing teaching and learning. Assessment provides information for those involved in the teaching and learning process to compare what is known and can be demonstrated against standards.

3. Assessment OF learning What is assessment of learning? Assessment of learning involves working with the range of available evidence that enables staff and the wider assessment community to check on pupils’ progress and using this information in a number of ways.

4. Assessment AS learning What is assessment as learning? Assessment as learning is about reflecting on evidence of learning. This is part of the cycle of assessment where pupils and staff set learning goals, share learning intentions and success criteria, and evaluate their learning through dialogue and self and peer assessment.

5. Assessment FOR learning What is assessment for learning? Assessment for learning focuses on the gap between where learners are in their learning, and where they need to be – the desired goal. This can be achieved through processes such as sharing criteria with learners, effective questioning and feedback.

6. Why assess learning? To find out if they get what we’ve tried to teach them To find out if we taught them well enough To find ways of improving our teaching

7. Forms of assessment Assessment takes many forms in schools and classrooms: Formal and informal observation and discussion with students Formal assessment tasks Formative monitoring and adjustment of teaching Summative assessment at key points Comparing evidence of achievement with other students Comparing evidence of achievement against syllabus standards

8. The fundamentals of effective assessment Twelve principles: 1. Assessment should help students to learn. 2. Assessment must be consistent with the objectives of the course and what is taught and learnt. 3. Variety in types of assessment allows a range of different learning outcomes to be assessed. It also keeps students interested. 4. Students need to understand clearly what is expected of them in assessed tasks.

9. More principles of effective assessment 5. Criteria for assessment should be detailed, transparent and justifiable. 6. Students need specific and timely feedback on their work - not just a grade. 7. Too much assessment is unnecessary and may be counter-productive. 8. Assessment should be undertaken with an awareness that an assessor may be called upon to justify a student's result. 9. The best starting point for countering plagiarism is in the design of the assessment tasks.

10. 10. Group assessment needs to be carefully planned and structured. 11. When planning and wording assignments or questions, it is vital to mentally check their appropriateness to all students in the class, whatever their cultural differences. 12. Systematic analysis of students’ performance on assessed tasks can help identify areas of the curriculum which need improvement. More principles of effective assessment

11. Is Assessment in an LMC effective? Practice does not fit theory: Theoretically, the level of involvement in planning, teaching, and assessment should be no less than a partnership with other educators. However, the current practice of the instructional (including assessment) and curriculum roles in many school library media centers does not reflect the present theoretical and epistemological expectations of assessment in school librarianship articulated in professional literature and national guidelines . . . Thinking beyond the Disjunctive Opposition of Information Literacy Assessment in Theory and Practice

12. What’s the problem? Impediments: Lack of time Role perception conflict Lack of teacher interest in cooperation Too many students to serve Thinking beyond the Disjunctive Opposition of Information Literacy Assessment in Theory and Practice Others?

13. What is Authentic Assessment? Definitions A form of assessment in which students are asked to perform real-world tasks that demonstrate meaningful application of essential knowledge and skills -- Jon Mueller “ . . . Engaging and worthy problems or questions of importance, in which students must use knowledge to fashion performances effectively and creatively. The tasks are either replicas of or analogous to the kinds of problems faced by adult citizens and consumers or professionals in the field.” -- Grant Wiggins -- ( Wiggins, 1993, p. 229 ).

14. What Roles Can Library Media Center Staff Play in Assessment Development? Work with classroom teachers to develop learning goals and standards Develop resources and assessment tasks for classroom teachers Design your own assessments

15. The Co-Role of the LMS Expanding the assignment and creating a learning environment that allows authentic learning activities to become possible Facilitat[ing] the activity with the teacher so that many learning environments can be made available to students Provid[ing] input and evidence in the evaluation of the students[’] ability to process information into meaningful communication Authentic Assessment by Daniel Callison

16. A specific example Infusing Technology To Further Performance the Library Media Computer Center staff [at Great Neck North High School, New York] proposed a collaboration to [senior English teacher] Dr.[Ronda] Motycka that would integrate technology to : challenge students to write and edit to the highest standard, by offering the opportunity to publish their work in web portfolios and post them on our school website which is available to a worldwide audience create an authentic assessment of student work, through the publication and presentation of personal websites

17. Creating rubrics Ultimately, a good rubric is a promise to the learner that the elements outlined in the rubric are the valued, and therefore gradable, elements. When developing a rubric, I encourage my graduate students to think about the areas in which they would like the student to develop proficiencies and then articulate how they will know that the student has developed these proficiencies. Building Rubrics into Powerful Learning Assessment Tools

18. Authentic Assessment? School Librarianship Exam Time: 3hrs Explain how you would amuse 478 small, wet children for 57 minutes on a rainy lunchtime . . . Your principal has instructed you to improve library usage rates amongst the maths classes within the next 2 weeks. Create a poster that explains how senior students can have fun in the library. An irate parent confronts you with a complaint regarding a lost book, and pulls a knife on you. Warrior Librarian Gold Edition 2001

19. How did you do?