According to Caralee J. Adams (2014) in “Essay-Grading Software Seen as Time-Saving Tool,” the use of essay-grading software has increased throughout the years; however, some believe there are flaws in the technology. First, Adams supports her opinion by pointing out that teachers have increased their use of essay-grading software because of a push for students to become better writers and to meet Common Core standards (pg. 1). Although it takes hours for teachers to read and grade students’ essays, teachers know that the only way students can become better writers is to write often. To assess deeper thinking with Common Core standards, there has been a shift from assigning multiple choice questions to assigning essay questions. Essay-grading software can help teachers read essays more quickly. Then, Adams says “over the years, the capabilities have changed substantially, evolving from simple rule-based coding to more sophisticated software systems” (pg. 2). The …show more content…
Technology is an essential addition to my instruction and is constantly present in my students’ everyday lives. It only makes sense that educators are using technology for assessments and standardized tests. Adams stated that because essay-grading technology has improved throughout the years, some standardized tests have used it to analyze the essay portions (pg. 3). I feel that not only could this save time reading and analyzing the essays, but it could possibly even prevent bias or human scoring errors. Some essay-grading technology can be used to provide feedback to students before they submit an assignment. This technology seems beneficial because it could help ensure that a student is submitting a high-quality essay, which would allow the teacher to provide meaningful feedback on craft and arguments instead of focusing on grammar and mechanics
Most of us can remember back to high school and through out college where we had to turn in papers that accounted for a lot of points. We would always be waiting to see what our grade was whether we were confident in our writing or not. We were waiting to see how much red ink was spewed across our nicely
In other words, two teachers may give the same assignment two completely different grades based on their own grading style. This puts an incredible amount of stress on a student because they need to complete assignments that will satisfy their current teacher, whose expectations and grading style could be very similar or very different from the student’s previous teacher. Alfie Kohn believes that the influence grades have on a student’s life doesn’t help this situation, and may even make it worse by providing students with a false sense of security about their knowledge. In her article “From Degrading to De-grading”, she states that scores on tests can be largely based on how the test was written and what skills were tested (Kohn 240). Therefore, it is up to teachers to identify what topics students must master in order to be proficient and score well on standardized tests. But when the class is not structured with a consideration for the material used on such tests, students enter the test blind to the skills that they will be expected to know and use. Anyone can memorize a list of facts off a study guide and score well on a multiple choice test the next day, but skills such as analyzing literature and interpreting a handful of graphs containing data from a scientific experiment are skills that require time and hours of instruction to master.
John F. Kennedy once said, “A child miseducated is a child lost.” As educators it is our job to teach all students to the best of our ability in order to prevent children from becoming lost in the educational realm. We can do this by adequately familiarizing ourselves with the current demands of the United State’s educational system. These demands consist of implementing a rigorous and relevant framework into every classroom along with knowing and being able to meet the new Common Core State Standards. Throughout this paper, I will discuss the Rigor and Relevance Framework and how it relates to the Common Core, the new demands of the Common Core Standards, how these standards provoke new means of assessment, the shift towards more informational-based texts, and the new ways of assessing writing through performance.
With the advent of the internet, more written material is being published than ever before, including essays written to fulfill college assignments. Is it any wonder that many students, ill-prepared by a culture of quick-fix solutions, choose to buy essays available online and submit them dishonestly as their own work? No. It's predictable.
Originally this category was titled technology and assessments, but I needed to make the category larger in scope to fit in some of the more “specialized” articles. This article was published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2009 by Edy S. Quellmalz and James W. Pellegrino was simply titled, “Technology and Testing”. Although the focus of this work centered on large-scale testing, there was some helpful dialogue surrounding classroom-based assessments that proved useful. The main idea of this article was that besides the obvious advantage of quick, accurate scoring and feedback, technological applications can be used to provide “rich, authentic tasks that challenge the sorts of integrated knowledge, critical thinking, and problem solving seldom well addressed in paper-based tests” (Quellmalz & Pellegrino, 75). In other words, these two authors strongly feel technological based assessments are superior to paper-based assessments, and thus will yield greater results. They go on to say that this shift in assessment is a crucial part of 21st-century learning and will continue to improve and develop. Already this can be seen within districts as they struggle to implement the PARCC throughout their schools. In their discussion of classroom instructional uses of technology-based assessments, the authors reaffirm the benefits of formative assessments if they
With the rapid growth of technology in America’s society today, the use of computers in school classrooms has increased tremendously—an action that certainly has become beneficial to students, educators, and parents. The use of computers has positively skyrocketed over the past ten years. Not only are computers utilized daily in large companies across the world, but the everyday use in classrooms has also become prevalent. Using modern technology to assist school instructors with his or her daily lessons should definitely be regarded as a positive, acceptable method of instruction and not definitely does not prohibit students from understanding or critical thinking.
