1. Susan Muir
K-4 Math Coach

2. Making assessment an integral part of daily mathematics is a
challenge. It requires planning specific ways to use assignments and
discussions to discover what students do and do not understand. It
also requires teachers to be prepared to deal with students’
responses. Merely spotting when students are incorrect is relatively
easy compared to understanding the reasons behind their errors.
The latter demands careful attention and deep knowledge of the
mathematic concepts and principles that students are learning…
The insights we gain by making assessment a regular part of
instruction enable us to meet the needs of students who are eager
for more challenges and to provide intervention for those who are
struggling.
Burns 2005, p.31

3.  After reading that passage:
Jot down the challenges that you face making
assessment a part of daily mathematics
instruction?
What are two ways that would help you
overcome these challenges?

5. Formative Assessment:
 Assessment and teaching should be integrated
into a whole
 Ongoing assessment allows teachers to monitor
students on a daily basis and modify teaching
based on what students need to be successful
 Improves our teaching practices
 Provides students with timely feedback that they
need to make adjustments to their learning.

7.  P3.1 Demonstrate understanding of increasing and decreasing patterns
including:
 observing and describing
 extending
 comparing
 creating patterns using manipulatives, pictures, sounds, and actions.
 N3.1 Demonstrate understanding of whole numbers to 1000 (concretely,
pictorially, physically, orally, in writing, and symbolically) including:
 representing (including place value)
 describing
 estimating with referents
 comparing two numbers
 ordering three or more numbers.

8.  What will the children do to know that the
learning has occurred?
 What should children do to demonstrate the
understanding of the mathematical concepts,
skills, and big ideas?
 What assessment tools will be the most
suitable to provide evidence of student
understanding?
 How can I document the children’s learning?

9.  Anecdotal Notes
and Observations
 Prepared Bloom’s
Taxonomy
Questions
 Opportunity for
Open- Ended
Thinking and
Discussion
 3 Point Rubric for:
of and as learning

10.  What learning opportunities and experiences
should I provide to promote the learning
outcomes?
 What will the learning environment look like?
 What strategies do children use to access
prior knowledge and continually
communicate and represent understanding?
 What teaching strategies and resources will I
use?

12.  What conclusions can be made from
assessment information?
 How effective have instructional strategies
been?
 What are the next steps for instruction?
 How will the gaps in the development of
understanding be addressed?
 How will the children extend their learning?

13.  Develops and supports student’s
metacognitive skills
 Self assessment/Peer Assessment
 Make sense of information and make
connections to own self
 Helps students set learning goals

14.  What are the specific outcomes in the task?
 Begin by describing the Acceptable Level then
use Bloom’s Taxonomy to identify
differentiating criteria as you move up the
scale. The criteria should not go on beyond
the original performance task but reflect
higher order thinking that students could
demonstrate.

15.  The more precise the descriptors the words
are for each scale, the more reliable the tool.
 Measures such as frequency (always, usually,
sometimes and never) are better than
descriptors such as quality (fair, good,
excellent)

16. Refer back to:
Jot down the challenges that you face making assessment a part of daily mathematics instruction?
What are two ways that would help you overcome these challenges?
What are some new tools that you
learned today that would help you
with your challenges?
What do you still need?

17.  Rethinking Classroom Assessment with
Purpose in Mind WNCP
 Learn Alberta (Assessment)
http://www.learnalberta.ca/content/mewa/html/assessment/process.html
 Mathematics Assessment a Practical
Handbook for grades K-2 NCTM
 50 Tools and Techniques for Classroom
Assessment by Karen Hume