Introduction

Curriculum based assessment entails employing measurements that involve direct observation and recording the performance of the students. The students’ performance will be assessed based on the local curriculum and the information gathered will be used to make instructional decisions. For the teacher to determine the students’ level of understanding, skill and knowledge he/she should test them. The assessment provides a structured way to determine the student’s performance on the materials assigned to them. However, this paper will focus on developing curriculum based assessment. Besides, it will encompass pre-assessment description, designing an accessible summative assessment and provide assessment reflection.
Part I

The section provides a description of what transpired before the summative assessment. Some of the measurable and observable objectives that the teacher expected from the students include the following. First, at the end of the lesson, the students should be able to multiply a fraction by fraction given equations and visual instruction models. Thereafter, the students should be able to elaborate why they consider their answer to be correct. Second, given the area and width of the rectangular strip of land, the students should be able to calculate the length of the strip of land. After computing, the students will explain why they consider their answer to be 98% accurate.

For a teacher, it is quite easy to know the progress of your students. However, before the summative assessment, I knew my students were learning in the following ways. I provided an in-class activity to my students whereby the students were required to present their findings or results. During my lecture, I asked the students to give their feedbacks about the activity. Similarly, I collected feedbacks from the students when they periodically answered specific questions. Therefore, from their responses quite a number gave right answers while the other group did not understand the concept. In this case, I knew there was some learning taking place.

The students need to get prepared for the summative assessment. Some of the instructional strategies I used to engage the students and enable them to meet their objectives include the following. First, I used lectures. It entailed promoting the understanding of the students through explanations and transmitting information to enhance their reading. Similarly, I responded to their difficulties when they got stuck. Second, I used discussions as my instructional strategy. The discussions ensured that I could get students to practice thinking and communication, identify problems and get feedback. Similarly, I could draw a conclusion about student’s expertise and prior knowledge of the concepts. The third strategy was independent student projects. It ensured students worked independently and executed research from the beginning to the end (Popham, 2011). Also, the students could seek for mentorship from their colleagues or expert in the field.

It will be significant to both the teacher and the learners if correct adjustments are made on the instructions so that the students attain their learning objectives. For my learning instructions, I had to make some changes to suit my students. However, if the students had limited time to the task provided, I will make adjustments by providing independent practice. It will entail assigning new homework problems to my students. Similarly, I can arrange the students in small groups and give them practice activities. Also, if the students could not understand what they should do, the adjustment will involve clarifying the intended outcome. As the teacher, I will focus on evaluating the criteria that I will use to judge the quality of my students’ performance. Lastly, if my explanation of the concepts were not clear to my students, I will make the adjustment of re-explaining the concepts. It will involve using a different mode of instructions that can be understood. The mode of instructions can be visual or audio.

The use of technology has contributed to the students’ preparation for summative assessment in the following ways. Technology helps teachers address the needs of the students through learning activities and content input. Similarly, it gives the teacher an opportunity to demonstrate the concepts. It will involve the use of available software and hardware. Besides, the use of technology allows the teacher to cover a broad range of the objectives in a short time (Stanford, Crowe, & Flice, 2010). Therefore, this will minimize the chances of taking the curriculum slowly hence the students will get prepare for summative assessment on time.

Part II

Grade level: 6^th

Subject: Math

Objectives:

Given visual instruction models and equations, students should be able to divide fraction by fraction. The students will then explain to the class why they consider their answer to be accurate.

After going through some tutorial with their teacher, students will compute the width of rectangular strip of land to the nearest meters given the area and the length. The students will then explain to their colleagues why their answer is 95% accurate.

Standards:

Students will interpret and compute quotients of fractions, and solve word problems involving division of fraction by fraction. For example, according to Kendall (2011), the math can be solved by using visual fraction models and equations to represent problems.

The students will given chance for reflection and share the concepts among themselves.

Students should be able to complete the following set of questions.

