Web-Based Learning:  Glossary of Terms for Curriculum and Instruction

Anchor - the representative products or performance used to illustrate each point on a scoring scale. The top anchor is sometimes called the exemplar. Assessment - continuous process of measuring what students know and are able to do Authentic Assessment - a developmentally appropriate assessment which involves students in demonstrating the application of their knowledge and skills in a real world context Benchmark - a description of where students should be at certain points in their educational progress Criteria - guidelines, rules, characteristics, or principles by which student responses, products, or performances are assessed. Disciplinary Instruction - instruction that focuses on a single subject area Indicator - a description of an observable and measurable behavior which indicates progress at the program or course level toward attainment of an outcome (written in the to know and to do format) Integrated Instruction - Instruction in which boundaries among subject areas are not identifiable Interdisciplinary Instruction - instruction that connects discrete, identifiable content of more than one subject area MSDE Indicator - description of measurable and observable behaviors which reflect student progress toward attainment of Maryland (MSDE) Outcomes MSDE Outcome - a broad statement, Pre- K through 12, of what students are expected to know and be able to do, as identified by the State of Maryland. Objective - a description of what students will know and/or be able to do at the end of a lesson or activity Outcome - a broad statement of what students are expected to know and be able to do Pre-K through 12 Performance Task - an activity that requires students to demonstrate what they know and can do by constructing a response, creating a product, or doing a presentation. A performance task may be used for either instructional or assessment purposes: Performance instruction involves the teacher as the facilitator to provide feedback throughout Performance assessment places the responsibility on the student to demonstrate what they know and are able to do (i.e., MSPAP tasks) Portfolio - a collection of work selected using established criteria and that gives evidence of performance over time. The process of developing a portfolio involves student collection, selection, and reflection. Proficiency Level - an established level of achievement, quality of performance, or degree of skill Rubric - a set of general criteria used to assess a student's level of performance. Rubrics consist of a fixed measurement scale (e.g., 4 point), a list of criteria that describe the characteristics of products or performances for each score point, and sample responses (anchors] which illustrate the various score points on the scale. Scoring Tools - instruments that assess a student's performance. Scoring tools may include check lists, rating scales, rubrics, and other scoring guides for specific activities Adapted from the Maryland Assessment Consortium Draft: 6/15/94 Analytic Scoring - a scoring procedure in which performances are evaluated for selected traits, with each trait receiving a separate score. For example, a piece of writing may be evaluated according to organization, use of details, attention to audience, and language usage/mechanics. Trait scores may be weighted and/or totalled. (see Pure Holistic, Modified Holistic, and Primary Trait Scoring) Authentic - refers to assessment tasks that evoke demonstrations of knowledge and skills in ways that they are applied in the "real world." An authentic assessment task also engages students and reflects the best instructional activities. Thus, teaching to the task is desirable. adapted from Grant Wiggins, 1991 Criterion Referenced - an approach for describing a student's performance according to established criteria; e.g., she typed 55 words per minute without errors. (see Criteria, Non-Referenced) adapted from Testing in American Schools 1992 Evaluation - judgment regarding the quality, value or worth of a response, product, or performance based upon established criteria. Evaluations are usually based on multiple sources of information. (see Assessment Criteria) Formative Assessment - ongoing diagnostic assessment providing information to guide instruction and improve student performance. (see Summative) Generalizability - the extent to which the performance sampled by a set of assessment items/tasks are representative of the broader domain being assessed. (see Validity) Interdisciplinary or Integrated Assessment - refers to tasks that assess students' abilities to apply concepts, principles, and processes from two or more subject disciplines to a central question, theme, issue, or problem. adapted from Heidi Jacobs, 1989 Modified (or Focused) Holistic Scoring - a scoring procedure yielding a single score based upon the ''fit'' of a response to a set of pre-established criteria or characteristics of performance at each score point level. (see Analytic Scoring, Pure Holistic Scoring, Norm-Referenced, Primary Trait Scoring) Norm-Referenced - an approach for describing a student's performance by comparison to a normed group; e.g., she typed better than 80 percent of her classmates. (see Criterion-Referenced) adapted from Testing in American Schools, l 992 Performance Assessment - an assessment activity that requires students to construct a response, create a product, or perform a demonstration. Since performance assessments generally do not yield a single correct answer or solution method, evaluations of student products or performances are based on judgments guided by criteria. (see Criteria) Performance Standard - an established level of achievement, quality of performance, or degree of proficiency. (see Benchmark~) Primary Trait(s) Scoring - a scoring procedure by which products or performances are evaluated by limiting attention to a single criterion or a few selected criteria. These criteria are based upon the trait or traits determined to be essential for a successful performance on a given task. For example, a note to a principal urging a change ~in a school rule might have persuasiveness as the primary trait. Scorers would attend only to that trait. (see Analytic, Pure Holistic, and Modified Holistic Scoring Proficiency - having or demonstrating a high degree of knowledge or skill in a particular area. Roget's Thesaurus, 1980 Prompt - an assignment or directions asking the student(s) to undertake a task or a series of tasks. A prompt presents the context of the situation, the problem(s) to be solved, and criteria or standards by which responses will be evaluated. adapted from Alternatives for Measuring Performance, 1991 Pure Holistic Scoring - a scoring procedure yielding a single score based upon an overall impression of a product or performance. In pure holistic scoring, judgments are made by evaluating products or performances against others within the same pool, rather than against pre-established criteria. (see Analytic Scoring, Modified Holistic Scoring, Non-Referenced, Primary Trait Scoring) Reliability - the degree to which the results of an assessment are dependable and yield consistent results. Technically, this is a statistical term that defines the extent to which errors of measurement are absent from an assessment instrument (see Generalizability, Validity) adapted from Alternatives for Measuring Performance, 1991 Standardized - a set of consistent procedures for constructing, administering, and scoring an assessment. The goal of standardization is to ensure that all students are assessed under uniform conditions so that interpretation of their performance is comparable and not influenced by differing conditions. adapted from the Maryland School Performance Assessment Program, 1991