3.0 Importance of baseline assessment
4.0 How to carry out a baseline assessment
4.1 Observation method (Narrative reporting)
4.1.2 Checklist and rating scales
4.2 Curriculum-Based assessment (CBA)
4.2.1 How to assess students using CBA
The purpose of this paper is to explore different methods that are used in conducting baseline assessment. The paper is divided into a number of parts. Firstly, it presents description of terms, namely assessment and baseline assessment. This is followed by other sections outlined as follows:
Assessment can be defined as a sample taken from a larger domain of content and process skills that allows one to infer student understanding of a part of the larger domain being explored. The sample may include behaviors, products, knowledge, and performances. Assessment is a continuous, ongoing process that involves examining and observing children's behaviors, listening to their ideas, and developing questions to promote conceptual understanding (Badders, 2000). Educational assessment is the process of documenting, usually in measurable terms, knowledge, skills, attitudes and beliefs. Assessment can focus on the individual learner, the learning community (class, workshop, or other organized group of learners), the institution, or the educational system as a whole. (Educational Assessment, 2009).
Baseline assessment is meant to check children’s entry behaviour. For instance, it may be carried out as soon as possible after entry to school. Another assessment can be conducted in the last week of the 1st half term in (statutory assessment). A final assessment can be made at the end of Reception (Sylfaen, 2005).
Baseline assessment is not a test. One should not be tempted to ‘over assess’ that is give a child the benefit of the doubt or inflate their score. This can prove disastrous later on for children and adults. Children will lose confidence when given work, which is too hard, teachers will lose confidence in each other’s judgements, and parents will wonder why their children are not making any progress during the following year.
The assessment should inform future planning to ensure children experience an appropriate curriculum for their developmental stage e.g. a group of children with high attainment in maths need to be appropriately challenged a group of children with poor oral skills will need to be able to progress with appropriate levels of support
As Sylfaen, (2005) notes, baseline assessment of learners is important for the following reasons:
a) To give a snapshot of the child’s ability/ performance when starting school.
b) To indicate the best starting point for individuals.
c) To inform planning based on individual needs of children
d) To ensure continuity and progression for Early Years children.
e) To assist the early identification of children with special educational needs including the more able
f) To celebrate children’s achievement during their Early Years.
g) To provide an opportunity for parents to contribute to their children’s assessment and to form a basis for on-going dialogue.
h) If the baseline is to convey an accurate picture of the child when starting school, you must not leave baseline assessments so late that the information is no longer a true baseline at all.
Baseline assessment must be a true reflection of the child’s attainment and best fits his/her current development. There are various methods or/and techniques that can be used to carry out baseline assessment among learners. This paper briefly explores the following methods: Observation methods (narrative reporting), curriculum based assessment.
According to Boric (1999), the least structured observation is the narrative report, in which the observer describes events in writing.
The simplest form of direct observation is a brief narrative account of a specific incident called an anecdotal record. Often an anecdotal record is used to develop an understanding of a child’s behavior. Anecdotal records do not require charts or special settings. They can be recorded in any setting and require no special training. All you need is paper and a writing tool to record what happened in a factual, objective manner. The observation is open-ended children are not included. Secondly, the recorded information must be non evaluative. It should not include an interpretation of why something happened, nor imply that what happened was wrong, right, good, or bad.
Labeling should be avoided. No judgments or conclusions should be inferred at this point.
Example
In this kind of observation, the observer is interested in a specific type of event, for instance, student’s outbursts in class.
It should be noted that only an objective description of the observed behavior is recorded.
The statements do not include any of the following: causes, emotions, explanations, feelings, goals, motives, desires, purposes, needs, or wishes
Checklists are designed to record the presence or absence of specific traits
or behaviors. They are easy to use and are especially helpful when many different items need to be observed. They often include lists of specific behaviors to look for while observing. Depending on their function, they can vary in length and complexity. Checklists may be designed for any developmental domain physical, social, emotional, or cognitive. A checklist that is carefully designed can tell a lot about one child or the entire class. Checklists may be developed to survey one child or a group of children. The targeted behaviors are listed in logical order with similar items grouped together. Therefore, you can quickly record the presence or absence of a behavior. Typically, a check indicates the presence of a behavior.
Rating Scales: Rating scales, like checklists, are planned to record something specific. They are used to record the degree to which a quality or trait is present. Rating scales require you to make a judgment about the quality of what is being observed. Where a checklist only indicates the presence or absence of a trait, a rating scale tells how much or how little is present. As a result, objectivity could be hampered by the observer’s opinion
Advantages and Disadvantages of checklists
Advantages
a) There are no time constraints in collecting the data.
b) The information can be quickly recorded anytime during program hours.
c) Checklists are easy to use, efficient, and can be used in many situations.
d) Data from checklists can be easily analyzed.
Disadvantage
Lack of detailed information. Checklists lack the richness of the more descriptive narrative. Because of the format, only particular behaviors are noted. Important aspects of behaviors may be missed, such as how a behavior is performed and for how long. Only the presence or absence of a behavior is noted in a checklist.
