PRACTICAL ASSESSMENT ALTERNATIVES TO SUPPORT TEACHER CHANGE

TRADITIONAL METHODS OF ASSESSING STUDENT LEARNING AND PROGRESS IN MATHEMATICS SUFFER FROM SEVERE LIMITATIONS. FOR MOST STUDENTS, ASSESSMENT MEANS A SINGLE SCORE OR GRADE. SUCH ONE-DIMENSIONAL ASSESSMENTS FAIL TO CONVEY INFORMATION ABOUT THE STUDENT'S CREATIVITY, ORIGINALITY, ABILITY TO DO INDEPENDENT WORK, PROBLEM SOLVING SKILLS, OR ABILITY TO WORK COOPERATIVELY. MOST RESEARCH INTO ALTERNATIVE METHODS OF ASSESSMENT ARE STILL IN THE IDEA STAGE. TEACHERS HAVE FEW CONCRETE EXAMPLES OF EFFECTIVE ASSESSMENT TECHNIQUES THAT WILL HELP THEM MAKE THE TRANSITION FROM TRADITIONAL TO NEW METHODS OF ASSESSMENT. THIS PROJECT IS DEVELOPING ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENT MATERIALS FOR FOUR TECHNOLOGY-RICH CURRICULA TO SUPPORT TEACHERS WHO WISH TO ALIGN THEIR ASSESSMENT PRACTICES WITH MATHEMATICS CURRICULUM REFORM. RESEARCH ENTAILS CONNECTING WITH NATIONAL ASSESSMENT REFORM EFFORTS; SURVEYING TEACHERS USING TRADITIONAL AND ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENTS; INTERVIEWING TEACHERS TO DEVELOP CASE STUDIES OF TEACHERS WHO CHANGE ASSESSMENT METHODS; DEVELOPING AND REFINING PROTOTYPE ASSESSMENT TASKS; AND PILOTING AND EVALUATING THESE PROTOTYPES. THE FOCUS IS ON PRACTICAL MATERIALS, BOTH IN THE SENSE THAT THEY ARE IMPLEMENTABLE AND THAT THEY BE DERIVED FROM CLASSROOM PRACTICES. MATERIALS WILL BE BASED ON CONCRETE EXAMPLES OF ASSESSMENT TASKS AND STUDENT WORK. EXAMPLES OF STUDENT WORK WILL SERVE AS THE CONTEXT FOR RUBRICS FOR EVALUATION.