Use of a Portfolio to Assess Students in Math and Science For a young child, going off to school can be an intimidating experience. Thoughts of whether the other children will like them, if they will have enough money to buy an ice cream at lunch, or if they will have homework that night overwhelms their minds. However, a major part of schooling is testing, and many children freeze when they hear that word. Think about yourself in a testing situation then imagine what it is like for a young child to feel this defeating anxiety. That is why I am informing you, as fellow committee members, teachers, and learners alike, of these ideas for assessing children in math and science. I hope you will all take the time to think about these different methods, and possibly agree on a way to assess our children in the classroom, and eventually present these ideas to the school board to be voted on. As teachers of math and science, we need to stop and ask ourselves what it is we are hoping to accomplish in our classroom. Is it most important for the child to get the right answer, or are we more concerned with how he or she gets the answer? Granted, we are striving for the correct answer, but sometimes numbers are added incorrectly, data is written down wrong, or a child's handwriting is misread. Personally, I feel it is the process the student uses to get to the answer which is important, whether it is right or wrong. "Because the intent [of a new model of assessment] is to assess the creation of knowledge and the processes involved rather than to measure the extent to which students have acquired a coverage of the field of mathematics, a much wider variety of measures, many of them qualitative, are needed" (Bright & Jo... ... middle of paper ... ...f our students in math and science. I feel very passionately for the use of a portfolio, because I feel the students will feel they have more of a say in their education. After all, we all need to work together, because we are all part of a team, the same team. References Bright, G.W. & Joyner, J.M. (1998). Classroom assessment in mathematics. New York: University of America, Inc. Christofi, C. (1988). Assessment & profiling in science. London: Cassell. Cutler, C.S. & Monroe, E.E. (1999, Summer). Contemporary education. What are you learning, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?–the diary of a teacher's incorporation of portfolios into mathematics instruction, 70, 52-55. Kulm, G. (1994). Mathematics assessment. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Romberg, T.A. (1992). Mathematics assessment and evaluation. Albany: State University of New York Press.
The educator is giving the student a tool so he or she can break down the process of his or her errors. Once a child can acknowledge the concepts they truly do not understand, then an educator assist the student with the correct methods. If the error involves simple calculation, then students can learn better habits as to take their time or be more cautious. They can also incorporate better lifestyle behaviors before taking a test such as, retiring to bed earlier the night before or eating a hearty breakfast in the morning. These types of assessment practices and customs can build positive self-confidence in children who in turn will succeed. On the contrary, if they have negative premeditated thoughts of impending doom they will be sure to fail. It is known that a positive attitude in any situation is the greatest foundation for success. Now that I have returned to school with the ambition of becoming an educator, I am extremely pleased to witness some of the positive evolutions regarding assessments. Stiggin’s point of view is very well noted and will stay with me throughout my teaching career. Although, I am very aware this is a subject matter that always has room for improvements and should continuously be under
Stiggins, R.J., Arter, J., Chappuis, J., & Chappuis, S. (2004). Classroom assessment for student learning: doing it right-using it well. Portland, OR: Assessment Training Institute.
Referred to as “assessment of learning,” (Chappuis, J., Stiggins, Chappuis, S., & Arter, 2012, pg. 5) components of summative learning include evaluating, measuring, and making judgements about student knowledge, both on individual levels and group levels. Rather than supporting learning by way of formative assessment, summative assessment verifies learning, (Chappuis, J., Stiggins, Chappuis, S., Arter, 2012). Naturally, this is what interests educational stakeholders: administrators, parents, teachers, and those who create educational policies. (Chappuis, J., Stiggins, Chappuis, S., & Arter, 2012, pg. 5). Summative assessment historically and presently presents itself in the form of graded quizzes, tests, graded papers and presentations, district benchmark tests, state standardized tests, and college entrance
Puckett, M., & Black, J. (2008). Meaningful assessments of the young child. (3th ed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc.
...t approach is only focusing on a single topic each year and I do not see how that would be productive and effective over the time span of a year. We have to cover over a number of materials and if we dwell on one for the whole year, what would our students be ultimately learning? I feel like I would find solace in my classroom by incorporating the student-based teaching method but I would also find interesting ways for their comprehensive skills to improve using the more traditional teacher-based methods.
tests were primarily employed as measures of student achievement that could be reported to parents, and as a means of noting state and district trends (Moon 2) . Teachers paid little attention to these tests, which in turn had little impact on curriculum. However, in the continuing quest for better schools and high achieving students, testing has become a central focus of policy and practice. Standardized tests are tests that attempt to present unbiased material under the same, predetermined conditions and with consistent scoring and interpretation so that students have equal opportunities to give correct answers and receive an accurate assessment. The idea is that these similarities allow the highest degree of certainty in comparing result...
