ASSESSING STUDENT

LEARNING

EDU 621

Online Studies Student Syllabus

© Belhaven University | February 2020

Updated: July 29, 2024

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Course Description

This course addresses the critical examination of instructional assessment measures,

encompassing traditional assessment methods, norm/criterion-referenced testing, and alternative

assessment approaches such as performance assessment, portfolio assessment, and product

assessment. Through rigorous inquiry and analysis, students gain a comprehensive understanding

of the theoretical underpinnings and practical applications of these assessment modalities.

Moreover, the course emphasizes the utilization of assessment data to inform instructional

decision-making processes, equipping candidates with the skills necessary to effectively evaluate

student learning outcomes and drive continuous improvement in educational practices.

Candidate Competencies • Explore traditional and alternative methods of student assessment (InTASC 8)

• Write goals and objectives for content-area concepts (InTASC 7)

• Write good test questions with appropriate rigor, variety in format, and adherence with

good test question principles (InTASC 8)

• Create and use high-quality analytic rubrics (InTASC 8)

• Conduct item analysis of student assessment results and develop a plan for addressing

identified areas of weakness (InTASC 8)

• Analyze student work samples and, distinguishing between process and content, develop

a plan for remediation and/or intervention (InTASC 8)

• Analyze standardized test score reports and develop a progress monitoring system for key

students (InTASC 8)

• Explore the use of technology to create and administer assessments and manage results

(InTASC 8)

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Assessment Criteria

Assignments Weight

Writing Assignments 30%

Discussion Questions 20%

Quizzes 10%

Final Projects 40%

Total 100%

Grading Scale:

930+ A 93-100%

900-929 A- 90-92%

870-899 B+ 87-89%

830-869 B 83-86%

800-829 B- 80-82%

770-799 C+ 77-79%

700-769 C 70-76%

670-699 D+ 67-69%

630-669 D 63-66%

600-629 D- 60-62%

0-599 F 0-59%

Resource Inventory

NO TEXTBOOK REQUIRED FOR THIS COURSE

The Holy Bible

Research Articles: Locate articles by accessing the Belhaven Library Online

http://belhaven.libguides.com/az.php

Reading Assignments

Used as references for Final Project 1:

• Song: Ohio by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (1970).

o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRE9vMBBe10

• Newsweek Archived Article – only available online

o http://www.newsweek.com/my-god-theyre-killing-us-our-1970-coverage-kent-

state-328108

• Article summaries of Kent State (only available online)

o http://www.history.com/topics/kent-state-shooting (article and Nixon speech)

o https://www.ohiohistory.org/tag/kent-state-shooting/

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Expectations of Online Studies Education Candidates

Attendance

Attendance will be recorded online by Tuesday of each unit for the preceding unit. Students are

to be marked as present if they interact with the course by submitting a paper, posting to a

discussion forum, or taking a quiz. If the student performs any of these elements, he or she is to

be marked present for that week. If not, the student is marked absent. Viewing a lecture does not

constitute attendance for a student.

Due Dates

A unit is considered to be Monday – Saturday. You are encouraged to “Observe the Sabbath day

and keep it holy” (Exodus 20:8). Good time management is essential to career and academic

success. Early submissions of assignments and discussion responses are encouraged. Please get

in touch with your instructor for guidance on the submission of late assignments. Due dates are

posted to the assignments.

Communication

Communicate questions related to the course directly to the professor, except in cases where you

need to contact technical support. Your Belhaven University email address will be utilized for

the class, so check it frequently.

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

Belhaven University offers students disability accommodation in accordance with the guidelines

of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The student must make his or her disability known to the

Office of Student Care, provide current documentation of the disability from an appropriate

licensed professional, and complete the Belhaven ADA Request Form for accommodation. The

student must provide such a request to the Office of Student Care at least two weeks prior to the

beginning of each semester for which the accommodation is requested. Approved

accommodations will be communicated to the student and made within a reasonable time period

after completion of the official request. Students must present their official accommodations

letter to the instructor of each course they are enrolled in to receive the accommodations. Apply

under the Quick Links on the Student Life/Services tab.

