ASSESSMENT, EVALUATION, TECHNOLOGY
& RESEARCH
The teacher understands and has knowledge of traditional and non-traditional assessment tools, including portfolio and performance-based assessments and technological applications. The teacher possesses sufficient knowledge of assessment and research strategies designed to assist, monitor, and evaluate learning outcomes for all students.
Though I've learned many useful things during my student teaching and graduate student experience, one of the most beneficial has been to re-evaluate just HOW I define success for my students. Initially, I believed that the ultimate goal for ALL of my students were top-notch colleges and high-paying business jobs. But the more time I spent getting to know students are really listening to what they WANT out of life, I learned that this is one area where it's essential to be flexible and open-minded. In fact, not all of my students WANT that life for themselves. All of my students have natural skills and abilities that can be shaped and enhanced to be the very best version of THEMSELVES. as opposed to some cookie-cutter student. And as a result of letting go of this rather strict picture of success that I was so tied to, I realized that not all of my students can be measured and assessed in the same way.
Though there are certain more formal, data based styles of assessment that I see the value in--- occasionally having unit tests, grading math quizzes, using standardized tests as a state wide means of documenting student achievement, I've found other types of assessment more flexible and beneficial to students with their different learning styles and ability levels. One assessment that I find particularly useful is the collection of a year long student portfolio full of student work. This acts as a nice reflection for the students (and their parents) and for determining whether or not they're ready to move up a level. Some other forms of assessment I really preference are allowing the student to select the assessment to complete (for example, choosing to take a test or give an oral presentations), letting the students create projects or do something interactive to provide proof of their knowledge, letting the students use computer programs to design projects to share with the class or to make presentations, teaching the class a new skill or even theatrically acting out the new skill.
Finally, I've found that just assessing participation can be useful. In the photograph above, two of my autistic students who generally refuse to participate in classroom activities or to interact with other students, are climbing a rock-wall together on a field trip. Though for some students this would just be playing around, for these two, doing this was monumental. It's impossible to witness this and not see it as a stepping stone in their growth!!!
To really benefit our students, I believe that they must be exposed to a multitude of different types of assessments. Just as our learners are unique and diverse, the forms of assessment used must be just as diverse as the learners they assess!
Though I've learned many useful things during my student teaching and graduate student experience, one of the most beneficial has been to re-evaluate just HOW I define success for my students. Initially, I believed that the ultimate goal for ALL of my students were top-notch colleges and high-paying business jobs. But the more time I spent getting to know students are really listening to what they WANT out of life, I learned that this is one area where it's essential to be flexible and open-minded. In fact, not all of my students WANT that life for themselves. All of my students have natural skills and abilities that can be shaped and enhanced to be the very best version of THEMSELVES. as opposed to some cookie-cutter student. And as a result of letting go of this rather strict picture of success that I was so tied to, I realized that not all of my students can be measured and assessed in the same way.
Though there are certain more formal, data based styles of assessment that I see the value in--- occasionally having unit tests, grading math quizzes, using standardized tests as a state wide means of documenting student achievement, I've found other types of assessment more flexible and beneficial to students with their different learning styles and ability levels. One assessment that I find particularly useful is the collection of a year long student portfolio full of student work. This acts as a nice reflection for the students (and their parents) and for determining whether or not they're ready to move up a level. Some other forms of assessment I really preference are allowing the student to select the assessment to complete (for example, choosing to take a test or give an oral presentations), letting the students create projects or do something interactive to provide proof of their knowledge, letting the students use computer programs to design projects to share with the class or to make presentations, teaching the class a new skill or even theatrically acting out the new skill.
Finally, I've found that just assessing participation can be useful. In the photograph above, two of my autistic students who generally refuse to participate in classroom activities or to interact with other students, are climbing a rock-wall together on a field trip. Though for some students this would just be playing around, for these two, doing this was monumental. It's impossible to witness this and not see it as a stepping stone in their growth!!!
To really benefit our students, I believe that they must be exposed to a multitude of different types of assessments. Just as our learners are unique and diverse, the forms of assessment used must be just as diverse as the learners they assess!
CONFERENCING
One method for quickly documenting and assessing where a student is performing currently can be done through brief, one-on-one conferencing. This was a concept first really emphasized to me during my student teaching experience. Since my classroom teachers had no official rubric/means for documenting these conferences, I made small, slip-style papers with 4 main categories (student's strengths, student's struggle, suggestions made for improvement, noticable improvement during 1:1 conferencing), to be used for reading, writing and math daily for each student (at the teacher's discretion). The picture to the left is an example of some of these conference slips.
Attached below are some examples of assessment material I've created over the last four years. In addition, I've attached some electronic forms I've created for documenting reading record assessments and easy updating.
Attached below are some examples of assessment material I've created over the last four years. In addition, I've attached some electronic forms I've created for documenting reading record assessments and easy updating.
american_colonization_test.doc | |
File Size: | 727 kb |
File Type: | doc |
civil_war_quiz.doc | |
File Size: | 339 kb |
File Type: | doc |
student_conferencing_guidelines_1.odt | |
File Size: | 17 kb |
File Type: | odt |
student_reading_levels_quick_analysis.odt | |
File Size: | 16 kb |
File Type: | odt |