Assessment Center Established
Posted on Monday, February 4, 2008
Westminster College's Drinko Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, in cooperation with Tri-State Area School Study Council of the University of Pittsburgh, recently established the Westminster College Center to Improve Formative Assessment.
Led by Dr. John DeCaro, program coordinator in the Westminster graduate program; Dr. Samuel Farmerie, professor of education emeritus and former director of Westminster's graduate program; and Dr. Charles Gorman of Tri-State, the Assessment Center proposes to demonstrate alternative approaches to formative assessment.
Farmerie explained, "To many of today's teachers and educators, assessment is synonymous with 'high stakes' standardized tests. Generally, results from testing come too late to have an impact on the daily direction of instruction. Formative assessment is the process of evaluating the effectiveness of the lesson plan as we progress through the activity and making appropriate adaptations to enhance the possibility of reaching the desired outcome."
Partially funded by the Grable Foundation, the Assessment Center began working on a pilot project last August. The group includes representatives from Ellwood City Area, Shenango Area, and Union Area school districts in Lawrence County; Grove City Area and Sharpsville Area school districts in Mercer County; and Cranberry Area and Franklin Area school districts in Venango County.
The group has discussed a definition of formative assessment; delineating its tools, techniques, and strategies; implementation; and assessing the effectiveness of a project. The plan is to develop assessment processes during the current academic year, with implementation on a district-wide basis continuing through the 2008-2009 school year.
The Assessment Center's second workshop is scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 6, from 4-6 p.m. at Westminster's McKelvey Campus Center.
The Drinko Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning was created to enrich undergraduate education at Westminster through advancing world-class teaching as well as by participating in collaborations that address community and regional needs including strengthening K-12 education.
Contact Farmerie at (724) 946-7053 (e-mail farmersa@westminster.edu) or DeCaro at (724) 758-9675 (e-mail decarojj@zoominternet.net) for additional information.
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