Required Formatting

The required formatting for your papers, assignments, projects, discussions, or anything else that

may be research-based is the latest Publication Manual of the American Psychological

Association (APA). APA information can be located on your Canvas course page by clicking on

Academic Resources and then Academic Help and APA Resources. The only exception to this is

the Bible courses, which use Chicago Turabian formatting. Help for this formatting is also

available in the Academic Help and Resources.

Responsible Research

Responsible research is a critical component of education, and any individual conducting

research must learn how to investigate, read, understand, synthesize, interpret, and finally

explain complex ideas and issues in writing. An individual conducting research must also

understand that ideas found in literature, media presentations, interviews, or any other form of

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media do not belong to the researcher and, therefore, must be given credit through proper

documentation. It is required that every person conducting research provides proper credit

through the correct use of documentation not only to prevent plagiarism but also to demonstrate

respect to the idea’s originator. To ensure that all papers possess originality, faculty members

will use Turnitin. Any paper exceeding 20% of non-original material or noticeable

undocumented information will be subject to a discount in points at the discretion of the faculty.

Originality

Writing assignments will be evaluated for originality using Turnitin. Belhaven University

encourages a high degree of originality in writing. Quoted material should seldom be used and

must be limited to phrases that cannot be paraphrased or summarized without losing

effectiveness. Students must cite and reference all sources of information and images using APA

style. APA information can be located on your Canvas course page by clicking on Academic

Resources and then Academic Help and APA Resources. Non-originality exceeding 20% on

papers will be subject to a grade discount at the professor’s discretion, or referred back to the

student to redo the assignment, and students may be referred to a writing lab for assistance with

originality.

Graduate School of Education Policy on Use of Generative Artificial

Intelligence (AI) for MAT, M.Ed. and Ed.S. Candidates

It is the responsibility of the Graduate School of Education to prepare teacher and administrator

candidates that:

– Communicate effectively in the school setting with parents, students, educational

professionals, and the community at large;

and

– Utilize instructional strategies that will yield students that are strong thinkers, writers, and

leaders.

To accomplish this, it is imperative that degree candidates are required to address challenging

writing prompts and produce documents that adequately address the problem posed.

Hence, candidates for the masters and specialist degree programs in education at Belhaven

University will NOT be allowed to utilize Artificial Intelligence for creation of responses to

ANY course assignments since practice in creation of original works is necessary preparation for

those responsible for training young children, adolescents, and teachers to be critical thinkers,

writers, and problem solvers.

***It is expected that all assignments are produced by the candidates themselves. Use of a

generative AI tool to create a response to an assignment constitutes academic dishonesty and will

be reported as an Honor Code violation. The BU School of Education reserves the right to

require a demonstration of learning at any time.

Key Reminders

• Do not attempt to get a research paper from the Internet (or anywhere else) and submit as

your paper. This is dishonest and unethical.

• Do not copy from any book, article, or encyclopedia, and submit this for your paper. This

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is not acceptable research.

• Include references (including source and page numbers) that document every source upon

which you have in any way relied for each paragraph of your paper. If sources are not

properly referenced, the student has cheated the sources out of deserved credit and

cheated readers out of valuable information.

• Do not use material from any other student’s paper or work unless you give that student

full credit in reference notes.

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Summary of Assignments

Writing Assignments

Writing assignments must use APA-compliant formatting and include a title page, appropriate

citations, and references. Each will be evaluated using the individual assignment rubrics located

in the module appendices. Assignments are due no later than 11:59 p.m. (CT) on Saturday.

Earlier submissions are encouraged.

Discussion Questions

Discussion questions are available on the first day of each week. You should respond to the

initial discussion questions no later than 11:59 p.m. (CT) each subsequent

Wednesday. Responses to classmates’ discussion questions are due Saturday at 11:59 p.m. for

each unit. Early postings are encouraged. Initial discussion question responses must be 250 –

300 words each. A response to a classmate must be at least 100 words. Fewer than this will

automatically result in a significant reduction in one’s grade. Three responses to classmates’

postings are required.

