The first thing about this chapter that jumped out at me is the concept of ongoing assessment. I agree that this is extremely important. Reading this made me think of a time back in high school when I was trying out for the dance team. I went to the whole week of workshop to learn the dance and practice before the actual tryout was to take place. By the day of the tryouts, I had the routine down, but the tryouts had me so nervous that I didn't feel confident about my ability. The combination of nerves and the lack of confidence caused me to bomb the tryout. I had done the routine perfectly probably a hundred times, but for the one where it had to count, I blew it. Lucky for me, I made the team anyway. It turns out that the judges were observing us the entire week to see how quickly we picked up the routine and how well we did overall. So, I thought this was a perfect example of why it is important to assess students often and by various means. Its the only way to know what they really know and what they are really capable of.
Another part of this chapter that struck me as interesting was the examples of assessments. I mean, I have heard of most of these assessments before, but a few of them I had not considered before, and others were presented in the chapter in a way that made me see how I could actually use them one day. For example, surveys! For whatever reason, I always saw surveys as something that should only be used with parents and college age students, but there really is no reason why they can't be used with younger students. I think that is a great way to get an idea of how your students feel about certain subjects, how confident they are in their knowledge, and what they enjoy. I can definitely see using surveys with my students at the beginning of the school year and then again at the very end. Another idea from the book that I liked was the personal portfolio. We have all seen and done academic portfolios, and I think they are valuable assessments, but I think a personal portfolio would be a great way to not only get to know your students, but also to give them a chance to become accustomed to what is involved in creating a portfolio.
This chapter also did a good job at addressing the concerns I have about high stakes testing. I will never feel that it is acceptable to put so much emphasis and accountability on a one-shot test. To me, its that dance tryout all over again. Anyhow, what really stood out to me was this phrase; "Some teachers are fortunate enough to receive results from the tests...". What?! I guess I was naive in assuming that teachers were always able to see how their own students performed on a test that is the end-all, be-all for the whole school year. I just think that it makes the most sense that a teacher be able to see where his or her students performed well and where they really missed the boat. How are teachers supposed to adjust their instruction accordingly if they don't have that information? I mean, isn't that the whole purpose of assessment? I, for one, absolutely want to know how my students performed on a big test like that, first of all to see if I'll still have a job, but mostly so I can help my students improve for the next one.
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Jackie I couldn't agree with you more. Ongoing assessments are very important when measuring what the student has learned over time. Your dance team example was excellent by highlighting that although, you knew the dance and had perfected it when it came time to actually perform before the judges you bombed it, but you still made the team because you were assessed throughout the entire week. This same type of assessment should be present in classrooms as well. There have been many times where I would study and study for a test but when it came time to actually take the test my mind would go blank, but does that mean that I did not know the material.....NO. Teachers should keep this in mind as well as they assess students within their classroom.
ReplyDeleteJackie, I agree with the whole dance tryouts experience. I was the same way when I tried out for cheerleading in high school. I agree with you that teachers should assess students on a regular basis because everyone has his or her good days and bad days. I agree with you that all teachers should be able to receive their students' results from tests. How can a teacher adjust instruction or make changes needed if he or she does not know the areas that need adjustments? It only makes sense that teachers would have access to this information in order to better their instruction and increase the learning of all students. I enjoyed reading your blog!
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