DIFFERENTIATED ASSESSMENT 2

Differentiated Assessment

Differentiated instruction is a continuing process where the educator evaluates students
with the aim of collecting data before conducting instruction, during instruction, and after
instruction to make the process and learning experience better. It is a process that ensures all
learners achieve success as they learn together in a differentiated class. The teacher acquires data
from a variety of sources, and this enables him or her to have a comprehensive view of overall
student achievement. An authentic assessment provides students with a wide range of tasks to
demonstrate real-life skills (Chapman & King, n.d.). The educator also gets to know whether the
students have acquired the concepts as per the standard being taught. The paper identifies a
common core state standard and a goal that aligns with the standard, then creates three formative
and summative assessments that depict differentiation.
The selected Common Core State Standard is CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.9-10.4.C
Consult general and specialized reference materials (e.g., dictionaries, glossaries, thesauruses),
both print and digital, to find the pronunciation of a word or determine or clarify its precise
meaning, its part of speech, or its etymology (Common Core State Standards, 2020). The goal
that aligns with the standard is: students will use the Sounds of speech app and the pronunciation
app and consult general and specialized reference materials (e.g., dictionaries, glossaries,
thesauruses), both print and digital, to find the pronunciation of a word or determine or clarify its
precise meaning with 95% accuracy.
Through the incorporation of different assessments, both formative and summative, the
instructor will be able to measure mastery of the content being taught. Assessment will be done
through a continuous process ad progress recorded. It will be possible to predict whether the

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objectives will be achieved and what needs to be done to enhance mastery. Some of the ways
through which learners will be evaluated include quizzes, oral presentations, mind maps, use of
oral questions, and tape recorders. Students will demonstrate mastery by completing assigned
tasks with a 95% accuracy by the end of the unit. It is a pronunciation lesson; thus, students will
also demonstrate mastery by reading and communicating correctly with the teacher and with
each other, showing improved communication skills by being fluent, using intonations correctly,
and being more aware of how words and sounds are pronounced. A tape recorder will be used to
measure mastery. At the end of the unit, students will be given a passage from their text. They
will be asked to read the passage as they record themselves. They will submit the tapes to the
instructor for grading. A rubric will then be used to grade them and measure their mastery of the
content. The proficiency level will be achieved at 95%. Students who will be able to read the
assigned passage with an accuracy level of 95% will have achieved proficiency. However, those
that will score below 95% will receive additional instruction that will be tailored to help meet
their individual learning needs.

Formative assessments

Mind maps will be used to evaluate student’s mastery in using words correctly, based on
their meanings. Students will use the words provided to them in the task cards. They will use a
dictionary to search for the meanings and usage of words. The mind map will contain as many
details about a word as a student will be able to locate. Also, they will work in groups but be
expected to present individual work. Group work will help students who learn best through
collaborative methods. Other than mind maps, students will make oral presentations in class.
They will make a brief presentation of a word, pronounce it correctly, and then explain its usage

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by constructing a sentence using the word. Assessment will entail checking the mind maps and
listening to the student’s oral presentations. Based on their accuracy in pronouncing the words,
and correct construction of the mind maps, instruction will be modified accordingly. For
instance, if some have difficulty, they will receive tailored instruction and corrective guidance to
help them achieve an accuracy level of at least 95%.

Another way through which students will be assessed is through being asked oral
questions. They will be asked to pronounce certain words. Each student will be given a list of
words on task cards to pronounce. Since students have different performance levels, the
complexity of the words given will vary depending on their abilities. This is a differentiated
strategy that will ensure that each student learns something. Having different levels of words
ensures that good performers learn something by undertaking tasks that will challenge them. It
also ensures that struggling students do not find the content too difficult for them to understand
anything. It is a good way of striking a balance when dealing with a differentiated classroom.
Also, responding to oral questions will come in handy for auditory learners. Those who might
find it hard to get the pronunciations using a dictionary will learn better by listening to how the
words are being pronounced. Also, they will express themselves better verbally as opposed to
other forms of assessments such as mind maps, which may not favor their learning preferences.
Information obtained from the assessments will be used to make informed decisions during
instruction. If students demonstrate a common struggle in pronouncing a certain group of
syllables or letters, then the instructor will emphasize more in that area.

Lastly, students will take a short quiz. The quiz will be short because it will be
undertaken during instruction. It will contain five questions aimed at assessing learner’s

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understanding during the lesson. The quiz will be taken using the student’s technological
devices. Through their tablets, then they will send in the answers to me. I will post the results
using the Socrative app. This will save on time and provide timely feedback that will be
incorporated during instruction. This is one of the ways through which technology will be
incorporated during the lessons. Using the Socrative app, I will create different quizzes for
different groups of students depending on their performance levels and academic abilities.
Students will get tailored feedback to help them depending on the areas that they will be
encountering difficulties.

Summative assessment

Students will tape themselves using tape recorders as they read short passages provided to
them. The assessment will be conducted at the end of the unit. The students will be required to
tape themselves and submit the record to the teacher. These will be permanent records of their
performance. They will be assessed for the stress of content words, question intonation, the
correct pronunciation of words, and fluency. The students will be taped periodically to measure
their progress. Feedback will be provided to individual students based on their performance. The
rubric below will be used to grade the assignment.
Having students tape themselves as they read will allow different students based on their
performance levels the opportunity to practice reading words that prove difficult for them. Since
they will record themselves during their free time, they will be in a position to repeat as many
times as they will be able to correctly read given passages. Also, the assessments will be
conducted periodically. The consistency will allow students an opportunity to know their
progress. The tape will provide permanent records of their performance. After several

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assessments, they will compare the different recordings and see the progress that they will have
made over time.
Parts of the
assignment
that will be
graded

4 3 2 1 score

Accuracy in
pronunciatio
n

Pronounces
words
correctly
with few
errors

pronounces
words
correctly but
with some
errors

makes
frequent
errors
making it
hard to get
the actual
word being
pronounced

Unable to
accurately
pronounce
the words

Correct stress
on content
words

places stress
on content
words
correctly

occasionally
unable to
correctly
place stress
on some
content
words

frequently
unable to
correctly
place stress
on some
content
words

unable to put
stress on
content
words

Intonation of
questions

correctly
reads
questions

occasionally
omits
intonation on
some

Frequently
omits
intonation on
questions

Does not put
intonation on
questions

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questions

Fluency reads
confidently
without
stopping
unnaturally

reads
confidently
with
occasional
stopping

often stops
while reading

Does not
read most
words
correctly and
makes many
unnatural
stops

Total Score /20

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References

Chapman, C., & King, R. (n.d.). Differentiated strategies for assessment (Links to an external
site.). (Links to an external site.) Retrieved from http://celi.olemiss.edu/wp-
content/uploads/sites/6/2016/03/Differentiated-Assessment-Strategies-Preassessment-
Formative-Summative-and-Digital.pdf
Common Core State Standards. (2020). English Language Arts Standards » Language » Grade
9-10 | Common Core State Standards Initiative. Corestandards.org. Retrieved 6 August
2020, from http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/L/9-10/#CCSS.ELA-
Literacy.L.9-10.2.