Possible Exam 1 Questions

1. Choose three characteristics (from the Toolbox site) that distinguish most authentic or performance assessments from most traditional assessments. For each characteristic, explain whether my critique assignments resemble more an authentic or a traditional assessment.

2. a) You want to evaluate your students on how well they can defend a position or argument on some topic. Create a rubric that could be used to evaluate student performance on such a task. Include at least three criteria in your rubric. Include descriptors. Design the rubric so that it could apply to written or oral examples of the behavior.
b) Explain why you weighted the criteria as you did.

3. a) What does it mean to say in the traditional assessment model that curriculum drives assessment?
b) What does it mean to say in the authentic assessment model that assessment drives the curriculum?

4. Identify a standard you don't believe is adequately addressed in your classroom or school.
a) Briefly explain why that standard should receive more attention.
b) Briefly describe a constructed-response item that could be used to assess part or all of that standard.
c) Briefly describe a product or performance assessment that could be used to assess part or all of that standard.

5. How might the owner of a dog obedience school test the reliability and validity of the inferences drawn from the school's "final exam" for the dogs?

6. A colleague comes up to you and says, "Hey, you took that assessment course. What do you think of this standard I just came up with for my class: 'Students will participate in a variety of cultural events to expand their respect for different perspectives.'" If you believe the previous statement is a good standard, explain why. If you don't believe so, write it so it is a good standard and captures at least a little of the essence of the original statement. Then, explain (tactfully) why your version is a better standard.

7. Explain how having multiple and varied assessments can increase both the reliability and validity of the inferences drawn from a set of assessments?

8. Select any other question on this exam except this question. For that question, identify the highest two levels of cognitive objectives within Bloom's taxonomy that you believe that question is measuring. Explain why you believe the question is measuring those two levels.

9. The article on Common Core testing identified three assessment shifts in the assessments associated with the Common Core. For two of the three shifts, describe how each shift should lead to better evidence of students being able to transfer learning.

10. a) Explain how the design and choice of criteria included in an analytic rubric can affect the reliability and validity of the inferences drawn from the use of the rubric.

b) Explain how the choice of the number of levels of performance used in an analytic rubric can affect the reliability and validity of the inferences drawn from the use of the rubric.