Assessment, Assessment, and ASSESSMENT!

Assessment is as predictable for a student as the sun rising each day. For older students, the pressure is felt most powerfully in the months of January and June. Assessment is viewed by many students as a dreaded evil. It is quite hard to blame them.

My experiences with language and literacy assessments have been focused on Performance-based assessments. My third graders are currently preparing for their TerraNova Exam next week. It has been quite a challenge to allot enough type to teach test-taking methods from bubbling in the material, giving out tips to going over the material covered. I find these assessments a bit frustrating because I do not like teaching to a test. These tests are used to chart where a student stacks up against children in the rest of the state. Many of the children have confided that they are afraid of failing the test and being held back a year. These tests place added pressure on both the children and the teacher. It becomes the teacher’s job to placate the children. While standardized tests are important, state test makers should use a variety of tools to truly assess where a child stands amongst his or her peers. I believe that summative, formative, and diagnostic assessments are more telling of a child’s strengths and weaknesses.

I believe that formative assessment is one of the least used forms of assessment but one of the more valuable ways to see where a child is. I typed up a small review sheet for my class and handed it out as a worksheet. It was designed to ensure that they comprehended their grammar and understanding of different types of sentences. This provides the teacher a way to see if they need to review the material or give out additional help. It also lessens the shock of the summative assessment at the end of the unit.

Love it or hate it, we need to use assessments. If I had to convince a colleague, I would advise them to use all different forms of assessment. It allows a teacher to monitor a student’s growth as the material gets harder. It ensures that a student is meeting all of the grade requirements and will be ready to proceed to the next grade level come June. Assessment also helps you to get to know a child and help a teacher work well with the parents. The proof is in the pudding. Once a weakness is revealed, it becomes much easier to isolate the problem and tackle it.