The document discusses various types and purposes of assessment in education. It defines assessment of learning, assessment as learning, and assessment for learning. Assessment of learning involves checking student progress against standards, while assessment as learning involves students reflecting on their learning through self-assessment. Assessment for learning focuses on identifying gaps between a student's current knowledge and the learning goal. The document also discusses principles of effective assessment, the roles school librarians can play in assessment, and examples of authentic assessment including observations, products, and conversations.

1. ASSESSMENT OF INFORMATION LITERACY LEARNING LIB 601 Libraries and Learning Fall 2009

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 The British National Union of Students presents its principles:

9. More principles of effective assessment

10. 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

11. 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?

12. 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 ).

13. 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

14. 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

15. Types of authentic assessment Observations: checklists of desired behaviors, rubrics that identify criteria for successful performance and describe different levels of performance, and rating scales that place levels of performance along a continuum. From Working Smarter: Being Strategic About Assessment and Accountability by Violet H. Harada, based on Ann Davies, Making Classroom Assessment Work

16. Products: checklists that list criteria for proficiency, rubrics that describe various levels of proficiency, and graphic organizers that organize and synthesize students’ work. From Working Smarter: Being Strategic About Assessment and Accountability by Violet H. Harada, based on Ann Davies, Making Classroom Assessment Work Types of authentic assessment

17. Conversations: formal and informal conferences, logs to record thoughts and feelings about the content and process, and notes and letters to self-assess and seek feedback. From Working Smarter: Being Strategic About Assessment and Accountability by Violet H. Harada, based on Ann Davies, Making Classroom Assessment Work Types of authentic assessment

18. 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

19. 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

20. How did you do?