One solution offered by Alfie Kohn, a well-renowned speaker on human behavior, education, and parenting, suggests that teachers would give parents written evaluations of how their child is performing and having frequent conferences available to talk about their child’s performance. Kohn believes that the most effective teachers do not rely solely on standardized tests. Great teachers are able to observe their students and are able to see without the use of exams how well their students understand the concepts being taught. In 1999, Phi Delta Kappa and Gallup poll surveyed the community. Individuals were asked to choose which of four approaches they felt would be the most precise evaluation of a student’s educational development. Using exam scores from standardized testing received the lowest percentage of 27%. Evaluating work that the students have done over a period of time received the highest number of votes at 33%, while the remainder of the votes were divided between letter grades and written evaluations from teachers after observing each student (Pollard, J, 1999).
The goal of education is to provide children with the opportunity to amass a wealth of knowledge, love for learning, and academic strength. Children go to school to read, write, and learn a variety of subjects. While education is meant to be exciting for children, there have to be standards in order to make sure that progress is being and those children are where they need to be in order to move onto the next phase of their education. Education builds as it grows, and students need a strong foundation in order to succeed and continue. Without those strong building blocks, students will continue to fall back and repeat the same material again and again. And so, testing and assessment come into play to make sure children are where they need to be. However, in early childhood settings testing is almost non-existent because of the stigma around testing. The current debate in our education system argues that testing is not a good measure of a child’s actual knowledge. Rather, assessment gives teachers a better picture of a student’s abilities and capabilities in the classroom. Thus, currently the debate continues over assessment versus testing in the classroom due to the demand for knowledge on whether or not testing is a good way of measuring a student’s progress in school.
Assessments have always been a tool for teachers to assess mastery and for a long time it was just to provide a grade and enter it into the grade book or report card. Through resources in and out of the course, there has been a breath of new life into the research on how to use assessments. They take many forms and fall within the summative or formative assessment category. Sloan (2016) addresses how formative assessments has traditionally been used by teachers to modify instruction, but when we focus on a classroom that is learner-centered “it becomes assessment for learning as opposed to assessment of learning” (slide 4). The fact is, the students are the ones that should be and are the ones using the data we collect through assessments, since it is our way of providing feedback in order
National assessments and reports often act as a jumpstart for research agendas, curriculum development, and professional development training. Analysis and assessment of student learning weaves its way into all three categories as the message of current reform in mathematics becomes clear. Assessment is not somethi...
Schoenfeld, Alan (1988), “When Good Teaching Leads to Bad Results: The Disasters of ‘Well-Taught’ Mathematics Courses,” Educational Psychologist, 23 (2), 145-166.
Large- scaled, published, standardized testing encompass highly- technical and statistically sophisticated standards that are measured by validity and reliability (McMillan, 2013, p. 58). When thinking about validity and reliability in classroom assessment, there are four questions to consider: Why am I doing this assessment?, What techniques should I use to gather information?, How will I interpret the results (standards/ criteria being used)?, and How will I use the results? (McMillian, 2013, p.15).
...S. and Stepelman, J. (2010). Teaching Secondary Mathematics: Techniques and Enrichment Units. 8th Ed. Merrill Prentice Hall. Upper Saddle River, NJ.
Assessment is vital to the education process considering that it allows teachers diagnose students’ difficulties, strengths and provide positive, supportive and useful feedback to learners since it measures not only the students’ performance, but also, the progress they are making (Lennon, 2012, p.4). In the same token, an article about classroom assessment states that “assessment is a systematic process of gathering information about what a student knows, is able to do, and is learning to do”. Moreover, the information gathered in the assessment process offers the foundation for decision-making and planning for instruction and learning. To sum up, assessment is an integral part of instruction that enhances, empowers, and celebrates student learning (Classroom Assessment, n.d. p.3).
Portfolios serve the purpose of an extensive record of a student’s best work and skills. As the student progresses through life, record keeping and reflection becomes an expectation. A résumé cannot possibly describe the entire list of qualities each individual possesses. As a result, portfolios thrive in high schools and offices alike to demonstrate a person’s capabilities in the greatest detail. Any person with a future-oriented mindset should have a portfolio to create opportunities for a successful life.