Title: Relevant Summative Assessments: A Case Study
Abstract: A summative assessment is used to determine the success of a teaching cycle. During a teaching cycle, teachers encourage students to discover mathematical relationships, make connections, create proofs and arguments, comprehend, communicate, and apply mathematical concepts. If summative assessments do not measure these reasoning skills, then the assessment is not relevant nor useful. Most summative assessments, including the ACT and SAT, measure the memory level of students: their simple knowledge (memorization) and algorithmic skills.
In this talk, we will examine the case of one secondary mathematics teacher. Initially, she did not enjoy writing summative assessments because she felt she was not qualified to write test items. After learning how to design relevant test items, her perspective on the purpose of assessment shifted: instead of being a tool used to assign grades, assessments are now an instrument she can use to measure what her students understand. We will analyze items from a unit test she used in previous years and compare those items to the new items designed to match the learning levels of the lessons taught in class. Although we consider a single case study, we will consider the possible impact of a professional development offered to in-service secondary mathematics teachers online.