The term curriculum-based assessment (CBA) means simply measurement that uses direct observation and recording of a student's performance in the local curriculum as a basis for gathering information to make instructional decisions (Deno, 1987, p. 41).
In each academic area, probes are developed (e.g. brief reading passages, short spelling lists, samples of math items from the curriculum, etc.) and these probes are used to collect data on student performance. These probes are developed from the books or materials that make up the child's curriculum. Hence, the CBA provides a structured way to see how well a child performs on the materials the teachers is assigning the class. The assumption is that if we want to know whether children are progressing in reading and writing, then we should observe (or count) their behavior as the read and write in school, and we should collect this data as often as feasible so that we quickly know whether a child is making progress or falling behind.
CBA may be applied in assessing students’ basic academic skills in reading, mathematics, spelling and written expression. The instructor gives the student brief, timed samples, or “probes”, made up of academic material usually taken from the student’s curriculum (Aldrich and Wright, 2001).
CBA in Reading may consist of letter/letter sound reading, word lists and or passage reading, depending on the student’s developmental level or instructional goals. Students are asked to read from letter lists, word lists or reading passages called “probes” for one minute. Students who are beyond an emergent level typically read three passages of text per grade level, and the median, or middle score is recorded. Multiple passages within a single book level are prepared so that ongoing assessment can take place without practice effects.
CBA in Writing consists of a three-minute writing sample with a story starter. There are many scoring options including counting the number of, and percent correctly spelled words in three minutes. Qualitative scoring options are provided in this manual.
CBA Math uses two-minute calculation probes. Probes, which may be comprised of a single skill or “mixed skills”, are selected to assess key skills from the student’s current or imminent instructional program.
Curriculum Assessment can use various methods of assessment. These include informal inventories and criterion referenced tests.
a) Informal Inventories
The purpose of an Informal Reading Inventory (IRI) is to provide greater insight into a student's reading level. It does not provide a specific diagnoses;
rather, it provides the "normal" classroom teacher greater understanding of a child's abilities, which in turn may lead to more accurate instruction.
The Informal Reading Inventory helps determine both oral and silent reading skills. Usually, this consists of short passages at various difficulty levels. Use three tests, if possible; one for oral reading, one for silent reading, and a listening comprehension test (Wirtz and Werve, 2007).
b) Criterion Referenced Tests
A criterion-referenced test is one that provides for translating test scores into a statement about the behavior to be expected of a person with that score or their relationship to a specified subject matter. Most tests and quizzes written by school teachers are criterion-referenced tests. The objective is simply to see whether or not the student has learned the material. It is based on curriculum goals or objectives. In criterion-referenced tests, students are assessed with regards to standards that define what they "should" know, namely curriculum goals. criterion-referenced tests is different from norm-referenced. Unlike a criterion-reference test, a norm-referenced test indicates whether the test-taker did better or worse than other people who took the test (Glaser, 1963).
Advantages of CBA
The following qualities make CBA a unique form of assessment that can be used for many types of educational decisions:
• CBA can be administered frequently for ongoing formative evaluation.
• CBA is sensitive to relatively small changes in short periods of time.
• Research has shown CBA to have good measurement properties (reliable, valid).
• CBA is scored objectively.
• CBA can have curriculum overlap/relevance.
• CBA provides information that is useful for identifying students’ instructional needs.
• CBA is practical to administer (considering cost and teacher time).
• CBA can be norm referenced (using local norms)
Assessment is the process of observing, recording, and documenting children’s growth and behavior over time in order to make decisions about their education. Assessment has many purposes, but it is primarily used in planning developmentally appropriate curriculum. An initial assessment is made of all children when they enter a program, but ongoing assessment continues as long as a child remains enrolled in a program. Most assessment methods involve observing children. Formal observation by researchers has led to the creation of developmental milestones. Early childhood teachers usually use informal observation methods to collect data. There are several types of assessment tools that are used in early childhood programs. These include anecdotal records, checklists, participation charts, rating scales, samples of products, photographs, and tape recordings. All of these methods have advantages and disadvantages. Materials that have been collected during the assessment process should be placed in a portfolio for each child. Portfolios document children’s learning and development. When observing children, it is important to record only objective statements. Once data is recorded, it may be interpreted. This interpretation takes knowledge and skill. It requires a thorough understanding of child development. Information teachers collect on children must also be kept confidential.
Special care must be taken when gathering data from children or students. The information collected must be kept confidential. Though a teacher can discuss a child’s behavior in classroom setting, restrain must be taken outside that setting. Whenever you are talking, other people are listening. To protect confidentiality, should avoid using a child’s name during classroom discussions. This is meant to protect the real identity of a child. These practices will also prevent information about a particular child from leaving the classroom.
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Citation
KENPRO (2010). How to carry out baseline Assessment of learners. KENPRO Online Papers Portal. Available online at www.kenpro.org/papers.