1. Write a list of both compound and proper fraction, and compare them.

At the end of the lesson, the student should be able to compare and compute by listing both compound and proper fractions given some instructional models.

The first level of Depth of Knowledge requires recall and production. The student will recall the simple procedure of listing proper and improper fractions and compute. The third level of DoK requires strategic thinking. The student will show this level of thinking by comparing proper with compound fractions and justify his/her choice.

1.   Compute the following math using the rule of division and multiplication of fractions?

Given some illustrations in the text book, the students should be able to solve the problem of division and multiplication.

The first level of DoK requires recall and production. The student will show this level by computing math using division and multiplication. The second level of DoK requires skills and concepts. However, the students will demonstrate the level of thinking by solving the problem using multiple steps.

1. Assume that your classmate has not understood the concept. Write a short note on how you will explain the concept of multiplication and division to him/her.

After going through some tutorial with the teacher, the student should be able to explain by a short note the concept of multiplication and division to a classmate.

The question requires the first level of DoK (recall and reproduction). The student will recall the concept of multiplication and division which requires no effort. However, the student will also use the fourth level (extended thinking). In this case, the student will portray this level by writing a short note which explains the concepts of math.

1. How many halves are there in a quarter and what can you use to support your idea?

At the end of the lesson, the student should be able to compute the number of halves in a quarter and provide the information to support his/her ideas.

The question requires first level of DoK (recall and reproduction). The student will try to recall and define the concepts. Similarly, the student will use level three of DoK (strategic thinking) whereby the student will use the facts to support his/her ideas.

1. Using real life situation, demonstrate how you will divide ten loaves of bread among twenty students.

At the end of the lesson, the student should be able to use real life situation and demonstrate how he/she will apply the concept of division and solve the question given.

The question requires second level of DoK (skills and concepts). The student will use the skills and concepts acquired to give a demonstration of the real life situation. Also, the student will use the fourth level of DoK (extended thinking). The student will use this level to synthesize the facts and apply the information to develop an argument.

1. How much mangoes will each student get if four students share ½ of x mangoes equally?

Given the number of students and mangoes, the student should be able to interpret and compute the number of mangoes each student will get.

The question requires first level of DoK (recall and reproduction). The student will portray this level by recalling and computing the number of mangoes each student should get. Also the question requires the second level of DoK (skills and concept). The student will use the knowledge of the concepts to give an interpretation of the concepts.

An extended response is usually longer and exhibits some complexity than a short response (Brookhart, 2013). However, the students are encouraged to be focused and organized. The students are usually encouraged to use approximately 10-15 minutes to answer each item. For extended responses, the scores are usually recorded using a 4-point scoring rubric. Moreover, a complete and correct answer is rated 4 points and partial answers are rated 1, 2 or 3 points. For example, consider the following sample question scoring criteria.

Consider the following mathematical problem. How long is a rectangular strip of land with width 3/8 meters and area ½ square meters?  Compute the sum using the rules of multiplication and division of fractions and ensure to start with the formula of finding the area of a rectangle. Your score will depend on using the formulae, steps, organization and accuracy of your answer (10 possible points). The following will be the scoring criteria for the teacher.

• Accuracy: For the accuracy, the students will be awarded 1 point.
• Formulae: For correct formulae, the student will be awarded 2 points
• Method application: For well applied and systematic method, the student will be awarded 3 points.
• Organization:  For well organized work, the students will be awarded 4 points.

Part III

As a teacher, I determined my students’ mastery of the concepts in the following ways. First, I used non-graded assignments. The non-graded assignments are always on the mastery levels. However, the assessment process always takes place at the beginning, middle or end of the lesson or unit. Besides, it can be used throughout the day. Second, I also administered a formal test. The formal assessment included writing report samples, essays, and short quizzes (Kendall, 2011). When the students demonstrate their skills, it is significant to both the teacher and the student. The skills demonstrations and applications enable the students to get prepared for formal assessment.

