Thoughts and Rationale

     As a physical education teacher for the past five years, I have seen what it takes to test students successfully and also been involved with testing that has not been appropriate for the students success. Through trial and error and guidance of mentors and this course, I have gained knowledge on how to test students to their appropriate level. We have seen over the last three weeks that the most important aid and resource we can utilize is our students themselves. As we testing our students and getting to know them as learners, we must take our tests and assessments to a personal level and allow for optimal success. 


How do you do this?


In the readings we have been given guidelines and maps to ask the right questions. Before we can ask the right questions, we have to know who we are asking them to. 

GET TO KNOW YOUR STUDENTS AND THEIR LEARNING STYLES AND SKILL LEVELS!

In my questions that were asked, I used the performance based method to assess my students. In a physical education class that is so diverse in the skills and knowledge level of my students, I felt that it was only fair to have students be graded on their personal performance level. It states in our readings that "some of the skills are best assessed with paper and pencil test. But other skills (such as PE) particularly those involving judgment, critical thinking, and decision making and best assessed with performance testing" (pg. 185). My skills test that are given record all three levels. 

• In the dribbling test, performance testing is based upon the improvement from the beginning of the unit. This not only allows me to have a starting point of where the student is in their skills, it can give them a goal to reach for in self-improvement. This then gives the student a chance to improve on their skills in dribbling also allows them to gain a successful grade in the class if they are willing to work at the skill. 

• In the ball handling skills, performance is once again measure. This time I gave the students a chance to personalize their assessment. Having a choice promotes a sense of pride and ownership which will then promote success in the students grade. I know that when I have a chance to choose how or what I am being graded on, I will give my best effort. Performance based testing promotes affective and social skills. The readings state that "performance tests assess non cognitive outcomes such as self-direction, ability to work with others and social awareness" (pg.188). This is promoting self-direction in that students know their limits and also what they are good at. Self direction will put them in a place to work on the skills that need improvement on so they can receive a good grade. 

• The Mikan Layup drill will too assess performance. Having a rubric that is given to the students at the beginning of the unit will allow them to know ahead of the testing what they need to work on. On page 195 the readings state that a successful rubric "Gives the requirements for the task without reveling the solution". In my rubric it will tell the student how many shots need to be made for a specific grade. Having the rubric before the test and many opportunities to practice in the class, the students will have many opportunities to be successful in the test. 

• The written test question about shooting form utilizes an objective testing form. It uses a Matching form in the BEEF acronym and then asked to have students explain. This allows students to use higher level thinking and placing a high standard on the test question. When reading chapter 7 the authors give us guidelines for writing test items. Item 2 states that the test must "match items to intended outcomes at the proper difficulty level to provide a valid measure" (pg.152). The proper shooting form outcome will be taught in the class and then practiced. Students will have many opportunities to practice skills on a physical level now they will portray their knowledge onto paper with the written exam. 

• Having an essay question that ties together the whole unit on a personal level for each student allows me as the teacher to see if the students not only grasped knowledge on basketball, but also if they grew in their knowledge and skill levels. I utilized an Extended response essay. In chapter 8 the readings state that "the essay allows the student to determine the length and complexity of the response," "this is mostly useful at the synthesis of evaluation levels" (pg. 160). This is my goal of the essay. I want students to have a personal feel to the end evaluation of the unit. It is not my goal to see how long a student can write, but to evaluate them on a personal level. 

Kubiszyn, T. & Borich, G. (2010). Comparing Norm-Referenced and Criterion-Referenced Tests. 9th ed.