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Some Particular Assessment and Evaluation Challenges For Teachers

Social studies assessment presents unique challenges as it encompasses diverse ways of thinking and learning. Key outcomes like critical thinking and citizenship are difficult to define and may not be evident until students leave school. Sound social studies assessment begins with understanding what students should know and be able to do, identifying clear evidence of learning, and designing instruction accordingly. Teachers must carefully consider what is being assessed, its purpose, appropriate tools, and how the data will be used when planning effective social studies evaluation.

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Jarib Caanawan
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138 views9 pages

Some Particular Assessment and Evaluation Challenges For Teachers

Social studies assessment presents unique challenges as it encompasses diverse ways of thinking and learning. Key outcomes like critical thinking and citizenship are difficult to define and may not be evident until students leave school. Sound social studies assessment begins with understanding what students should know and be able to do, identifying clear evidence of learning, and designing instruction accordingly. Teachers must carefully consider what is being assessed, its purpose, appropriate tools, and how the data will be used when planning effective social studies evaluation.

Uploaded by

Jarib Caanawan
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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SOME PARTICULAR ASSESSMENT AND

EVALUATION CHALLENGES FOR SOCIAL


STUDIES TEACHERS
Social studies present some unique challenges for
assessment and evaluation. Social studies includes many ways of
thinking and knowing: from the narrative of history and the
mathematical and statistical reasoning of economics, to the visual
and graphic components of geographic study and the deep
understanding of differing perspectives and beliefs underlying the
study of public issues and current affairs. Even within a single
social studies discipline, the kinds of learning to be assessed
cover a wide range.
Many key social studies outcomes such as;
• critical thinking,
• social responsibility,
• and informed decision-making
are hard to define compared to outcomes from other
subjects. Furthermore, some of these complex goals
such as the development of responsible citizenship
may not be evident until after students have left
school and engaged in tasks such as informed
voting, social action, and other forms of civic
participation.
HOW DO I PLAN FOR SOUND ASSESSMENT AND
EVALUATION?
Sound assessment begins with the learner in
mind. This “backwards design” or “design down”
process requires we: (1) determine what the
learner needs to know and or do as a result of the
learning; (2) identify clear evidence of learning;
and (3) design instruction so that students will
have opportunities to learn and demonstrate their
learnings.
Good teachers will keep the following questions in mind when planning for
assessment.
1. What is to be assessed?
Assessment instruments should be valid; that is, they should
provide information about specific, clearly defined elements of
students’ knowledge or skills. In order to design appropriate methods
of assessment, teachers must be very clear about exactly what it is
they want information on.
2. What is the purpose of the assessment?
The means of collecting information and reporting on it will vary
depending on whether the purpose of the assessment is formative—to
provide information for the student and teacher to use to monitor or
improve progress—or sum­mative—to provide end-point information for
students, parents, and/or administrators.
3. What assessment tools will best provide the information
we need? Tools will vary depending on what is to be
assessed and the purpose of the assessment. For example,
an essay might not be the best way to assess students’
ability to work with scale and symbols on a map, but an
exercise requiring them to plan the best route between two
points might work well for this purpose.
4. What form will the data take? A teacher might ask
students to compare and contrast, for example Napoleon’s
and Hitler’s invasions of Russia. Allowing students to
present their report in written, oral, or graphic form. In the
case of students who have difficulty writing, the latter two
forms might provide better information about their facility
with the skill being evaluated.
5. Who will collect the data: teachers, students, or outside
judges?
Involving students in self- or peer-assessment can be a very
effective teaching and assessment technique. Asking students to
use a checklist to rate their peers’ performance in a debate by
collecting data on several criteria (content, presentation,
argument, etc) both directs the students to pay specific attention
to these important criteria (teaching) and provides information on
how well they understand them (assessment).
6. How often and when will the data be collected? Teachers
assess students all the time. Giving formal written tests to
students every day will probably not prove effective. Provide
timely and frequent corrective feedback.
7. What will be done with the data making up the assessment?
We assess for different purposes and, depending on the
purpose, different things will be done with the data. If the
assessment is formative the data needs to be provided to the
students involved in an understandable way so they can use it to
monitor and improve their progress. On the other hand, if the
assessment is summative, information needs to be provided to
the relevant people about student achievement. In the case of
large-scale international assessments, for example, the
information gathered is of little use to individual students who
have probably moved on to the next grade or graduated before
the results are even available. It is valuable, however, for
curriculum planners, administrators, and teachers in
understanding the degree to which particular groups of students
are meeting the objectives assessed.
• Underpinning all these questions, of course, is the principle that
our assessments must align with curriculum outcomes.
Constraining our use of the full range of techniques and tools is our
ability to manage, assess, and teach at the same time. So
manageability is a factor in our assessment planning decisions. No
one can do it all, even the most skilful of teachers! So we should
strive to be fair by taking advantage of the many informal
opportunities for assessment, such as simply watching our
students while they work and giving them opportunities to reflect on
their own learning. Such opportunities are built into sound lesson
planning. With good instruction we are well on our way to making
those first steps towards assessment literacy.
• Is sound assessment easy? No, but nothing of value is. Even if we
have useful answers for all of the above questions, they will not be
perfect answers for all students on all occasions. We will now turn
to an examination of some of the specific assessment and
evaluation tools that might be helpful in teaching social studies.

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