Assessment and Evaluation

Catalog description

This course is designed so that pre-service teachers will understand and use multiple methods of assessment to engage learners in their own growth, to monitor learner progress, and to guide the teacher's and learner's decision making (from INTASC). It assumes that teaching is necessarily an ethical undertaking and that assessment, as an essential element in teaching, is not merely technical but enlaced with ethical issues at its core. Teacher candidates will learn basic assessment and evaluation concepts; examine instruments that reflect constructs of interest (cognitive, affective, and behavioral objectives); develop skill in aligning assessment and instruction to state standards; construct various types of assessments; and analyze and refine teacher-made instruments. Teacher candidates will also learn how to interpret test results and how to communicate and use them in educational decision-making. Throughout the course, they will learn the importance of critical issues in the field, including historical and theoretical perspectives on assessment issues; explore differentiation issues in assessment; and analyze and reflect upon the moral implications of assessment practices and policies.