A person could clearly see that by simply looking at the grades that I have made on my final essays. On each essay so far this semester I have been able to earn a higher grade than the previous essay. One thing that I was able to correct by looking back on was usage of the word “it.” As stated by Schwartz, “It is a pronoun, so it must be replacing a noun or pronoun, what is it replacing?” By reflecting to my previous essays and reading this comment I was able to further understand the usage of the word it, and along with this I would be able to correct it in essays after that. Along with getting better grades on my final papers, I was able to further understand the purpose of pre-writing assignments. In the beginning of the year I would look at pre-writing assignments as almost a waste of time, but as I progressed through the course I would see just how much of an impact they could have. Whenever I would do badly on a pre-writing assignment it would usually translate over to a mediocre rough draft. Whenever I realized this I was able to grow off of previous mistakes and spend more time on the pre-writing. The more time I spent on the pre-writing the better grade I would get on that assignment as well as the rough draft. Despite me constantly reflecting to my previous essays, it is still one thing that I need to work on. During one of my essays I was making the same mistakes that I had made in previous essays, so much that my professor stated “See comments in previously graded assignments and apply them to the writing in this one” (Schwartz). I was making so many of the same mistakes that I had to go to my previous paper to see what I was doing wrong. After I read this comment I realized how vital it was to assess the comments made on my papers and apply it whenever I am writing. During the final parts of the course I was able to comprehend comments made by
Teachers would share information and research as well as their own experiences to support and develop the grading reform. An English teacher had shared her experience on using the method of practicing and retaking for her assessments. Students who didn’t do well in a section the first time had the chance to put their practice into extra work for the second time, and the grading of that work had replaced the first. As a result, more than 65% of her students scores had increased and they were able to master the skill. This development had strengthen their grading.
Some teachers only think of summative assessments that are used for reporting grades. When used this way, assessments do not lead to learning. If teachers will effectively use formative assessments to provide students with timely feedback and individualize instruction based on assessment feedback, it will result in enhanced learning (Brink & Bartz, 2017). In order for this to happen schools need to develop a culture of formative assessment. Teachers need to be trained in the use of formative assessments and administration will need to cultivate this change in culture (Brink & Bartz,
Assessments are an important part of teaching. Assessments are a good way for teachers to monitor students’ learning and understanding. Knowing students’ level of understanding can help teachers improve students’ learning and guide their instructions. In the future, I plan to continue assessing students in multiple ways such as, asking questions, illustrations and writing to adjust my instruction. I also plan to encourage students to assess their own work so they are involved in their own learning as well as look for ways to “employ technology to support assessment
So what’s the big issue with traditional testing methods? They’ve been instituted for years and no one seemed to have a problem before now. Well, in the past decade, the nation’s citizens have become increasingly compassionate towards students and their individual needs. President George W. Bush has gotten generous praise for his No Child Left Behind Act of 2002 as a result of popular concerns among communities across the country. While the act may still have areas in need of improvement, it illustrates that educators, parents, and students alike have been desirous of reform within school systems. “The number of calls complaining about high-stakes exams coming from parents...are increasing, and is a reason for concern” (Report, 2001). The recent act caters to the actualization that students are different from one another, and in order for teaching and learning to take place in a non-discriminatory manner, adjustments must be made. According to the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC), “Alternative assessment is any form of measuring what students know and are able to do other than traditional standardized tests. Alternative forms of assessment include portfolios that are collections of students' work over time, performance-based assessments, and other means of testing students such as open-ended essays with no single correct answer, and project work that involves collaboration with peers” (2000). Students learn in many ways. Some learn by listening to lessons and may prefer an environment with the aid of music and rhythm. Others may be visual learners who gather information by looking at photographs or watching videos. There are still others that learn kinesthetic...
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By nature, most students are brought up in an academic environment motivated to get A’s and B’s on their report cards. Those grades sometimes don’t thoroughly report how much a student has learned or gained knowledge in each topic. Some instructors throw in factors totally unrelated to learning, when the main objective of academic institutions is to learn. In order to clearly demonstrate how much a student has learned in the classroom, schools should change their current grading system and teach students how to learn.
Technology properly used in the classroom has many advantages to a student’s learning. Technology can help students become more involved in their own learning process, which is not seen in the traditional classroom. It allows them to master basic skills at their own rate rather than being left behind. Teachers and students alike can connect to real life situations by using technology in the classroom; this can also help to prepare students for real world situations. Technology can be used to motivate students as well as to offer more challenging opportunities. It can also be used as a visualization tool to keep students interested in the subject that is being taught. When technology is used effectively, students have the opportunity to develop skills that they may not get without the use of technology (Cleaver, 2011). Assessing and monitoring students is easier on the teacher because of the ability to use technology in the classroom. When technology is used correctly it offers limitless resources to a classroom atmosphere.
Technology have changed the way teachers are now accountable to teach, and the way students are learning. During this course I have learned key implications of new