Download - RPDP

More Than Just
Multiple Choice!
by Kathy Dees
The term “assessment” is defined in the NCTM Assessment
Standards as “the process of gathering evidence about
a student’s knowledge of, ability to use, and disposition
toward mathematics and of making inferences from that
evidence for a variety of purposes.” (NCTM,1995,p.3).
Assessment can and should happen every
day as an integral part of instruction. If one
restricts their view of assessment to tests and
quizzes they will miss seeing how assessment
can inform instruction and help students grow.
Several formative approaches that include
performance-based tasks, writing, observations
of students solving problems, and student
diagnostic interviews.
Performance-based tasks are good problem
solving activities that are similar to the student’s
current mathematics instruction. A task should
promote learning and allow every student in the
class to demonstrate their knowledge.
Examples:
Grades (K-1): Joseph has 5 cookies, Maria
has 3, and Frankie has 4. They
want to share them equally. How
will they do it? Draw a picture to
help explain your answer.
Grades (3-5): Kate counted 15 sandwiches
left from the whole batch that her
mother made for the class party.
Her mother asked, “If the students
already ate two-fifths then how
many sandwiches did I make?”
Writing is both a learning and assessment tool
in the mathematics classroom today. Having
the students write about their own ideas in their
own words can offer a chance for a teacher
to assess their conceptual understanding.
Writing can show evidence of student thinking
more than a multiple choice test. Writing also
provides a backup for students who have trouble
verbalizing their mathematical understanding if
they are encouraged to read entries to the class.
Example:
After you solved the problem today how
were you sure you had the correct
answer?
Teachers can gather data about their students
every day through observation. When teachers
systematically record this information they
can document mathematical understanding in
such areas as problem solving, representation,
reasoning, and communication. Depending
upon the teacher’s style, there are several ways
to record information. The teacher can keep
anecdotal notes where cards for each individual
student are taped on a flip chart or clip board
and the teacher records observations for five
students a day. An observation rubric can also
be used to check for concept understanding
for each student. A check list for the whole
class can also be a quick way to gather data.
All these methods can be used to guide the
teacher’s instruction for both short and long term
goals for mathematics instruction.
During diagnostic interviews, the teacher
gives the students a problem, and asks them
to verbalize their thinking about the concept.
The discussion should center on the concepts
currently being taught in class. The teacher’s
role is to ask questions to find out what students
know and where they still have misconceptions.
During these interviews, the teacher has the
opportunity to redirect or reinforce the student’s
thinking and their strategies.
All these methods of formative assessment can
measure a student’s understanding of concepts,
procedures, and mathematical processes and
can be used to guide instruction immediately
and provide learning opportunities for students.
Article: Leatham, K.R., Lawrence, K., &
Mewborn, D. (2005). Getting started with
open-ended assessment. Teaching Children
Mathematics, 11(8), 413-419.