OLD DOMINION UNIVERSITY – DARDEN COLLEGE OF EDUCATION

Department of Educational Curriculum & Instruction

 

ECI 848:  Assessment and Evaluation in Content Areas

Fall 2007

 

 

Instructor:              Dr. Shana Pribesh,

168-1 Education Building

                        Office phone:  683-6684

                        Cell 757-943-1997

                        e-mail: spribesh@odu.edu        

 

                        Office hours:              Tuesday 1-3 pm

                                                Wednesday 1-3 pm

                                                Thursday 1-3 pm

                                                And by appointment

 

1.               COURSE NUMBER:  ECI 848           

            Credits:  3 graduate credits                         

           

2.                COURSE TITLE:  Assessment and Evaluation in Content Areas

 

3.         CATALOG COURSE DESCRIPTION:  Overview of educational evaluation, practices, and methods.  The design of an evaluation study and an evaluation report.  Assessment of ethical considerations and impact of various assessment and evaluation processes for instructional and supervisory personnel.   ((That being said, this course will be about assessment and measurement with an emphasis on psychometrics.  This is not a program evaluation course.))

 

4.         TEXT:   Salkind, Neil J. (2006). Tests and measurements for people who (think they) hate tests & measurement.  Sage Publications, Inc.:  Thousand Oaks, California.  ISBN:  1-4129-1364-0

 

5.            MISSION STATEMENT OF THE DARDEN COLLEGE OF EDUCATION

 

Old Dominion University’s major purpose in its education program is to prepare individuals who have knowledge of their discipline, ability to practice state-of-the art instruction with students of various cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds and attitudes that reflect commitment to teaching and learning as well as lifelong professional growth and development.  The Conceptual Framework, Educator as Professional, reflects the development of professional educators who can use their pedagogical and academic abilities to educate all students.

 

6.            COURSE PURPOSE:  The purpose of this course is to provide students with an understanding of the assessment and measurement so that they might properly construct or select evaluation tools.

 

 

7.                   COURSE OBJECTIVES:  Upon successful completion of this course, students should be able to:

 

·         Correctly use assessment and measurement for evaluation purposes

                                                               i.      Determine the purpose of assessment

                                                             ii.      Consider how results of assessment will be used

 

·         Locate and select assessments

                                                               i.      Utilize common assessment databases

                                                             ii.      Determine suitability of assessments for different tasks

                                                            iii.      View reliability and validity of assessments

 

·         Create an assessment

                                                               i.      Construct assessment items including selected response, essay, and short answer items

                                                             ii.      Utilize assessment design criteria

 

·         Critique commonly used assessments

                                                               i.      Discuss pros and cons of commercially available assessments

                                                             ii.      Display in-depth understanding of reliability and validity

                                                            iii.      Contrast criterion and norm-referenced measurement tools

                                                           iv.      Evaluate alternate methods for reporting

 

·         Understand measurement terms

                                                               i.      Define types of assessments

                                                             ii.      Synthesize technical terms such as reliability and validity

                                                            iii.      Explain reporting formats

 

·         Discuss the policy and ethical influences on assessment and measurement

                                                               i.      Speak to the role of No Child Left Behind Legislation

                                                             ii.      Report on the ethical challenges for assessment

                                                            iii.      Consider the ramifications of assessment bias.

           

 

8.            PROJECTS:  Students will be evaluated on the basis of project activities. Grading for each activity is based on grading rubrics.   A complete listing of the Projects, Modules, Activities and due dates is attached.

 

Projects                        Points

 

Assessment Identification                             40

Assessment Critique                        100

Assessment Construction                             100

Assessment Proposal                        160

 

TOTAL POINTS POSSIBLE                        400

 

 

9.            SCHEDULE: 

 

See attached

 

10.            STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS: In compliance with PL94-142 and more recent federal legislation affirming the rights of individuals with disabilities, provisions will be made for students with documented sensory and/or learning disabilities on an individual basis. The student must have been identified as “special needs” by the university and an appropriate letter(s) must be provided to the course instructor at the beginning of the semester. Provision will be made based upon written guidelines from the university “special needs students” resource office. All students are expected to fulfill all course requirements.

