Developing Performance-Based Assessments, Grades K-5

Nancy P. Gallavan, Ph.D., is Professor of Teacher Education at the University of Central Arkansas where she specializes in classroom assessments and cultural competence in the Department of Teaching and Learning MAT Program, which she helped to start in 2006. The UCA MAT Program was recognized as the Distinguished Program in Teacher Education by the Association of Teacher Educators in 2010. Dr. Gallavan also serves as the UCA Academic Liaison to Institutional Diversity. Receiving university and college awards for her teaching, scholarship, and service, Dr. Gallavan has expertise in K-12 education, classroom assessments, curriculum development, cultural competence, social studies education, and teacher self-efficacy. With more than 120 peer-reviewed publications in journals, as chapters in books, and as books, Dr. Gallavan authored two versions of Developing Performance-Based Assessments, one for Grades K-5 and one for Grades 6-12 with Corwin Press in 2009. She also authored two versions of Navigating Cultural Competence: A Compass for Teachers, one for Grades K-5 and one for Grades 6-12 with Corwin Press in 2011. With Ellen Kottler, she co-authored Secrets to Success for Beginning Elementary School Teachers with Corwin Press in 2007 and Secrets to Success for Social Studies Teachers with Corwin Press in 2008. Most of these books have been republished in multiple languages. Her research agenda focuses on classroom assessments and teacher self-efficacy. Her chapter, “If you want your students to change, then you need to change: Mediating the sources and benefits of teacher self-efficacy with teacher candidates,” will be published in the Handbook of Research on Professional Development for Quality Teaching and Learning in 2016. Dr. Gallavan serves as the editor of the Arkansas Association of Teacher Educators Electronic Journal (ArATE EJ) and co-editor of the Association of Teacher Educators (ATE) Annual Yearbook of Research. An active member of American Educational Research Association (AERA), Association of Teacher Educators (ATE), Kappa Delta Pi (KDP), National Association for Multicultural Education (NAME), and National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS), she is involved with the AERA Classroom Assessment Special Interest Group and serves as Chair of the ATE Commission of Online Teaching, Learning, and Schooling. Dr. Gallavan is a Past President and a Distinguished Member of the Association of Teacher Educators (ATE), a Kappa Delta Pi (KDP) Eleanor Roosevelt Legacy Chapter inaugural member, and a member of Phi Delta Phi (education honor society). Prior to joining the University of Central Arkansas, Dr. Gallavan was an Assistant/Associate Professor with the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, specializing in social studies education and cultural competence. She began her career in education as an elementary school and middle level classroom teacher primarily in the Cherry Creek School District in Colorado. She earned her undergraduate degree in Elementary Education with an emphasis in Literacy from Southwest Missouri State University (now Missouri State University); her master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis in Gifted and Talented Education from the University of Colorado, Boulder; her school administrator license from the University of Colorado, Denver; and her doctoral degree in Curriculum Leadership with a cognate in Cultural Competence from the University of Denver. At the University of Denver, she received the Phi Delta Kappa Outstanding Dissertation Award.

“In an era where buzzwords like ‘assessment’ and ‘accountability’ are used every day in our school systems, a book like this is long overdue. The author clearly explains important terminology while providing easy-to-understand ways to engage in quality assessment in any elementary classroom.”

• AcknowledgmentsAbout the AuthorIntroduction1. Examining the Many Purposes of AssessmentDemystify Performance-Based AssessmentsUnderstand the Six Components of AssessmentPicture the Continuous Flow of AssessmentKnow the Reasons for Selecting Your Assessments...Extend With Questions and Activities2. Planning Assessments to Promote UnderstandingUse Formal and Informal AssessmentsBecome a Data-Driven TeacherUnderstand Assessment Principles and PracticesWatch for Common Errors in AssessingVisualize the Overall Process...Extend With Questions and Activities3. Collecting Baseline Data for PreassessmentsSet Three Goals to Guide Your PreassessmentsQuestion Each of the Six Components of AssessmentKeep Anecdotal RecordsFollow These Guidelines as You PreassessRealize That Assessment Is a Continuous Process...Extend With Questions and Activities4. Aligning Appropriate Formative AssessmentsConsider the Six Components of AssessmentDesign Your CurriculumAlign Assessments With Curriculum and InstructionExplore Cognition Via Patterns of ThoughtPlan With Competence and Confidence...Extend With Questions and Activities5. Incorporating Learning, Assigning Instruction Followed by Feedback and CorrectionAssign Your Instruction and ActivitiesEmploy Multiple Instructional StrategiesConsider These Assessment RecommendationsInclude All Kinds of Questions With Your Formative AssessmentsOptimize the FeedbackInvolve Your Learners in the ProcessHave Fun With Formative Assessments...Extend With Questions and Activities6. Administering Summative AssessmentsConnect to the Goals and Components of AssessmentCreate Your Summative AssessmentsPrepare Learners for Summative AssessmentsSet Your Sights on the Five AsContinue the Assessment Cycle...Extend With Questions and Activities7. Identifying What to Assess: Inviting the Five Types of Inquiry and InformationIntroduce the Five Types of InquiryBalance Three Conditions With Five Types of InquiryDelve Into ResponsesEnhance Variety in Your InquiriesInclude All Types of Thinking, Acting, and Feeling...Extend With Questions and Activities8. Analyzing How to Assess: Applying the Five Forms of Appraisal and AuthenticationAnalyze the Five Forms of Appraisal and AuthenticationImplement Assessments PurposefullyDevelop Appraisals to Showcase Learning...Extend With Questions and Activities9. Creating Assessment Templates and RubricsConstruct the Assessment TemplateBuild RubricsLet Your Templates and Rubrics Do the Work for You...Extend With Questions and Activities10. Conducting Evaluations and AccountabilityEvaluate AccomplishmentsAccount for ProgressConcentrate on Your EffectivenessDevelop a Performance-Based Assessment Mindset...Extend With Questions and ActivitiesReferences and ReadingsIndex