The assessment I chose is called End of course assessment (EOC). The purpose of the EOC Assessments is to measure student achievement in the subject areas of English/Language Arts and Mathematics. The EOC is a criterion-referenced assessments developed specifically for students after they have completed the course. It is a computer-based examination with computer based accommodations. The EOC assessment measures the Florida State Standards or the Next generation sunshine state standards (NGSSS) for courses such as Algebra 1, Biology 1, Geometry, U.S History and Civics, starting in 3rd grade all through 12th grade. According to the Florida department of education “starting in 2014-15, assessments aligned to the Florida Standards replaced assessments …show more content…
It will also help understand how effectively students apply their knowledge as well as helping teachers become aware of the students’ readiness for postsecondary education. The strengths of this assessment will signify whether students are ready to enter and succeed in entry-level higher education coursework in reading, writing or mathematics without the need for remediation courses. “This trend is gaining steam nationwide to help students prepare for success while they are still in high school, streamline overall testing systems and make postsecondary education and workforce expectations more transparent” (Brown and Conley, 2007; Conley, 2003; Education Trust, 2007; Education Week, 2007; Goldrick-Rab and Mazzeo, 2005; Le, Hamilton & Robyn, 2000; Venezia and Kirst, 2004). The student performance on tests influences the nature of the content measured; “the rigor and complexity of the test questions; the performance standards (also known as “cut scores”); the alignment of content standards, local curriculum and teaching with the assessment; and students’ opportunity to learn the tested material” (Postal, L, 2016). Furthermore, it is not possible to presume that EOC assessment has any consistent or predictable influence on how many students will meet the state
Students dread the time of the year when they stop with their course material and begin to prepare for test. Everyone is in agreement that some type of revolution is needed when it comes to education; eliminating standardized test will aid the reform. The need for standardized testing has proven to be ineffective and outdated; some leading educationalist also believe this because the tests do not measure a student’s true potential. This will save money, stop labeling, and alleviate stress in students and teachers.
... a tedious process, but the change can have immense, positive effects for the future college student. The ACT and SAT that supposedly measure a student's learning potential through multiple-choice questions should be replaced by a test of a student's desire to learn determined through the analysis of essays, recommendation letters, and school or community involvement. This change can result in a more academically motivated freshman class. Standardized testing in its current form does not accurately measure most students' learning potential. It does not allow for diversity and creates a huge hurdle for many potential academic achievers. An adjustment to a diverse, open testing format of the ACT or SAT and a stress on the student's other academic accomplishments can accurately measure the student's desire to learn, therefore measuring the student's learning potential.
Although the California Department of Education (CDE) would argue that the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE) is an effective way to evaluate student progress, based on recent interviews with parents, teachers, California public high school graduates and even the leadership of the CDE, there is no doubt this test creates a better education system and hinders a student’s performance. According to the state Department of Education figures for the class of 2014, 19,679 students did not pass the exit exam by the end of the senior year. Those alternatives included using the results of the eleventh grade Smarter Balanced Assessments; using results of other exams, such as the SAT, ACT or Advanced Placement tests, as a “proxy” for the exit exam; or using course completion in high school as a measure of proficiency. When asked if the exit exam was now abolished, Superintendent Torlakson hesitated, but explained that he, along with Mark McLean, CDE Assessment Development and Administration Division Director, look forward to forming a panel of students, parents, teachers, and education administrators to develop a more thoughtful approach to high school graduation requirements.
Even with material being taught incessantly, standardized tests can not accurately measure a student’s ability. The tests are “single-target—meaning that every student, no matter what level of achievement or ability, course selection, or cu...
The district is now making all teachers use an assessment tool called iReady. It is a website that assesses students in math and reading. They are first tested on a kindergarten through fifth grade range to find out what they know. Then the program takes that score and determines the right level for the child and they are tested again on the level. Once all students have been assessed the program orders the students from highest to lowest and by average grade level skill they are on: early second grade, middle second grade, late second grade or any other grade. The teacher uses those scores to create her reading groups, math groups and the students she will give extra assistance to. They haven’t officially established how many times and when they will do this iReady assessment but for now they are doing it once a week for forty five minutes. The test also flags if they spent too long or too little time on a question. The ones that spent less than 15 seconds per problem are to go back and do the assessment again.
Some students simply do not test well, others try their hardest and still cannot reach the impracticable standards set for them. The individuals who create these tests do not understand the pressures of being a student, or the struggle to answer thirty-five questions in a compressed time period. One test cannot accurately measure the intelligence of a student.
Primarily, standardized testing has been the ongoing problem for many of Florida’s schools. Each year the state must create and issue new tests, and 2014 is no different. The major reconstruction will come from the riddance of FCAT (Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test), but, according to state education officials, “they are on schedule to replace… [it] within 18 months” (2014, McGrory). The plans for the updated tests include switching to new standards and benchmarks that will better measure progress for Florida students. The National Governors Association first created these standards, which would later be adopted by 45 states. The standards highlight aspects that the previous standards neglected. In addition to new standards, Florida must adopt a new company to issue these standardized tests. The original choice was the Partnership for Assessment of College and Career Readiness, but proposal calls eliminated the PARCC from the running. Now, five companies are fighting for the top spot. The chosen company will be announced in late March, which concerns many. Many argue that the state needs to take time to create a new test that is well thought-out and can be issued for many years to come. The Florida As...
