Texas Social Studies Framework - Department of Geography ...

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Some types of assessment are more appropriate to
measure certain TEKS-based student learning than
others. Traditional tests, fill-in-the-blank questions, and
multiple choice selections assess what students know,
and these can satisfy expectations in the TEKS that call
for students to “identify,” “give examples of,” or “organize.”
Well written, thoughtful multiple choice questions
can force students to compare information in order to
select the correct answer. Other assessments may be
needed to evaluate the extent to which students can
“define,” “summarize,” “explain,” “analyze,” “compare,”
or “apply.” Performance assessments can measure these
types of student performances on higher level learning
tasks. (See Figure 26.)
How can teachers best determine whether their students
meet TEKS expectations? Part of the answer to this
question lies in selecting the appropriate type of student
assessment.
Traditional Assessments
Informal Checks for Understanding
Informal checks include hand signals, index card summaries/questions,
question box/board, analogy prompt, web/
concept map, misconception check, i.e., asking students
to agree or disagree and to explain their responses.
Example: A first grade teacher assesses students’ understanding
of goods and services by giving verbal examples
of goods and services. She asks students to hold up one
finger if they think the example is a good and two fingers
if they think the example is a service (TEKS 1. 7 A).
Observation/Dialogue
These include think/pair/share, conference, class discussion,
monitor, observation with annotations, i.e., asking
Chapter 5: The Teaching-Learning System: Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment
students to consider their individual response, discuss
their response with a partner, and share salient responses
with the whole class. Example: A fourth grade teacher
uses think/pair/share to assess students’ understanding of
economic interdependence by asking students to consider
how life would be different if Texas could not receive
any economic goods from the United States or the rest of
the world (TEKS 4. 14 C).
Quiz/Test
Types include multiple choice, pop quizzes, open-book
essay, oral exam, reports, and labs designed to check the
student’s breadth of knowledge, i.e., released TAAS
exams, end-of-chapter short answer questions. Example:
A high school world history teacher administers a 20
question quiz to assess her students’ knowledge of factual
information about the scientific discoveries and technological
innovations that made possible the era of European
exploration and discovery (TEKS World History 23 A).
Performance Assessments
Academic Prompt
An academic prompt is an assessment of academic
content knowledge or skill in a response to a specific
prompt, i.e., TAAS writing, Advanced Placement (AP),
or Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) performance task
questions such as comparisons between two authors,
theories, or events. Example: An eighth grade teacher
assesses students’ knowledge of issues leading to the
Civil War by asking her students to compare the Compromise
of 1820 and the Compromise of 1850 (TEKS 8. 7 D).
Figure 26: Multiple Methods of Assessment: From Least to Most Complex
Least Complex Most Complex
a b c d e f g h
TRADITIONAL ASSESSMENTS
a. Informal Checks for Understanding
b. Observation/Dialogue
c. Quiz/Test
PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENTS
d. Academic Prompt
e. Performance Task
f. Authentic Task
g. Long-Term Project
h. Portfolio