Performance assessment in real time: Harnessing today's technology tools to support data-driven instruction

School Administrator, April, 2002 by Chip Kimball, Tom Cone

Most of us remember the early days in our teaching careers: exciting new opportunities, bounds of energy, high expectations for ourselves and our students, and piles and piles of assignments to grade. We knew as young teachers that the best way to help our students learn was to assess their progress and assess it often. We quickly learned that this meant many nights, weekends and holidays grading and planning. We also knew that the sooner student work was returned and reviewed, the greater the opportunity for learning.

It is here that one of the greatest dilemmas in teaching is borne: How do I plan for effective instruction, individualize learning, and create exciting and engaging opportunities for students while managing the enormous amount of information required to assess the progress of each student? And more importantly, how do I adjust my teaching strategies for the individual needs of students without having accurate information immediately to drive those decisions? Today technology can profoundly change how we manage the teaching and learning process through online assessments and real-time data collection. Too often student assessment is viewed as a final analysis, a grade at the end of a unit of study that evaluates what a student knows, but has nothing to do with the future experiences they have in a classroom. By the time assessment information is available, the teacher has moved on and a learning opportunity has been lost.

Instruction often is driven by coverage of content instead of mastery of concepts. Students who master content quickly are brought through repetitive activities that do nothing to add to their repertoire of skills, while those who struggle miss the opportunity to fully master the content. And technology is used to simply manage grades on assignments and tests in order to calculate a final grade.

One of the greatest leadership challenges today is the development of an effective student assessment strategy. This strategy includes comprehensive information about student progress, analysis of assessment information so specific instructional strategies can be developed, individualized assessments and interventions, connection to district and state standards, and all of this in a time frame that is as close to real-time as possible.

The more refined and accurate the student assessment strategy, the more effective our teachers will be in focusing on specific student needs and providing them with the resources they really need. Until now, this strategy wasn't possible due to the enormous amount of information required. But today's technology used properly has potential to profoundly affect the student assessment process that moves beyond summative data for a final grade. Rather, it can inform the instructional process and provide students with learning opportunities customized for their needs.

A Vision Outlined

Imagine a classroom where students have learning opportunities customized to their own skills and abilities. A teacher introduces a new concept to the class and during the discussion she checks for understanding by posing a question. Students are able to respond with their wireless personal digital assistants and the teacher quickly adjusts the lesson for where the students are and where gaps still exist. Instead of favoring only those students who are verbally strong, she quickly gains a picture of the entire class. The data are automatically compiled in the teacher's database and classified as an in-class exercise.

After the short lesson, a group of students goes to the library to do research that will contribute to their class project. Some resources already are identified for them but they need more. As they work, they pose a question to the teacher online that will likely be answered later in the day or possibly the next day.

After finishing their work in the library, they complete a quick four-question online self-assessment on how much progress they made and a reflection of how hard they worked and why. They also review their requirements for the class and check their long-term learning plan. This information is compiled in the teacher's database and classified as reflection. They send their work to a digital locker so they can retrieve it later.

A second group works collectively with the teacher for a question-and-answer session, discussing salient points of the topic. After they are done they take time to gather their thoughts and generate possible questions.

The third group moves to another part of the room where they work through an online simulation. Data are pulled from the exercise and sent to the teacher's master database. Additional exercises are provided for the students as they master concepts, based on their ability.

When the students come back together later in the day, the teacher decides to give a quiz that counts. Students take the quiz on their personal digital assistants, and the information is compiled in the teacher's database. Students are assigned a writing task verbally, and it is sent home via e-mail. The writing assignment will be placed in the electronic inbox when complete.