Standardized testing scores proficiencies in most generally accepted curricular areas. The margin of error is too great to call this method effective. “High test scores are generally related to things other than the actual quality of education students are receiving” (Kohn 7). “Only recently have test scores been published in the news-paper and used as the primary criteria for judging children, teachers, and schools.”(2) Standardized testing is a great travesty imposed upon the American Public School system.
Standardized testing remains to be a major controversial issue for the American society today. Exams are given to students at different levels in their educational career and are supposed to measure their academic knowledge, but are these tests really the best way to evaluate students? There have been numerous alternatives suggested to replace or be used in conjunction with standardized testing.
Exit Exams are an unfair way of determining whether a student should or should not receive his or her diploma. Most students work very hard throughout high school to receive good grades. This should be enough to determine whether a student should pass high school. There are many intelligent students which do not have good test taking skills, exit exams keep many good students from graduating and teachers have to narrow their lesson plans for these types of exit exams. These are all good reasons why exit exams should not be required in graduating from high school.
Assessment, in the context of education, was defined by Lambert, D (2000, pag 4) as the processs of gathering, recording and using information about pupils' responses to educational tasks. Despite some can consider that assessment is separated from the learning process, assessment is, in fact, an essential part of the learning proccess. Maguire, M. and Dillon, J. (2007, pag 213) pointed out that assessment is intrincately bound-up in the teaching-learning cycle.
Based on the Programme for International Student Assessment’s 2012 results (PISA), the United States has ranked 30th in comparison to other Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) participating countries. The United States, a country that has once held the ideal for educational standards, has now ranked just slightly above other countries that are just being developed. By using high-stakes test statistics to drive America’s educational standards, classrooms are beginning to lose their meaning of helping students to learn and grow as individuals. Because of classrooms just teaching the test are beginning to lose the meaning of helping students to learn and grow as individuals, results of high stakes testing which can be affected by the minutest details, are not a reasonable way to judge overall student competency; a better alternative would be by performance based assessments. “Test developers are obliged to create a series of one-size-fits-all assessments. But, as most of us know from attempting to wear one-size-fits-all garments, sometimes one size really can’t fit all.” (Popham, James W.). High stakes tests are not a reasonable way to judge overall student competency because educators can not expect to have accurate and precise results in just one sitting for 12 years of learning. Although tests pose an important role in education, they should not be given such high stakes of determining if a student should be rejected from a college “based solely on the fact that their score wasn’t high enough” (Stake, Robert.).
Assessments were not aligned and incongruent with what was happening in the classroom. It was difficult to accurately measure student success (Polikoff, Porter, & Smithson, 2011). One of the greatest contributors to the difficulty of aligning assessments to standards is that the standards are so complex (LaMarca, 2001.) How can a single assessment demonstrate mastery of so much content? Also, some assessments items measure multiple standards. This can be difficult to analyze. Furthermore, some assessment contain content that is neither developmentally appropriate for the intended audience or it may content that is not mentioned in the standards (Polikoff, Porter, & Smithson, 2011). This can be discouraging and frustrating for both students and
Through assessment students and teachers are able to determine the level of mastery a student has achieved with standards taught. Both formative and summative assessment should be purposeful and targeted to gain the most accurate data to drive further instruction (Ainsworth, 2010). While this syllabus does a good job of identifying the need for both formal and informal assessments, the way in which this is communicated does not provide enough detail for understanding. Simply listing assessment types does not give any insight into how these assessments fit in the learning process of this course. While some of the assessments mentioned could be common assessments chosen by the school or district to gain insight into the effectiveness of instruction, the inclusion of authentic assessments is most beneficial to students and demonstrates learning in a context closer to that of a work environment (Rovai, 2004). Unfortunately, this particular course, according to this syllabus, relies heavily on quizzes and traditional tests and essays to form the bulk of assessment opportunities. While other activities, such as formative assessments, journaling and discussions are mentioned as possible avenues for scoring, they are given a very low percentage of the overall grade. This shows that they are not valued for their ability to show progression and mastery. If this is indeed the case, this puts the students as a
It is my goal to make assessment and grading a positive element to my classroom for both my students and me. I want to give many opportunities for my students to do well and achieve mastery as well as become the best student they can be. Students should not just be measured by the end result. Learning is a process and I believe that it is in this process that true learning occurs. Aside from being graded on the basic facts, students need to be measured on how well they apply their knowledge. Assessment will be a huge part of my classroom; however, I will hold more importance for a student’s performance and progress rather than a factual test. Down the road, these students will need the skills learned during their early years. A multiple choice question isn’t what is going to help them in the long run