Writing Summative Assessments

Julie Rollins
Saint Marys University of Minnesota
Schools of Graduate and Professional Programs
EDUW 699 Independent Study
2 credits
Martha Kronholm, Advisor
Summer 2014



















My current teaching position is teaching Communication Arts (reading, writing, and
spelling) in sixth grade at one of the five elementary schools in the Marshfield School District.
One of the goals of our sixth grade team is to have common summative assessments for reading
and language across the district. This goal addresses the Wisconsin Teacher Standard #8
Teachers know how to test for student progress. In order to be a part of the assessment writing
group for our district, I attended a professional development session presented on Assessments
by our school districts K-8 Director of Instruction. After attending the session, I spent time
researching and planning for the best methods of assessment for our specific curriculum, and met
with the sixth grade team to write the common assessments. This has been an on-going learning
process for myself and our team. We were able to write and implement some of the assessments
this past school year, and we will continue to work collaboratively to achieve this goal.
A valid assessment must have definite purpose, clear targets, sound design, effective
communication, and student involvement. It is necessary to use several formative assessments
to monitor and take a quick check of student understanding. These formative assessments are
used to determine if students need any further review or re-teaching of concepts, or if they are
ready to move on to the next lesson. These are assessments for learning. Summative
assessments are used to communicate that students have achieved the learning targets of the
curriculum. These are assessments of learning. It is essential that we teach our students what we
assess and assess what we teach our students. Summative assessments should be written before
instruction to ensure that learning targets are being tested. Learning targets should be clearly
identified at the beginning and throughout the entire lesson/unit so that students know exactly
what is expected of them for the assessment. All questions on an assessment must be aligned
directly with the learning targets of the curriculum. The summative assessment must have clear
directions, a clean and organized format, legibility and accuracy, and appropriate readability.
The types of questions on the summative assessment are based on the type of learning targets of
the curriculum. Knowledge and reasoning types of learning targets would be best assessed with
multiple choice questions, matching, fill in the blank, or labeling a diagram. Performance
learning targets would be best assessed with questions and short answers, essay questions,
conferences, or oral examinations. Product learning targets are best assessed with observation or
a rubric. Communication is a key component of assessments; offering feedback to the students
during the learning is an effective and meaningful teaching strategy. It is important to involve
students in the tracking, reflecting on, and sharing of their own learning progress. Always share
and discuss examples of best quality, acceptable quality, and poor quality with the students.
Provide students with the rubric of an assignment/project before beginning the
assignment/project so that they clearly know the expectations. Summative assessments should
never be a gotcha experience; students should know the expectations for the assessment no
matter what format it will be.
After hearing and reflecting on the information presented at the professional development
workshop, I, along with four members of the sixth grade district team, were then able to begin
the assessment writing process. The focus was to write the summative assessments for our
Language Network textbook concepts of The Sentence and Its Parts, Punctuation, and
Capitalization; our sentence/paragraph writing concepts with the PENS program that we use
for Language Arts; and the novels of our reading curriculum. We also focused on creating
common rubrics to assess performance standards of writing and oral communication. Much time
was spent determining the main focus of the assessments so that they were aligned with the
learning targets of our Sixth Grade Communication Arts curriculum. Each of us took the lead
with writing some of the summative assessments. The group met several times to share our ideas
and rough drafts of the assessments. We would discuss the drafts, check for clarity and
accuracy, revise and edit, and then assemble the final draft of the assessments. Some of us
teachers were able to take these assessments back to our classroom to implement them. After the
initial use of each of the assessments, our group then met again to evaluate them and discuss any
issues or problems. Some of the changes we made were to the directions so that they were more
clear, to the length of the novel tests so that students were not so overwhelmed, to questions that
were difficult to understand, and to the grading process of the Language Network grammar tests.
These assessments were revised and shared with the entire sixth grade Communication Arts team
in our school district. We are still in the process of finalizing the summative assessments for the
PENS program; we plan to pilot them this coming school year.
The focus of Writing Summative Assessments for my independent study was a great
learning experience. It was very helpful to review the purpose of assessments, to look at the
proper design of an assessment, and to learn how to evaluate the quality of an assessment. It has
become very clear to me that I need to use the summative assessments to guide my daily lessons
when teaching the concepts to my students. It is important that there not be any surprises when
the students get to the test. All of the information being tested must be based on the learning
targets, and therefore my teaching should also be based on those targets. It is essential that what
I teach aligns directly with what I am assessing. Attending the professional development session
offered in the Marshfield School District on assessment was very beneficial. By taking the
workshop, I am able to be a part of a team in my school district for writing common assessments.
With having these common summative assessments, our sixth grade district Communication Arts
team will be able to compare with one another what our students know and what they still need
to learn. These assessments will be an asset to our district PLC meetings. As our school district
is writing more and more common assessments, I found that it is important to be a part of writing
the assessments that I will use in my classroom. I also learned that it is an essential step to
evaluate the test once it has been implemented. The difficult question or unclear directions are
sometimes hard to notice until the assessment is put into action. The students results of the test
can be impacted by an unclear assessment. I was able to learn a great deal from this independent
study project that I will use each and every day of my teaching.
Along with this reflection piece of my independent study, I have also included a few
examples of the summative assessments that I have written. I have included the grammar
summative assessment on Punctuation, a rubric that assesses a 5-paragraph research report,
and a novel assessment. These are just a few examples of the work that I completed for my
independent study of Writing Summative Assessments.