 

11.            ATTENDANCE POLICY: "Because the class period is important and discussions cannot be reproduced, absences cannot be made up.  Excessive absences can have a negative effect on the student's learning and performance.  A student who must miss a class is expected to have the initiative necessary to cover properly the materials missed.  The student must meet all course deadlines and be present for all quizzes, tests, and examinations."  (ODU Catalog). 

 

12.        LATE WORK and DEADLINES:  Deadlines specified in the schedule are designed to ensure that students complete work in a logical manner with mastery being the goal.  If students neglect to meet these deadlines, they place that progression in jeopardy.  Although I am open to rearranging deadlines for emergency situations, deadlines should be treated as immovable.  Please turn in work thru Blackboard by 6 pm on the day specified.  Work that is more than two days late will be subject to a full letter grade reduction.

 

13.            GRADING:  You may view your grades through the Blackboard electronic gradebook.  The final grade is based on total points accrued divided by the total points available (400).  Individual percentages of A, B, or C, etc., are not calculated on individual assignment grades.

 

Percentage   Grade

93 – 100                        A

90 – 92                        A-

87 – 89                        B+

83 - 86                        B

80 – 82                        B-

77 - 79                        C+

73 – 76                        C

70 – 72                        C-

60 - 70                        F

  0 - 60                        F

 

14.            ACADEMIC INTEGRITY:  All ODU academic policies apply to this course.  It is the responsibility of students to investigate specific academic policies.  Students with documented special needs must see the professor to discuss accommodation.    Attendance is a professional responsibility.  Students who miss class should consult with classmates to receive class notes and other information missed.  

 

This is a collaborative class.  Students are encouraged to work together to review resources, share opinions and rough drafts in the development of practice sets and other assignments.  The work turned in for grading is expected to be the student’s own, but the thought processes leading up to the finished work may be collaborative.

 

15.            HONOR PLEDGE:  “I pledge to support the honor system of Old Dominion University.  I will refrain from any form of academic dishonesty or deception, such as cheating or plagiarism.  I am aware that as a member if the academic community, it is my responsibility to turn in all suspected violators of the honor system.  I will report to Honor Council hearings if summoned.”  By attending Old Dominion University you have accepted the responsibility to abide by this code.  This is an institutional policy approved by the Board of Visitors.

 

16.        USE OF INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGY:  This course is delivered face-to-face with supplemental materials supplied through Blackboard, thus, students should be comfortable with instructional technology and the Blackboard delivery system. 

           

17.            UNIVERSITY E-MAIL POLICY - The Old Dominion University e-mail system is the official electronic mail system for distributing course-related communications, policies, announcements, and other information for this class and the university in general. In addition, the University e-mail user ID and password are necessary for authentication and access to numerous electronic resources (on-line courses, faculty web pages, etc.). For more information, please visit: http://web.odu.edu/af/occs/stu_email.html.

 

18.        CODE OF STUDENT CONDUCT - University students shall conduct themselves in compliance with Old Dominion University’s educational mission and may be disciplined for misconduct that adversely affects that mission.  Students are required to assume responsibility for their own classroom behavior and are expected to participate fully and positively in the teaching/learning process.  Students do not have the right to engage in behavior that is disruptive or otherwise interferes with the learning of others (e.g., talking during lectures, using a cell phone, bringing children to class). Students are expected to conform to rules of classroom decorum and to inform the instructor and/or Site Director when any disruption in learning occurs.   Faculty will follow the guidelines established by the University when confronted with disruptive students. A student who violates the Code of Student Conduct will be subject to administrative action(s) or disciplinary sanction(s).

