August 19, 2009, 3:25 pm
Part of the Assessment Series by NYC Public School Teacher, Susan Horowitz
Now that we have defined assessment, we must determine how it can be used in the classroom. Assessment and instruction must be seamlessly integrated. While students need to be always aware of their own learning goals, why they are learning what they are learning, and how this learning fits into the larger curriculum, they should not feel as if they are constantly being judged. Instead they should understand that assessment is not a critical eye, but a helpful one. Learning and assessment cannot take place unless students are comfortable and, therefore, in a successful learning environment, it is nearly impossible for observers “to determine where instruction ends and assessment begins” (Cobb, 2005, p.21).
From the time she could walk, my cousin was training to be an Olympic ice skater. She was a lovely skater who had as much poise and grace as any Olympic athlete, but she struggled with her triple axel jump. She practiced the move for years and by the time she was fifteen, she had finally mastered it. She had done the jump hundreds of times and landed perfectly each time. On the day of the competition that would determine whether or not she qualified to compete nationally, she was so nervous she could barely command enough control of her limbs to walk onto the ice, let alone perform a triple axel. Despite the mastery she had over the move, she failed to perform on the day of the competition and her life-long dream of skating in the Olympics was shattered in an instant. This story is a perfect example of why teachers should be constantly assessing student understanding and should not rely on summative assessments alone to determine progress. In fact, “assessments that are frequent and short are more effective than assessments that are infrequent and lengthy” (Cobb, 2005, p.21).
In my own classroom, I have often seen that my students perform better on assessments when they do not feel the pressures of being formally judged and evaluated. A student who divides with ease will, without explanation, fail the unit test on division. My top reader will read a passage below her level and still be unable to answer the comprehension questions correctly. However, because I have frequently assessed these students, I know that these performances were flukes and a result of mitigating factors, rather than a reflection of their abilities. This is not to say that formal, summative assessment should be done away with. If they are going to succeed in life, students must be taught to perform under pressure. However, school should be a place in which students are given every opportunity to succeed. To that end, it is important for teachers to create varied assessments and assessment conditions.
In addition, each skill should be assessed as it is taught. This does not mean that the teacher should constantly test students, but rather that they should use alternate and perhaps more subtle forms of assessment, such as observation and conferring, to measure growth. A teacher’s “ability to make productive sense of (and record) children’s literate behavior is the central component of assessment” (Johnston, 2005, p.74). Then, once an assessment has been administered, teachers must analyze the data and decide how best to teach students based on the results. How to use assessment data to drive instruction will be the basis of the next blog posting. In the meantime, please let us know what kinds of assessment you use in your classroom and how your students respond to these evaluations.
Tips for Parents (12)
August 19, 2009, 3:25 pm
Part of the Assessment Series by NYC Public School Teacher, Susan Horowitz
Now that we have defined assessment, we must determine how it can be used in the classroom. Assessment and instruction must be seamlessly integrated. While students need to be always aware of their own learning goals, why they are learning what they are learning, and how this learning fits into the larger curriculum, they should not feel as if they are constantly being judged. Instead they should understand that assessment is not a critical eye, but a helpful one. Learning and assessment cannot take place unless students are comfortable and, therefore, in a successful learning environment, it is nearly impossible for observers “to determine where instruction ends and assessment begins” (Cobb, 2005, p.21).
From the time she could walk, my cousin was training to be an Olympic ice skater. She was a lovely skater who had as much poise and grace as any Olympic athlete, but she struggled with her triple axel jump. She practiced the move for years and by the time she was fifteen, she had finally mastered it. She had done the jump hundreds of times and landed perfectly each time. On the day of the competition that would determine whether or not she qualified to compete nationally, she was so nervous she could barely command enough control of her limbs to walk onto the ice, let alone perform a triple axel. Despite the mastery she had over the move, she failed to perform on the day of the competition and her life-long dream of skating in the Olympics was shattered in an instant. This story is a perfect example of why teachers should be constantly assessing student understanding and should not rely on summative assessments alone to determine progress. In fact, “assessments that are frequent and short are more effective than assessments that are infrequent and lengthy” (Cobb, 2005, p.21).
In my own classroom, I have often seen that my students perform better on assessments when they do not feel the pressures of being formally judged and evaluated. A student who divides with ease will, without explanation, fail the unit test on division. My top reader will read a passage below her level and still be unable to answer the comprehension questions correctly. However, because I have frequently assessed these students, I know that these performances were flukes and a result of mitigating factors, rather than a reflection of their abilities. This is not to say that formal, summative assessment should be done away with. If they are going to succeed in life, students must be taught to perform under pressure. However, school should be a place in which students are given every opportunity to succeed. To that end, it is important for teachers to create varied assessments and assessment conditions.
In addition, each skill should be assessed as it is taught. This does not mean that the teacher should constantly test students, but rather that they should use alternate and perhaps more subtle forms of assessment, such as observation and conferring, to measure growth. A teacher’s “ability to make productive sense of (and record) children’s literate behavior is the central component of assessment” (Johnston, 2005, p.74). Then, once an assessment has been administered, teachers must analyze the data and decide how best to teach students based on the results. How to use assessment data to drive instruction will be the basis of the next blog posting. In the meantime, please let us know what kinds of assessment you use in your classroom and how your students respond to these evaluations.