Time Log for Master Level Independent Study
Writing Summative Assessments

Hours Description of Activity
4 hours attending professional development workshop presented by the Marshfield School
District

15 hours meeting with 6
th
grade district Com Arts team to develop, write, share, and reflect
on the written common summative assessments so that they align with the learning
targets of the current Com Arts curriculum

4 hours meeting with 5
th
grade team at my elementary school to collaborate and compare
learning targets of grammar curriculum

32 hours developing and writing the specific common summative assessments according to
the focused learning targets

10 hours planning and preparing lessons so that they meet the learning targets and prepare
students for the summative assessments

20 hours implementing the lessons/units and piloting the new common summative
assessments including teacher-student conferences to check student understanding
of expectations of the rubric assessment

10 hours reflecting on student results; reflecting on the purpose, clarity, and accuracy of the
assessments; editing the common summative assessments




















Name: __________________________

Class: ________ ID#: ______________

Date: ___________________________

Punctuation
Unit Summative Assessment (36 points)

Section 1: Punctuation

Directions: Correct the following sentences
using the symbols above (2 point for each sentence).

Example to be completed as a group:
Mrs Morrison asked me if I wanted milk soda or water


1. Brett has collected the autographs of thirty five baseball players

2. Do you know the way to Marshfield Middle School

3. Jason is so excited for the new movie

4. Mr Smith asked the conductor if the train stopped in Smithtown

5. You can sign up for classes in swimming horseback riding or archery
at that camp.

6. We played our final game on a cold dreary day.

7. Katherine Paterson the author of The Great Gilly Hopkins wrote other
novels.

8. My family has a new kitten said Rachel.

9. In the Middle Ages explained the museum guide horses as well as
knights wore armor.

Page 1
! ? ; , : - . ( )
10. That book was a bestseller it sold out in a week.

11. We tried to get to the party by 3 00.

12. We need the following ingredients for the tacos salsa,
tomatoes, cheese, and refried beans.


Section 2: Using Commas Correctly in Dates, Addresses, and Letters
Directions: Insert commas where they are necessary in the following letter
(1 point for each error 7 missing commas).

March 9 2002

Dear Uncle Mike

Thanks for taking us to the Milwaukee Zoo. We got back on March 6 2002
from our vacation. Hope youll come to see us in Buffalo New York one of
these days.

Love
Tess


Section 3: Using Apostrophes
Directions: Choose the answer that shows the correct form of the word in
parentheses (1 point each).

1. The (women) shoe department is on the first floor.
a. womens
b. womens

2. I (could not) solve the crossword puzzle by myself
a. couldnt
b. couldnt

3. The (boys) little sister follows them wherever they go.
a. boyss
b. boys
Page 2

Section 4: Punctuating Titles
Directions: In each pair, choose the sentence in which the title is
punctuated correctly (1 point each).

1 A. Surviving the Applewhites was written by Stephanie Tolan.

B. Surviving the Applewhites was written by Stephanie Tolan.


2 A. President Cleveland, Where Are You? is a short story from our
literature book.

B. President Cleveland, Where Are You? is a short story from our
literature book.
























Page 3

Name ___________________________ Topic ______________________ Class ___________ Date _________

Research Report - Com Arts Rubric

CATEGORY

4 (Advanced) 3 (Proficient) 2 (Basic) 1 (Minimal)


Introductory
Paragraph
The main idea of the
paper is clear and
grabs the attention
of the reader.
There is room for
improvement in
stating the main idea
and/or grabbing the
readers attention,
but the introduction
gets the job done.
The main idea of the
paper is somewhat
clear, but really
doesnt grab the
readers attention.
There is no clear
introduction of the
main idea of the
paper, nor does the
introduction grab
the readers
attention.




