Running head: ASSESSMENT PORTFOLIO 1

Assessment Portfolio

Melissa Plug

0525510

EDUC-4490 YI

Airin Stephens

March 1, 2017
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Assessment

Assessment is the process of gathering information to determine how well a student is

progressing, and achieving the curriculum expectations in a course, the main purpose for

assessment is to improve student learning (Ontario, 2010 p.28). There are 3 main types of

assessment Assessment For, Assessment As, and Assessment Of.

Assessment for is for teachers as well as learners to figure out where they are in their

learning (Assessment Reform Group, 2002 p.2). Assessment for learning helps teachers and

students understand where they are, where they need to go, as well as how to get there

(Assessment Reform Group, 2002 p.2) This type of assessment aids teachers in planning their

instruction so that they can make it differentiated and personalized for each student (Ontario,

2010 p. 31). Some examples of assessment for learning include observing and giving feedback

during student work periods or while they practice new skills, teacher-student conferencing, exit

cards, and student journals with frequent feedback.

Assessment as is also used to help students to determine their next steps however, it is

also for students to become more self-directed learners (Ontario, 2010 p.31 ). Assessment as

helps students to become self-directed because they are asked to reflect more on their own

learning as well as set goals and monitor their own progress (Ontario, 2010 p.31). Assessment as

should be used frequently and throughout instruction (Ontario, 2010, p.31). Some examples of

assessment as include self-assessments, 60-second thinks, concept circles, and think, pair, shares.

Assessment of learning is used to evaluate and improve student learning (Ontario, 2010

p.38). Assessment of generally occurs near the end of a learning period so that teachers can make

judgements about the quality of student learning based on the criteria that was set (Ontario, 2010
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p.38). Some examples of assessment of learning include unit tests, quizzes, cumulative projects,

research projects and performances.

Assessment and instruction both support learning, and they both support each other.

Without assessment neither students, nor teachers know if they are meeting their goals.

Assessment also helps teachers to make sure they are teaching in a way that is helping students

learn. A teacher may believe that they taught an excellent lesson, when in reality the students did

not pick up on anything that the teacher was teaching. The teacher might not realize this unless

they are assessing (assessment for or as). Once the teacher assesses the students learning, they

will be able to make corrections and try a new strategy or technique. Students can use self-

assessment techniques during instruction to ensure that they are understanding the concepts.

Using metacognition and thinking about what they do and dont understand they will be able to

see where they need to go next in order to reach the goals set out for them.

Instruction, feedback and assessment are all related as well. Students may be able to give

their teacher some feedback on the lessons that are being delivered to them, and how they can

improve the students learning. Teachers should be continuously giving students descriptive

feedback so that they can also improve. This feedback could be a type of assessment for learning.

Teachers can use assessment techniques to foster student ownership of learning in many

different ways. Co constructing goals for students is one of the ways. If the students help to set

the goals they will definitely believe that they are more attainable and therefore try harder to

achieve them. Another way to encourage ownership is to give students descriptive feedback

because it will help them to see how to improve on the next assignment, seeing what needs to be

done to achieve a higher grade will also help them to become more conscientious of their

learning. Tracking grades may also help, allowing students to see where they started and where
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they are now could definitely help build the self-esteem of some students, which, I believe is

definitely important and can definitely help students to stay on track and interested in their

learning. Ensuring that students are held accountable for their learning is a very important factor

in a well-rounded education.

Assessment For
Exit Slips

One thing that I learned is

One thing that I would like more information on is

Why I Chose it
Exit slips were a good way to see where students stand with their knowledge of the
content. They also helped me to see what types of things students were interested in so I could
make future lessons incorporate that.

Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down

Why I Chose it
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The thumbs up/thumbs down technique was really helpful for me. I often find myself
speeding through instructions or directions so having students give me the thumbs down if they
werent understanding something really helped me. This was a technique that I used throughout
placement, any time a student was struggling with something or needed clarification they could
give me the thumbs down so I would know to go back over it. This was also a good way for
students to feel comfortable if they needed help rather than having to speak in front of the whole
class as this was something that many students struggled with.
Assessment As
Fill in the Blanks
The Gold Rush Era
The Fraser River Gold Rush
Since 1849, ________________ had been panning for gold in
California.
They sifted the sludge in sandbanks, looking for small pieces
of ______________ that had been washed out of the ground by
the rivers action.
However, __________________ was becoming worked out, and
prospectors began to look for gold elsewhere.
Within a year, about 30 000 people had made their way to
the ________________________ in search of gold.
Most were ______________who had sailed up the coast to
Vancouver.
There was no __________________ from Montreal or Toronto to
British Columbia, so Canadians had great difficulty getting
there.
The town of __________ quickly became the center of
activities in the valley.
Cariboo Gold Rush
There was a _________ gold rush from 1860-1863.
Prospectors found gold farther north, on the
___________________.
A new community -Barkersville- sprang up.
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This site contained deep ________________ (sandbanks

