Assessment Tools

Before we began the unit, I administered a pre-test to determine the level of

comprehension my students had regarding descriptive adjectives in the language of Spanish. This
pretest was constructed based on the prerequisites of the standard. The pre-test consisted of one
section on Pear Deck in which students had to list any descriptive adjectives they knew.
At the completion of the unit, I utilized multiple assessments to gauge the students
learning accomplishments. Do-Nows became a continuous ongoing assessment tool for the
students and myself as well. Students were expected to write in their notes almost every day at
the beginning of the lesson. The purpose of this was for them to continue practicing the newly
learned material and for me to see what I needed to explain in more detail. These Do-Nows were
incredibly helpful to me as a teacher because I was able to assess students on the go and see
where I needed to expand my lessons. Using this method of assessment allowed me to catch
misconceptions and misunderstandings throughout the unit so that I understood what I needed to
revisit or what students were not grasping.
Another learning and progress assessment tool I used throughout the unit was Kahoot.
Kahoot is a free game-based learning program that makes learning fun. It can be used for any
subject, in any language, on any device, and for all ages. I developed multiple assessments on
Kahoot that met the World Languages Academic Standards for Novice-Low language learners.
Students were expected to utilize their knowledge of descriptive adjectives in order to work on
Kahoot. Students had to choose the appropriate descriptive adjective corresponding to the noun.
They were expected to know vocabulary terms, as well as the rules for descriptive and possessive
adjectives. This assessment was designed to help students use their knowledge of descriptive
adjectives in a fun and interactive way. Kahoot was played twice. After the first round, students

were instructed to review the terms they did not know. By doing this, students were able to
activate prior knowledge, expand on it, and test it. Afterwards, based on the amount of incorrect
responses I noticed students get, I would revisit the particular topic and/or segment they did not
fully grasp and explain it in detail.
A second type of assessment used was students creating of a Family Tree. Students were
to create a family tree on their actual family or on an imaginary family. They had to title their
project: La Familia (students last name), include at least 10 family members, name of each
person, express how they are related to them and how they are related to another member of the
family, use possessive adjectives to express the relationships, insert a
drawing/photo/representation of each person and complete it electronically (PowerPoint, Prezi,
Google Presentation, Word, iMovie, etc.). Then, they had to choose 3 people (picking 2 of their
favorite people and their self) in order to write a mini-essay that included all of the information
in a given chart. The writing portion had to be typed (double-spaced, size 12 font).
A third type of assessment used, which came hand in hand with the pretest I
administered, also consisted of the use of Pear Deck. I administered a post-test to determine the
level of comprehension my students had regarding descriptive adjectives in the language of
Spanish. This post-test consisted of one section on Pear Deck in which students had to form a
descriptive paragraph regarding an assigned character from Guess Who.
The final assessment students were expected to complete was a formal written exam
consisting of true/false, English to Spanish translation, high-frequency phrase formation
describing family relationships and physical characteristics, complete sentence formation, fill in
the blanks, and paragraph formation. One part of the test was very similar to the pre and post-

test. However the true/false and multiple-choice sections were abbreviated from the pre and postassessments to accommodate a wider short answer section.
These assessments were invaluable to my ability to make optimum use of class time and
to navigate the best learning paths for my students.
Pre-test:
The pre-test contained a short text formation with descriptive adjectives. Click on link for
details and specific questions: https://app.peardeck.com/presenter/ttwpvk/projector?
returnTo=home
Post-test:
The post-test consisted of forming a paragraph with high-frequency phrases, utilizing
descriptive adjectives in Spanish.Click on link for details and specific questions:
https://app.peardeck.com/presenter/ttwpvk/projector?returnTo=home
Family Tree Assessment:
Pre-Planning:
___Create a family tree about your actual family
___Create a family tree about your future family (imaginary)
Family Tree/Collage (40 points):
Components
Done!
Title: La familia _______________
10 people total (yourself, parents/step parents/guardians, siblings, grandparents,
aunts and uncles, pets, future husband, etc.)
Name of each person: Es Luca (Label yourself YO")
Use of possessive adjective with each person: mi abuela
Relationship: Es la esposa de Juan
Drawing/photo/representation of each person
Complete electronically (PowerPoint, Prezi, Google Presentation
Word, iMovie, etc.)

Mini-Essay (60 points):

Choose 3 people (pick 2 of your favorite people and yourself).
Write a mini-essay that includes all of the information in the following chart.
The writing portion must be typed (double-spaced, size 12 font)
Name of person
Relationship to you
How the relationship is
formed
Age
Height
Color of hair and eyes
Body description
Personality description
1 like and 1 dislike
2 Pastimes

Example
Se llama Bart Simpson.
l es mi sobrino.
Es el hijo de mi hermana.

Person 1

Person 2

Tiene 10 aos.
Es bajo.
Tiene pelo rubio y ojos azules.
Es delgado y pequeo.
Es tonto y malo.
Le gusta correr. No le gusta
hacer tarea.
Bart conversa con amigos
y come mucho.

Presentation (30 points):

On _________________you will present your family tree to the class and turn it in to be graded.
Points will be given based on correct grammar, fluency in pronunciation, and usage of vocabulary
words learned throughout the first quarter.
_____Sobresaliente! _____Muy bien hecho!
_____Bien!
The final assessment contained many sections. However, one of them was very similar to
the pre and post-test. For that particular section, students had to look at a family tree and write
how each of the numbered people indicated on the image provided to them were related to
Graciela. Then they had to describe them, using at least one of the adjectives from the list that
was also provided to them. Students were encouraged to use their imagination since they had
never met the individuals on the picture. This section was worth 15 points (6 points for
vocabulary, 6 points for grammar, and 3 points for style and creativity).

Myself