While there exists a myriad of teaching strategies, approaches and assessment, the most crucial feature of good assessment is that it is student centered. Additionally I will show that feedback in assessment is the primary means for making assessment student-centered and most effective.
For many years assessment of student progress typically resulted in summative assessment, that is the result of what the student learned and how well they learned- summation of their learning. More people are embracing a different approach to assessing students and thereby how we teach students. Formative assessment is “the informal and formal processes teachers and students use to gather evidence for the purpose of improving learning.” (Chappui, Stiggins,
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“ What is understood will, of course, change the new experiences as new ideas and skill are presented to help make sense of it(Harlen & James 1997).” The teacher and student need to know the answer to this as this will shape instruction and, if as I am arguing, we use formative assessment as a learning strategy, then our assessment as …show more content…
Identifying purposes, goals, types of targets and assessment methods from the outset allow for student and teacher to be on the same page. Further when using assessment methods, we must “design assessments that align with our targets and serve our purposes (Chappui, Stiggins, Chappuis, & Arter, 2012, p. 87).”
Bibliography
Black, P. W. (March 1998 5.1). Assessment and classroom learning. Assessment in Education, 7-68.
Harlen, & James, M. (1997). Assessment and learning:Differences and relationships between formative and summative assessment. Assessment in Education 4.3 , 365-379.
Higdon, R., Marshall, J., & Taylor, S. (Sept. 2014). What 's the Matter? Looking Beyond the Macroscop. Science Scop 38.1, 80-85.
Jan Chappuis, R. S. (2012). Classroom Assessment for Student Learning . New Jersey: Pearson Education Inc.
Ketabi, S., & Saeed, K. (2014). Classroom Formative Assessment in Second and Foreign Language Teaching and Learning. Theory and Practice in Language Studies.
Liu, Y. (2013). Preliminary Study on Application of Formative Assessment in Collge English Writing Class. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, Vol 3, No 12, 2186-2195.
Williams, J. (2000). Creativity in Assessment of Library Instruction. Services Review 28.4,
This article, initiated by the Assessment Group of the British Educational Research Association, focuses on how improving formative assessment raises standards and how there is still room for improvement. It discusses the importance of self and peer assessments and effective teaching. They also identified four ways to implement classroom policies to improve formative assessment.
Elwood, J. (2006). Formative assessment: possibilities, boundaries and limitations. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 215-232, doi:10.1080/09695940600708653
The teacher facilitates tracking of student progress on one or more learning goals using a formative approach to assessment.
Stiggins, R. J. (2006, November/December). Assessment for learning: A key to motivation and achievement. Edge, 2, 3-19.
Curriculum and instruction is impacted by assessment, and whether in the design, delivery or data interpretation processes, aligning these apparatuses is most challenging part of being a teacher. Teachers are called to exercise an alignment between assessment and curriculum, use assessment to guide instruction, and deliver assessment that truly evaluates achievement. Two forms of assessment used in the classroom, formative and summative possess important components, that track them into purposeful, designated uses. Even more so challenging as a teacher in using these two assessments is understanding how they work separately, together, and exploring how they might be used with and for each other.
However, a formative assessment is ongoing and is used to check for students’ understanding throughout a lesson. Both work samples “matched learning objectives” and I was able to identify the students’ strength and weaknesses. I was also able to “analyze assessment data to understand patterns and gaps in learning” to guide my future instructions. In the word problem assessment, I recognized where the student was struggling and gave “effective and descriptive feedback” to address the area that she needs work in.
Black, Paul. (2003). The Nature and Value of Formative Assessment for Learning. Improving Schools. 6 (3) 7-22
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
The purpose of formative assessment is to find where students are in their learning. This type of assessment is carried out day-to-day, in every lesson. Its outcomes will help the teacher on making well-founded judgements about pupils' understanding of concepts, deciding what the next learning steps should be and, therefore on planning effectively. In addition, other purpose of formative assessment is to provide students with inmediate feedback about their performance.
Cauley, K.H. & McMillan, J.H. (2009). Formative assessment techniques to support student motivation and achievement. Clearing House, 83(1), 1-6.
In spite of the importance of assessment in education, few teachers receive proper training on how to design or analyze assessments. Due to this, when teachers are not provided with suitable assessments from their textbooks or instructional resources, teachers construct their own in an unsystematic manner. They create questions and essay prompts comparable to the ones that their teachers used, and they treat them as evaluations to administer when instructional activities are completed predominantly for allocating students' grades. In order to use assessments to improve instruction and student learning, teachers need to change their approach to assessments by making sure that they create sound assessments. To ensure that their assessments are sound they need include five basic indicators that can be used as steps to follow when creating assessments. The first of these indicators and the first step a teacher must take when creating a sound assessme...
Some of the formative assessments I used included asking students questions and observing how they were working and discussing the information needed for their videos with their partner. Other forms of formative assessments included providing feedback and generating whole group discussions. I found myself using observations and feedback more frequently throughout my lesson. As I walked around the classroom, I noticed the students
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
As I reflect on my past assessment process, I realized how much my assessments have changed over the years. In my early years, I used tests for informational recall as my assessments. I felt these were appropriate guidelines in which I needed to follow in order to substantiate a student’s grade. Every assignment or tests was given a point value and then based on the amount of points, a grade was given. Every student’s assessment was exactly the same, and the assessments did not contain any subjectivity. I felt confident in giving the grade based on a valid point system. However reflecting back, I see that I did not include any performance-based assessments or individual learning styles in my early assessment. I also did not take into consideration the individual needs of my students. My assessment approach was awful. I am embarrassed that I use to assess students in this manner.