Body Paragraphs/
Organization/
Fluency
Every paragraph
begins with a topic
sentence, is well
supported with
detail sentences, and
ends with a
concluding
sentence. The paper
has a logical order
and uses transitions
that make it flow
well together.
Most paragraphs
begin with a topic
sentence, are well
supported with
detail sentences, and
end with a
concluding
sentence. The paper
has a logical order
and attempts to use
transitions that
make it flow
together.
Paragraphs do not
consistently have a
clear topic,
supporting details,
and concluding
sentence. The paper
attempts to have a
logical order and
transitions to make
it flow together.
Paragraph structure
of topic, details, and
concluding sentence
is not followed
when writing the
paper. Paper is not
in a logical order
and is difficult to
follow when reading
it.


Conclusion
Conclusion
effectively ends the
paper; it does a
great job
summarizing the
main idea and
wrapping up the
essay.
Conclusion attempts
to end the paper; it
summarizes the
main idea however
it doesnt effectively
wrap up the essay.
The conclusion is
attempted but does
not summarize or
wrap up the essay.
There is no clear
conclusion to end
the paper.


Word Choice
Rich and effective
vocabulary and
language usage.
Powerful words and
phrases enhance the
ideas of the paper.
Effective
vocabulary and
language usage.
Some interesting
words and phrases
used.
Limited word
choice; repetitive
words to start
sentences. Simple
vocabulary and
language usage.
No variety in word
choice. Vocabulary
errors and misuse of
language.

Sentence
Usage & Fluency
Varied and creative
use of simple,
compound, and
complex sentences.
Some variety of
sentence structure.
Includes simple and
compound
sentences.
Limited variation of
sentence structure.
Relies mostly on
simple sentences.
No variation of
sentences structure.
Several sentence
structure errors of
run-ons and
fragments.


Conventions
There are little or no
errors in grammar,
spelling,
capitalization, or
punctuation.
There are a few
errors in grammar,
spelling,
capitalization, or
punctuation.
There are several
errors in grammar,
spelling,
capitalization, or
punctuation.
There are many
errors in grammar,
spelling,
capitalization, or
punctuation which
makes it difficult to
understand.

Writing Grade: ______________/ 24 points
Name: _______________________
Date: ________________________
Reading Points: _______/ ___27___
Writing Points: _______ / ___10___

The Great Gilly Hopkins
Summative Assessment

Part 1: Write the name of the character to go with the list of facts/traits (1pt. each)

1. Sassy, scheming, and smart when she puts her mind to things_______________

2. Very large, poorly educated, and religious _______________________________

3. Lacks self- confidence and struggles in school ___________________________

4. Social Worker and disappointed in Gillys behavior ________________________

5. Elderly, blind, African American neighbor _______________________________

6. Abandoned her daughter and makes empty promises _____________________


Part 2: Context Clues- Use the information in the sentence below to determine the
meaning of the underlined word. Write the letter of the correct answer in each
blank (1 pt. each).

1. Gillys foster mother was a religious fanatic because she read the bible every day
and referred to God often.

a. Secret
b. Extremist
c. Quiet

2. Gilly slid down beside William Ernest, and when his eyes checked her out sideways,
she gave a quiet, sisterly kind of smile and pretended to be enthralled with Big Bird.

a. Fascinated
b. Bored
c. Silly






Part 3: Read the sentences from the paragraph from The Great Gilly Hopkins.
Underline two phrases that help you understand the meaning of the word
exaggerated (2 pts).

And when Gilly left school, Agnes fell in behind her without a word. They marched up
the hill, Agnes tripping along double time to keep up with Gillys exaggerated strides.


Part 4: Short Answer: Answer each of the following questions in complete
sentences.

1. What is the point of view of The Great Gilly Hopkins? How do you know? (2 pts.)

______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________

2. Whose perspective was the story The Great Gilly Hopkins told from? (2 pts.)

______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________

3. Identify one conflict type from The Great Gilly Hopkins. Explain the conflict
and how it was resolved. (3 pts.)

______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________

4. Why do you think the book was called The Great Gilly Hopkins? SUPPORT your
answer with a specific example from the text. (2 pts.)

______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________



Part 5: Essay Question: Friendly Letter Format
In the space below, write a letter from Gilly to Maime Trotter at the end of the story. Be
sure to include information about the following:
1. 2 examples of how Gilly has changed -4 points
2. Information about 2 characters in Gilly Hopkins family- 2 points
3. Gillys plans for the future- 2 points
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
5 3 1
Organization
and Sentence
Structure
The letter is organized in a
logical manner from Gillys
point-of-view.
There is an opening and a
closing.
A variety of simple and
compound sentences are used.
The letter is organized in a
logical manner, but it may
not be from Gillys point-of-
view.
It is missing an opening or a
closing.
Only simple sentences are
included.
The letter is not
organized in a logical
manner.
Only simple sentences
are included.
Conventions
Spelling and
Grammar
The letter is well proofread. 0-2
spelling or grammar errors
The letter contains 3-5
spelling or grammar errors.
The letter contains
more than 5 grammar
errors.

Reading: ______ / 8

Writing: ______/ 10