You must mention the person’s name to whose comments you are responding and quote what

aspect of his or her post you are addressing. Without either, it is not possible to see the direction

of your comments, and the comments will not receive any points.

Quizzes

Candidates will complete quizzes on all reading assignments and lectures. Quizzes are available

once all week lectures have been viewed. Quizzes must be completed by Saturday at 11:59 p.m.

(CT).

Final Project

The Final Project components must be completed to receive a grade for the course. Failure to

complete the Final Project will result in a final grade of F, no matter what grade you had prior to

those Final Project components being due.

Projects 1 and 2: Kent State Shooting Assessment **Due UNIT 7**

You are to create an original assessment based on the information presented in this course

about the Kent State shooting of May 14, 1970. Your assessment will consist of multiple-

choice questions, constructed-response questions, and essay with rubric. Complete

instructions are located in the Appendix. Grading is via checklist and rubric.

• Project 1 – Assessment: 200 points

• Project 2 – Reflection on Assessment: 200 points

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Unit One

Topics

• Purpose of Evaluation

• Formative and Summative Evaluation

• Functions of Achievement tests

• Kinds of Achievement tests

• Principles of High Quality Assessment

• Role of Measurement and Assessment in Teaching

Reading Assignments

• DeLuca, C., & Bellara, A. (2013). The current state of assessment education: Aligning

policy, standards, and teacher education. Journal of Teacher Education, 64(4), 356-372.

• Long, M. (2011). Chapter 3: Assessment. In The psychology of education. EBSCO

Publishing: eBook Collection EBSCOhost) – printed on 12/26/2017 10:28 PM via

BELHAVEN UNIVERSITY and available in Canvas.

• Wallace, V. L., & Husid, W. N. (2011). Chapter 7: Assessments. In Collaborating for

inquiry-based learning: School librarians and teachers partner for student achievement.

EBSCO Publishing: eBook Collection EBSCOhost) – printed on 12/26/2017 10:56 PM

via BELHAVEN UNIVERSITY and available in Canvas.

View Lecture – Unit 1

TAKE QUIZ 1

Discussion Question: (10 points) Post your initial response to the discussion forum by

Wednesday 11:59 p.m. and respond to the discussion of others by Saturday 11:59 p.m.

• How do you currently use formative assessment in your classroom? What is one area where

you are proud of your use? Discuss one area where you would like to improve, and discuss

your goals for how this course can help you achieve your goal.

Writing Assignment (45 points): Submit by Saturday 11:59 p.m.

• Select and critique one peer-reviewed article from a professional journal (no older than

six years) related to assessment, assessment instruments, ethics, or test development

which includes a statistical analysis. Follow APA 7th edition format when writing your

review. Attach a hard copy of the full-text article with your paper where indicated in

Canvas. See the scoring guide in Appendix B for full details.

• Requirements: When addressing the questions asked in the scoring guide, cite evidence

from your article as support for your statements. For example, when addressing the

question “Were data qualitative or quantitative?” a simple statement that the data were

quantitative is not sufficient to receive the score point. How do you know the data were

quantitative? What evidence from the article lets you know the data were quantitative?

Reference specific sections, tables, paragraphs, etc., from the article as support for your

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statement. (It is possible to answer each question in the scoring guide within one or two

well-constructed sentences. Each subsection in part B can be answered within one or two

paragraphs.)

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Unit Two

Topics

• Various Worldviews

• Cognitive, Psychomotor, Affective Domains

• Goals and Objectives

• Types and Formats of Assessments

Reading Assignments

• Bixler, B. (2014). The ABCDs of writing instructional objectives. (Available in Canvas

reading assignments)

• Harada, V. H., & Yoshina, J. M. (2010). Chapter 3 Tools for assessment: Checklists,

rubrics, and rating scales. In Assessing for learning: Librarians and teachers as partners

(2nd ed., Rev. and Expanded). EBSCO Publishing: eBook Collection EBSCOhost) –

printed on 12/26/2017 10:28 PM via BELHAVEN UNIVERSITY and available in

Canvas.

