The article “Assessment Lessons from K-12 Education Research” is directed towards educators who can apply the idea of assessment for learning in their classrooms to enhance student learning. The article discusses how research on teaching to the test in K-12 settings has “documented the lack of generalized understanding of underlying principles” (Shepard, 2000). It states the importance of furthering student learning through two fundamental ways, form and content, and assessment process. The physics education research (PER) community have focused on the developing of students’ conceptual understanding and activities that promote prior knowledge. Assessments must be developed to meet learning goals with accurate measurement. In the article, …show more content…
Obtaining the knowledge about the basics of assessment for learning and the applications, I can do research on activities to do with my students and how to continuously improve learning within the classroom. These improvements can be implemented by encouraging a community of learners. Students develop abilities to “think and reason” through their social interactions. (Shepard, 2000). Sharing this information with other teachers and collaborating on the practices could increase the chances of student success within the whole school. When there is a lesson or subject that seems difficult for students, applying an assessment for learning activity into the lesson could provide an alternate route on how to approach the topic to reach mastery of the standard. I believe that the greatest benefit of assessment for learning is that it helps teachers deal with students who lack motivation due to the constant poor grades they receive. This type of assessment restores the students’ confidence in their own abilities which will later bring more success, which can then turn extrinsic students into intrinsic
Stiggins, R. J. (2006, November/December). Assessment for learning: A key to motivation and achievement. Edge, 2, 3-19.
Lillian, M. et al. (2006). Improving the preparation of K-12 teachers through physics education research. American Journal of Physics 74(9): 763-767.
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
High school is the most challenging part of life, to a high schooler. Trying to find your social group is crucial and maintaining those friendships shapes your high school experience. Grades are not taken as seriously as they should be for most people, but are still maintained to please your parents. Missing class, skipping class, or being late in general is customary, and most of your time is managed by the ‘adults’ in your life. You’re in a confusing space, battling between your own free will and the restrictions that are inflicted on you by law, whether it be your parents’, your schools, or even state laws, which regulate what time you 're allowed to be out, what you can wear, who you can date (that 's if you 're allowed to date at all),
Assessment is the biggest contributor to helping teachers determine what concepts or topics need to be taught or even skipped. “The purpose of all assessment is to provide teachers with the information to best inform their teaching and work with individual children, Eliason, C. et al. Assessments are related to the curriculum in the fact that it can change the teacher’s plan. Assessments show the teacher what students may or may not know and their strengths and weaknesses. If you noticed that most of your class struggled on a certain topic the you, the teacher, will not move forward, but will reteach the concept. You will not know what to teach your class without giving some form of assessment. Assessment is critical and highly important in the classroom and effects how lessons are taught and the sequence of your
In the article Seven Practices for Effective Learning by Jay McTighe and Ken O’Connor, several assessment and grading practices are presented. Characteristics of summative, diagnostic, and formative assessments are outlined. Based on these categories, descriptions of each practice is provided and compared with other typical forms of assessment typically used by teachers in the category. Justifications of how and why the practices enhance student achievement are also revealed.
“Assessment is one of the most effective instructional strategies to increase learning.” (Edutopia)When teachers think about assessment quality, they often focus on the accuracy of the instrument itself- the scope of which the assessment item tasks and scoring rubrics produce accurate information. It is imperative to use the different testing technique to improve learning. By taking tests, students can establish that they are independently capable of expressing their understanding of the material. I will have an opportunity to analyze each student's understanding and ability to apply learned information. I can then decide whether the
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
Assessments take on many forms, but all have one distinctive purpose, to empower a teacher with a resource that gathers information about students that will later be used for evaluating and analysing students’ knowledge and understanding, guiding teachers on what to report about a student’s achievement to the relevant stakeholders. Krause, Bochner, Duchesne and McMaugh (2010) describes assessment as “The gathering and analysing of information about a student’s achievement”. Assessing and reporting the achievement of a student is fundamental in the process of creating lifelong learners. Brady and Kennedy (2010) define “the purpose of assessment is a method used to make a diagnoses of students learning and progress. Principle one of the School Curriculum and Standards Authority states “Assessment should be an integral part of teaching and learning” (2013). Teachers have a responsibility to their students to ensure they are providing every
The National Education Association suggests that assessment is a “continuous flow of evidence that can only be provided by classroom assessment.” (NEA, 2003) Balanced assessments can actually promote student learning and achievement. “To maximize student success, assessment must be seen as an instructional tool for use while learning is occurring, and as an accountability tool to determine if learning has occurred.” (NEA, 2003)
Formal and informal assessments help the teacher to monitor learning progress, diagnose learning issues, and determine what they need to do next to further learning. In a regular classroom activity, they collect information about how students learn, what they know, what is working and what is not, and it helps a teacher to take decisions about teaching and learning process. Reflection on student accomplishments offers instructors insights on the effectiveness of their teaching strategies. By systematically gathering, analysing and interpreting evidence we can determine how well the student learning matching the outcomes for a lesson, unit or course. The knowledge from student feedback indicates the instructor that how to improve instruction, where to strengthen teaching. Pre- assessment, formative assessment and summative assessment are different types of
Jan Chappuis, R. S. (2012). Classroom Assessment for Student Learning . New Jersey: Pearson Education Inc.
As teachers, we have to monitor the progress our students make each day, week, quarter and year. Classroom assessments are one of the most crucial educational tools for teachers. When assessments are properly developed and interpreted, they can help teachers better understand their students learning progress and needs, by providing the resources to collect evidence that indicates what information their students know and what skills they can perform. Assessments help teachers to not only identify and monitor learners’ strengths, weaknesses, learning and progress but also help them to better plan and conduct instruction. For these reasons, ongoing classroom assessment is the glue that binds teaching and learning together and allows educators to monitor their efficacy and student learning.
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
In the teaching profession, assessment is one of the most important things that teachers need to know. Not only to know the assessment itself, but also the critical elements of it. Chueachot, Srisa-ard, and Srihamongkol (2013) stated that Assessment for learning in elementary classroom is a concept that aims to stimulate self-learning and development among the student via assessment model. In addition, the authors came up with a conclusion of assessment for learning in elementary school that can be divided into two stages, each with 3 steps, altogether 6 steps: First stage of assessment, The planning stage is composed of (1) define assessment objectives and what students need to achieve (2) define