Return-Path: <nifl-assessment@literacy.nifl.gov> Received: from literacy (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by literacy.nifl.gov (8.10.2/8.10.2) with SMTP id g8QIYbX01643; Thu, 26 Sep 2002 14:34:37 -0400 (EDT) Date: Thu, 26 Sep 2002 14:34:37 -0400 (EDT) Message-Id: <sd931a02.008@mail.jsi.com> Errors-To: listowner@literacy.nifl.gov Reply-To: nifl-assessment@literacy.nifl.gov Originator: nifl-assessment@literacy.nifl.gov Sender: nifl-assessment@literacy.nifl.gov Precedence: bulk From: "Marie Cora" <marie_cora@jsi.com> To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-assessment@literacy.nifl.gov> Subject: [NIFL-ASSESSMENT:202] Re: Assessment Lingo X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0c -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas X-Mailer: Novell GroupWise Internet Agent 5.5.5.1 Status: O Content-Length: 3790 Lines: 97 Ah, great question/request! If only there were simple definitions for these terms. I'd be so interested as well in hearing what others do in defining the many terms listed by Ira. I am in the process of completing a pretty extensive glossary of terms that I developed over the past couple of years for the state of Massachusetts. It will be posted at our new website on Assessment Support, which I hope will be up and ready in the next couple of weeks. What I have found in my research compiling these and many other terms, is that they can be defined slightly differently, very differently, or inter-changeably depending on which discipline you go to within the education realm. To this end, for the purposes of assessment support in Mass., I have mixed and matched some definitions, or combined some, depending on our needs here in the state. I note this as a proviso in the beginning of the glossary. Have others identified pretty useful definitions for these terms? I would love to hear about them. I feel that one of things that could help in the development of a national system of adult education would be to indeed have some "standardization" of terminology that we all use regularly. Here's my stab at some of the terms Ira has listed. I would greatly appreciate any feedback! And now, Ira, you have added to my growing list of terms that need to be defined!...although in a lot of what I've looked at, your variations on performance standards are often interchangeable. Performance standards: Explicit definitions of what students must do to demonstrate proficiency at a specific level on the content standards. For example, in Massachusetts' Curriculum Frameworks in the area of 'reading', there are six levels for each of four standards. Under the standard "comprehension", performance can range from "develop vocabulary" to "interpret charts & graphs" to "recognize a variety of genres & styles." Performance task: A carefully planned activity that requires learners to address all the components of performance of a standard in a way that is meaningful and authentic. Performance tasks can be used for both instructional and assessment purposes. Benchmark: A detailed description of a specific level of student performance expected of students at particular ages, grades, or development levels. Benchmarks are often represented by samples of student work. A set of benchmarks can be used as "checkpoints" to monitor progress toward meeting performance goals within and across grade levels. In ABE, SPLs (Student Performance Levels) are examples of benchmarks; targets for instruction. Benchmark tasks: Pieces of student work selected by a group of lead teachers as exemplifying a certain score level. Benchmarking: Comparing performances of people on the same task; raters use "anchors" to score student work, usually comparing the student performance to the "anchor"; benchmarking is a common practice in the business world. marie cora Marie T. Cora Staff Development Specialist Editor of Adventures in Assessment SABES/World Education 44 Farnsworth Street Boston, MA 02210 617-482-9485 x523 617-482-0617 fax mcora@worlded.org >>> iray@lacnyc.org 09/26/02 10:45AM >>> I'd very much appreciate it if someone on the list could provide some formal yet simple definitions of the following terms (as they relate to student assessment): performance standards, performance indicators, performance measures, performance descriptors, and benchmarks. I use these terms repeatedly and have working notions of what each of them means, but I wouldn't mind some 'standardization.' Thanks in advance. Ira Yankwitt Director of Adult Literacy Services Literacy Assistance Center 32 Broadway, 10th Floor NY, NY 10004 (212) 803-3356 iray@lacnyc.org
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