Chapter 5: Building Assessment into Instruction
SHORT ANSWER. Write the word or phrase that best completes each statement or
answers the question.
1) ___________________________ is the process of gathering evidence on a student’s knowledge of, ability
to use, and disposition towards mathematics.
TRUE/FALSE. Write “T” if the statement is true and “F” if the statement is false.
2) Formative assessments are cumulative evaluations that might generate an overall score of a student’s
understanding, such as an end of unit test, while summative assessment occurs more frequently, as students
are engaged in the learning process.
3) The primary role of assessment is to be able to give a student a grade.
MULTIPLE CHOICE. Choose the one alternative that best completes the statement or
answers the question.
4) The Assessment Standards for School Mathematics provides four purposes for assessment, including which
of the following?
a) Evaluating teacher effectiveness and work ethic
b) Providing students with a reason to study at the end of an instructional unit
c) Making administrative decisions
d) Monitoring the progress of students’ learning
5) All of the following are ways students demonstrate processes and practices EXCEPT
a) Making use of the singularly best strategy to solve the problem
b) Justifying solution methods and results
c) Making connections between mathematics and real life
d) Explaining how different representations are connected
ESSAY. Write your answer in the space provided or on a separate sheet of paper.
6) Provide at least four examples of statements you could use as components of a rubric that convey to
students the expectations for using certain processes and practices to do mathematics.
MULTIPLE CHOICE. Choose the one alternative that best completes the statement or
answers the question.
7) Performance-based tasks
a) Are used primarily to assess students’ ability to compute answers.
b) Should be constructed in a way that allows every student in the room to demonstrate knowledge,
skills, or understanding.
c) Do not have much assessment value when students are required to explain their thought process
behind completing them.
d) Usually don’t have enhanced value when strategies for approaching them are discussed as a whole
class.
SHORT ANSWER. Write the word or phrase that best completes each statement or
answers the question.
8) A _____________________________ usually consists of a scale of 3 to 6 points that is used as a rating of
total performance on a single task.
TRUE/FALSE. Write “T” if the statement is true and “F” if the statement is false.
9) The primary purpose of a rubric is to assign a grade to students.
10) Performance indicators are usually written in terms of the number of correct answers out of the total
number of problems attempted.
MULTIPLE CHOICE. Choose the one alternative that best completes the statement or
answers the question.
11) Descriptive statements of criteria at each level of performance on a task are called
a) Rubric levels.
b) Task content.
c) Scores.
d) Performance indicators.
12) When developing performance indicators, it is frequently helpful to
a) Decide what minimum score you would like to see all students attain.
b) Include in them all the common misconceptions you can think of.
c) Begin by writing out the indicators of “proficient” or “target” performance.
d) Examine your indicators and be sure that most of them focus on the number of correct answers.
13) Writing in math class
a) Can be used for learning and assessment.
b) Frequently does not provide a lot of insight into students’ thought processes.
c) Is usually too difficult for very young students.
d) Is not helpful for providing to parents feedback regarding students’ progress.
14) Journals in math class are appropriate for the following purposes EXCEPT
a) Identifying feelings about math, including areas of confidence and fear
b) Learning about personal family struggles
c) Gaining conceptual understanding of a topic
d) Developing questions and recognizing areas of confusion about a topic
TRUE/FALSE. Write “T” if the statement is true and “F” if the statement is false.
15) Because it can inadvertently communicate to students that there is one right journal answer, entries should
never be graded or receive any kind of teacher feedback.
16) Journal writing that is completely open-ended without a stated goal or purpose is not a valuable use of time.
ESSAY. Write your answer in the space provided or on a separate sheet of paper.
17 ) Provide at least two examples of potential writing prompts and how they could enhance students’ thinking
about mathematics or be used for assessment.
MULTIPLE CHOICE. Choose the one alternative that best completes the statement or
answers the question.
18) Writing for early learners
a) Is rarely useful.
b) Should not include pictures.
c) Can simply be a record of something the student had just done and is comfortable with.
d) Should never include support from the teacher.
19) Student self-assessment
a) Should be the most heavily weighed measure of student progress when determining their grades.
b) Can be used to tailor instruction to better meet the learning needs of students.
c) Should take on more structured formats, such as questionnaires, because open-ended writing
prompts take too long to read.
d) Supports students’ movement towards becoming more passive learners.
20) Tests
a) Should be used to assess low-level skill exercises that are easy to grade.
b) Should include opportunities for students to explain their reasoning.
c) Should be made up of questions that have only one right answer.
d) Should always involve questions that should be answered without the use of a calculator.
SHORT ANSWER. Write the word or phrase that best completes each statement or
answers the question.
21) ______________________________ or checklists can be used to record observations of students’ progress
during class time.
MULTIPLE CHOICE. Choose the one alternative that best completes the statement or
answers the question.
22) Diagnostic interviews
a) Provide in-depth information about a student’s knowledge and strategies.
b) Are best used with the whole class at one time.
c) Are good opportunities to provide in-depth instruction to students.
d) Do not require students to explain their reasoning.
TRUE/FALSE. Write “T” if the statement is true and “F” if the statement is false.
23) Students who are taught conceptually will usually perform well on tests, high-stakes or otherwise.
24) The undeniable truth is that, for the most part, what teachers grade is what students determine to be the
most valuable.