containing minerals, in this case gold).
The hillsides also contained deep ____________ (streaks of
minerals in rock).
The prospectors first ___________________________ (placing
stakes around a chosen area of land and then registering
ownership at the land office).
Then they dug _________and hacked out the gold-bearing
rock. Before Barkerville ran out of gold in the 1930s, it
produced about _______________ ounces (more than
___________kg of pure gold)
Compared with the settlement of the Prairies, this movement
of people was __________________.
People raced to get _________________ sites.
There were no _______________ to maintain order.
People stole each others ________________ of gold.
Miners got ________________ out of their money in crooked
card games or spent it in bars.
Getting supplies in and out of the gold rush area proved to
be a big __________________.
The ________________________________________ was built from
Yale to Barkerville just for this.
Wagons pulled by teams of strong _______________ could carry
several tonnes of freight.
You could get a ride in a __________________________between
the two towns.
The journey took about ____________________ days.
Today, the _________________________________follows much of
the original Cariboo Wagon road.
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One ambitious company brought in _________________

because they could carry heavier loads and travel further in
a day than mules could.
The camels were not well-suited to the terrain, however, and
the experiment __________________.
The Effects of Prospectors
The arrival of the gold prospectors was destructive to the
___________________________.
Prospectors damaged the __________________ in their
attempts to find gold.
They sometimes burned off ________________ areas to get to
gold-bearing rock.
The ___________________ they used sometimes got into the
water system.
They did not ________________ the First Nations or seem to
care about the effects of these chemicals on these people.
Before the gold rush, the ______________________ had not
signed treaties with First Nations living in the area.
Prospectors took over the land and started mining.
First Nations are currently ______________________ with the
government for ___________________________ for the damage
done to their societies and the land by the gold prospectors.
Why I Chose it
This was an activity that my students enjoyed doing. They were put in groups of 3 after
the lesson on the Gold Rush Era. We made it into a competition to see which group could fill in
the most blanks from memory. Many of the students did very well as they were all engaged in
the lesson that was taught prior to this assignment. This assignment also helped me to see where
the gaps in knowledge were. I could see if students were struggling with the Cariboo Gold Rush
and we could revisit that section the next day.
Turn and Talk
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Why I Chose it
Turn and Talk was a very successful technique in my class. I often found that I had
students who were afraid to share their opinions in front of the class. With the turn and talk
technique they could share them with just one or two other people who would often times agree
with them and help to strengthen their argument or opinion. Other times, if students were
struggling, the turn and talk technique would help them to learn the subject in a less stressful
environment with just one or two people rather than the class. Not only would they be able to
understand the concepts better but they would also have an answer to contribute to class
discussions, and they would feel confident in their answer because it is backed by their
classmates.
Assessment Of
Ratios Test
Ratios Test
1. Ms. Plug had a box of chocolates; the ratio of peanut butter cups to
caramel cups is 4:2. If there were 8 peanut butter cups how many
caramel cups would there be?

2. Hot chocolate tastes best when you put 3 tablespoons of mix with 2
cups of water. If I had 15 cups of water how many tablespoons of hot
chocolate mix would I need?
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3. If 4:5 people pass an exam, how many people would pass in a class of
150?

4. For every 28 memes that Ronny sees, he believes 19 of them. If Ronny

sees 874 memes how many would he believe?

Why I Chose it
This was the first test that I wrote during my placement. My Associate teacher
recommended that I give 1 level per each question answered correctly (4/4 = Level 4, 3/4 =
Level 3 etc.) I think that If I wrote another test like this I would also give points for students
showing their work as well as getting the correct answer, perhaps making it out of 8 rather than
4. I also chose this test because looking back on my placement this is one of the assignments that
my students did fairly well on, which makes me believe that I successfully taught this rather
complex subject to my class.

Commercial Presentation Rubric

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Why I Chose it
I chose this rubric because it was one of the last assessments that I made on my
placement. I believe it shows improvement in my assessment strategies from the beginning of the
placement. As a class we co constructed some success criteria for what each level meant for
example, as a class we determined what level four for visual aids meant: The commercial has
multiple props and/or costumes. The commercial makes good use of the props. We said that
groups needed to effectively use either props, costumes or both but they had to add to the
commercials meaning.
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References

Assessment Reform Group. (2002), Assessment for learning: 10 principles. Available at

www.assessment-reform-group.org.

Ontario (2010). Growing success: Assessment, evaluation and reporting in Ontario's schools :
covering grades 1 to 12. Toronto: Ministry of Education.