 

 

19.        STATEMENT REGARDING FIELD EXPERIENCES - Candidates in all professional educational programs must understand and apply the practices and behaviors that are characteristic of developing career teachers.  In addition to knowledge of their academic content and the instructional skills necessary to teach that content, teacher candidates must demonstrate the values, attitudes, and commitments of the developing professional educator and must consider the effects that these dispositions have on student learning.  Therefore, in all observation and practicum experiences in the Darden College of Education, teacher candidates will be evaluated through the use of the professional attributes scale, as well as any specific instructional evaluation required for the experience.  Addressed in this evaluation will be attendance, punctuality, oral expression, written expression, tact and judgment, reliability and dependability, self-initiative and independence, collegiality and interaction with peers, organizational skills, response to feedback, and interaction with students.  Candidates who do not satisfactorily demonstrate these attributes may be withdrawn from the observation, practicum, or student teaching experience and/or the teacher education program.

 

20.        ADD TO YOUR PORTFOLIO: A professional portfolio is a tool judiciously and carefully crafted to appropriately showcase the work of a professional while providing evidence of career growth.  It is more than a gathering of assignments in a notebook.  As Campbell, Cignetti, Melenyzer, Nettles, and Wyman (1997) state, a portfolio is an organized goal-driven exhibit providing evidence of understanding and performance.  Having a professional portfolio is important as you seek employment and as you monitor your professional growth. Thus, should consider what materials from this course you may want to add to your portfolio.

 

21.            CULTURAL DIVERSITY:  The following competencies include elements dealing with cultural diversity:  determination of bias in measurement tools, potential bias in development and scoring of assessments as well as data interpretation. 

           

22.            SYLLABUS SUBJECT TO CHANGE:  The course syllabus is subject to change.   The instructor is not liable for any errors in the syllabus or inconveniences resulting from changes in the syllabus.

 

Session	Reading Date	Reading	Activity	Activity Due Date	Points
1	August 28	No Reading	In Class - Day One Assessment
2	September 4	Text – Chapters 1 and 2: Introduction Paper - Reading and Interpreting Reports Paper – Using and Sustaining Performance Measurements Paper – Major Contexts of Current Test Use Paper – Assessment through the Students’ Eyes	In Class – What is Assessment?
3	September 11	Text – Chapter 3:  Reliability Text – Appendix A Paper – Test Retest Reliability of the Self Assessed Physical Activity Checklist Paper –Methods and Tools of Research (only parts referring to Reliability)	In Class – Measuring Reliability
4	September 18	Text – Chapter 4: Validity	In Class- Assessing Validity
5	September 25	Text – Chapter 5:  Norms and Percentiles Paper – Data Analysis	Assessment Identification In Class - Data Interpretation	September 25	40
6	October 2	Text – Chapters 18 and 19:  Bias and Ethics Paper – Effective and Fair Grading
7	October 9	No class:  Fall Break
8	October 16	Text – Chapters 6 and 7: Short Answers and Essay Paper – Writing Short Answer and Essay	Assessment Critique	October 16	100
9	October 23	No class:  Instructor Traveling
10	October 30	Text – Chapters 8, 9, and 10:  Selected Response Paper – Writing Multiple Choice Items Paper – Writing TF, Matching and Interpretive	In Class - Difficulty Index Discrimination Index
11	November 6	Text- Chapters 11 and 12:  Portfolios and Interviews Paper – Walk and Talk:  An Interpretive for Behaviorally Challenged Youth Assessment Checklist	Assessment Construction	November 6	100
			In Class - Interviews
12	November 13	Text – Chapter 13:  Achievement Paper – Preparing and Using Achievement Tests Paper - IRT
13	November 20	Text – Chapter 14:  Personality Paper – Scale Construction
14	November 27	Text – Chapter 15:  Aptitude Paper – Ability Tests for Individuals Paper – Ability Tests for Special Populations Paper – Ability Tests for Groups