• Writing instructional goals and objectives. (Available in Canvas reading assignments)

View Lecture – Unit 2

TAKE QUIZ 2

Discussion Question: (10 points) Post your initial response to the discussion forum by

Wednesday 11:59 p.m. and respond to the discussion of others by Saturday 11:59 p.m.

• Reflect on the alternative worldviews (not the Christian worldview) presented in this

week’s lecture. Where have you experienced tenets of these worldviews in action? Did

any of the tenets surprise you as being non-Christian in origin? What are some ways you

can counter the influence of these worldviews on those with whom you come in contact

or teach?

Writing Assignment: (50 points) Due by Saturday 11:59 p.m.

• Select a state standard in your area of teaching expertise (your goal). Write cognitive,

psychomotor, and affective objectives that address your selected standard. Each

objective must address some specific aspect of your standard. See the Appendix for the

template and scoring guide.

• Requirements:

o Properly formatted cover page; template (except for key) double-spaced (3-point

deduction if not followed)

o Standard copied and pasted from the MDE standards document

o Grade level and subject area identified

o Each objective color-coded in a manner similar to that shown in the lecture

o Key to color-coding provided

o Cognitive Domain – 2 well-written objectives (10 points)

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o Psychomotor Domain – 2 well-written objectives (10 points)

o Affective Domain – 2 well-written objectives (10 points)

Reminder: Final Projects 1 and 2 are due UNIT 7. The resources you will use in the creation

of your assessment are the following:

• Song: Ohio by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (1970).

o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRE9vMBBe10

• Newsweek Archived Article – only available online

o http://www.newsweek.com/my-god-theyre-killing-us-our-1970-coverage-kent-

state-328108

• Article summaries of Kent State (only available online)

o http://www.history.com/topics/kent-state-shooting (article and Nixon speech)

o http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Kent_State_Shootings

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Unit Three

Topics

• Depth of Knowledge

• Designing a test that measures what you want measured

• Writing good multiple-choice questions

• Writing good constructed-response questions

• Writing good essay questions

• Formative Assessments

• Technology and Assessments

• What is an Item Analysis?

• How do you conduct an Item Analysis?

• What is the Code of Ethical Responsibilities in Assessment

Reading Assignments

• Clay, B. (2001). Is this a trick question? A short guide to writing effective test questions.

Kansas Curriculum Center. Retrieved from https://www.k-

state.edu/ksde/alp/resources/Handout-Module6.pdf

• Lau, P. N. K., Lau, S. H., Hong, K. S., & Usop, J. (2011). Guessing, partial knowledge,

and misconceptions in multiple choice tests. Educational Technology & Society, 14(4),

99-110.

• Webb, N. (2002). Depth of knowledge levels for four content areas. (Available in Canvas

reading assignments)

View Lecture – Unit 3

TAKE QUIZ 3

Discussion Question (10 points) Post your initial response to the discussion forum by

Wednesday 11:59 p.m. and respond to the discussion of others by Saturday 11:59 p.m.

• Take the “Quiz with No Content” that’s associated with this prompt. Discuss your results

– how well did you do? Which of the multiple-choice test writing traps caught you?

Which did you recognize? How can this “quiz” help you when you write your own

multiple-choice test questions?

Writing Assignment: Writing Quiz Questions (50 points) Due by Saturday 11:59 p.m.

• Using two of the required resources for your Final Project 1, write a multiple-choice

question at a DOK level of analysis/application or higher (refer to the Test Taxonomy

article for guidance) and one constructed-response question that requires the answer to

include text-based evidence. Be sure to answer this question with a response that would

earn top scores. These questions may be used as part of your Final Project 1.

• Requirements:

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o One high-level multiple-choice test question on the Kent State shootings, with

correct answer indicated

o One constructed-response question requiring text-based evidence in the response

o One model answer to the constructed-response question.

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