My class consists of students portraying different needs. As a teacher, I need to develop ways I can accommodate or modify for the special population. However, the special population consists of one English learner student and one Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) student. Additionally, I also had two students with specific learning disabilities in reading and math. The students with ADHD have problems with reading a lengthy text and also attending to lecture. Therefore, for such a case, I will try to find out his/her preferred learning style. However, such a student will benefit when a teacher supplement verbal and textual input with visual resources. An example of a video-streaming site is Discovery Education Streaming. The site offers authentic content that considers the leaner’s situation. Similarly, both the learner and the teacher can quickly search the database, and it has a range of topics covering every level. Second, the English language learners are students who English is not a first language, and they find it difficult when presented with information in English. A teacher should find an appropriate way to illustrate the concepts using his/her native language (Skiba, Simmons, Ritter, Gibb, Rausch, Cuadrado, & Chung, 2008). Similarly, the teacher can use videos instead of verbal or written information. The teacher will use Discovery Education videos as a tool. Moreover, the videos have closed-captioning. The technique simplifies the language by providing both the spoken and written speech at the same time. In the process, the technique supports the vocabulary acquisition using the images.

Ultimately, two of my students had specific learning disabilities in reading and math. For students with such a case, the teacher will use visual reinforcement. It will help the students read the passage. Similarly, the teacher will only share the reading passage or math concept with the students only after creating a list of images. The images will enhance the students’ comprehension and learning of the concepts. For students with problems in learning math, the teacher can include them in group discussion with other students who are experts in math. Similarly, the teacher will first introduce them to less complex materials before advancing. The teacher will also recommend image databases such as Wikimedia Commons and Flickr (Stanford, Crowe, & Flice, 2010).

After collecting the evidence, I will use it in the following ways. I will use the evidence to demonstrate that learning opportunities are taking place, and all the students are benefiting from it. Similarly, I will use it to show how the students’ learning opportunities have been applied in different ways. Lastly, I will use it to reflect student’s voice. It will entail the works of the students and also, their pictures with caption illustrating their learning process.

Conclusion

The summative assessment has allowed the teachers to understand better how their students have been thinking and learning in the course of the learning process. However, this paper has addressed pre-assessment that is part of the institutional process. The pre-assessment section has elaborated on the learning objectives and how learning occurred through the in-class activities. Also, the teacher collected feedbacks from the learners to ensure they have understood the concepts. Similarly, the paper covered areas on instructional strategies. The teacher employed strategies like providing discussions, lectures, and independent student projects to prepare students for summative assessment. The pre-assessment description also addressed the various adjustments made on the instructions to ensure that the students master the objectives. Some of the adjustments include re-explaining and clarifying the concepts so that the students could understand well. Also, the teacher provided independent practice for those students who could not finish the activity on time. The use of technology also played some vital roles in preparing the students. The teachers could use technology to cover a wide area of the course work in a short time and also demonstrate the concepts to the students.

The second section handled the designing of a summative assessment. However, the section analyzed the competency of the learners and their ability to understand in a specific time. The third section provides an assessment reflection. It has precisely explained how teachers use non-graded assignments and formal test to determine student’s mastery of the learning objectives. On the special population, the paper has described how the use of technology especially visual and auditory resources has helped to accommodate students with various needs.

References

Brookhart, S. M. (2013). How to create and use rubrics for formative assessment and grading. Ascd.

Kendall, J. S. (2011). Understanding common core state standards. Alexandria, Va: ASCD.

Popham, W. J. (2011). Transformative assessment in action: An inside look at applying the process. ASCD.

Skiba, R. J., Simmons, A. B., Ritter, S., Gibb, A. C., Rausch, M. K., Cuadrado, J., & Chung, C. G. (2008). Achieving equity in special education: History, status, and current challenges. Exceptional Children, 74(3), 264-288.

Stanford, P., Crowe, M. W., & Flice, H. (2010). Differentiating with Technology. TEACHING Exceptional Children Plus, 6(4), n4.

 
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