Assessment & Learning - How are the 2 connected?
When does assessment begin?
When the learning is done? YES!
Before the learning begins? YES!
While the learning is happening? YES!
How are all 3 possible? Isn't that a lot of work for a new teacher just trying to keep his/her feet on the ground?
No it isn't!
Read through this blog and find out how it's possible and how you can implement various forms of assessment in your classroom.
3 Forms of Reading Assessment
In order to become a successful teacher in our present-day education system, the following 3 Forms of Assessment need to be understood and administered in your classroom.
Diagnostic
*you'll want to pre-assess your students at the beginning of the school year or before a unit of instruction; this is done to assess their interests, strengths, needs or level of achievement
*it is important to know what, if any, prior knowledge your students have about a topic; it also reveals learning styles, student misconceptions and skill levels
*this pre-assessment will provide information about your program and whether modifications are needed
*NOTE: these assessments should never be a part of your students' marks
*examples include: PM Benchmarks, tests to idenfity learning difficulties, interest surveys, a Cloze procedure/activity
Formative
*this type of assessment is concurrent with instruction, it is on-going and keeps you and your students informed of progress (or lack of)
*it's main goal is to improve instruction and student learning and it helps you know the level of understanding of each student
*through this, immediate feedback is possible so that changes can be made to help your students achieve their learning goals
*this feedback provides directions so that they are better able to take responsibility of making progress towards their goals
*examples include: checklists of data, anecdotal notes, quizzes, oral discussions, Think-Pair-Share activities
Summative
*this type of assessment is most often at the end of a unit of instruction
*it's main goal is to determine what has been learned, to summarize student progress, to report on progress to your students, their parents, other teachers and your administration
*this assessment is based on the same requirement for each student (unless specified otherwise in an IEP)*NOTE: these assessments should be used in conjunction with formative assessments to maximize student learning
*examples include: test, performance tasks, projects, work portfolios, cut & paste sequencing activity
The Main Purposes of Assessment
:) I was a new teacher once :)
I was unaware that there were 3 main purposes of assessment and that the 'traditional assessment pyramid' (see ## for explanation)needs to be reconfigured so that reading assessment becomes a large part of the school day and not at the end of each unit (once a month).
Assessment of Learning
*this is predominant in most schools; it is the traditional purpose of assessment
*it is summative in that it measures student learning 'after the fact', it certifies learning, it is used to report to parents and students about student progress
*there is a strong emphasis placed on comparing students (who's doing well/who's not)*tests/exams/questions drawn from the material studied are used to assess the quantity and accuracy of student work
*feedback is in the form of marks or grades which doesn't allow for conversations about how and where to improve
*is this fair to your students? is it accurate? YOU be the judge!!!
Assessment for Learning
*it is formative in that it happens in the middle of learning and more than once
*teachers collect a wide range of data so learning work can be modified for students; this data is used to create descriptions for the next stage of learning, to design the next steps
*it is interactive: it highlights students' strengths and weaknesses and provides students with feedback to further their learning
*is this more fair to your students? is it more accurate? I see you nodding your head ;)
Assessment as Learning
*it is formative extended in that the role of the student is them monitoring their own work/their own learning; they use this self-monitoring to make adjustments, adaptations, changes in what they understand
*students use their own prior work as their reference; they ask reflective questions and consider a wide range of strategies for their own learning
*is this the ultimate goal? do we want students becoming their own best assessors? I think so! Do you?
##
Traditional Assessment Pyramid (bottom up)
as learning
for learning
of learning
Reconfigured Assessment Pyramid (bottom up)
of learning
for learning
as learning
Before the learning begins? YES!
While the learning is happening? YES!
How are all 3 possible? Isn't that a lot of work for a new teacher just trying to keep his/her feet on the ground?
No it isn't!
Read through this blog and find out how it's possible and how you can implement various forms of assessment in your classroom.
3 Forms of Reading Assessment
In order to become a successful teacher in our present-day education system, the following 3 Forms of Assessment need to be understood and administered in your classroom.
Diagnostic
*you'll want to pre-assess your students at the beginning of the school year or before a unit of instruction; this is done to assess their interests, strengths, needs or level of achievement
*it is important to know what, if any, prior knowledge your students have about a topic; it also reveals learning styles, student misconceptions and skill levels
*this pre-assessment will provide information about your program and whether modifications are needed
*NOTE: these assessments should never be a part of your students' marks
*examples include: PM Benchmarks, tests to idenfity learning difficulties, interest surveys, a Cloze procedure/activity
Formative
*this type of assessment is concurrent with instruction, it is on-going and keeps you and your students informed of progress (or lack of)
*it's main goal is to improve instruction and student learning and it helps you know the level of understanding of each student
*through this, immediate feedback is possible so that changes can be made to help your students achieve their learning goals
*this feedback provides directions so that they are better able to take responsibility of making progress towards their goals
*examples include: checklists of data, anecdotal notes, quizzes, oral discussions, Think-Pair-Share activities
Summative
*this type of assessment is most often at the end of a unit of instruction
*it's main goal is to determine what has been learned, to summarize student progress, to report on progress to your students, their parents, other teachers and your administration
*this assessment is based on the same requirement for each student (unless specified otherwise in an IEP)*NOTE: these assessments should be used in conjunction with formative assessments to maximize student learning
*examples include: test, performance tasks, projects, work portfolios, cut & paste sequencing activity
The Main Purposes of Assessment
:) I was a new teacher once :)
I was unaware that there were 3 main purposes of assessment and that the 'traditional assessment pyramid' (see ## for explanation)needs to be reconfigured so that reading assessment becomes a large part of the school day and not at the end of each unit (once a month).
Assessment of Learning
*this is predominant in most schools; it is the traditional purpose of assessment
*it is summative in that it measures student learning 'after the fact', it certifies learning, it is used to report to parents and students about student progress
*there is a strong emphasis placed on comparing students (who's doing well/who's not)*tests/exams/questions drawn from the material studied are used to assess the quantity and accuracy of student work
*feedback is in the form of marks or grades which doesn't allow for conversations about how and where to improve
*is this fair to your students? is it accurate? YOU be the judge!!!
Assessment for Learning
*it is formative in that it happens in the middle of learning and more than once
*teachers collect a wide range of data so learning work can be modified for students; this data is used to create descriptions for the next stage of learning, to design the next steps
*it is interactive: it highlights students' strengths and weaknesses and provides students with feedback to further their learning
*is this more fair to your students? is it more accurate? I see you nodding your head ;)
Assessment as Learning
*it is formative extended in that the role of the student is them monitoring their own work/their own learning; they use this self-monitoring to make adjustments, adaptations, changes in what they understand
*students use their own prior work as their reference; they ask reflective questions and consider a wide range of strategies for their own learning
*is this the ultimate goal? do we want students becoming their own best assessors? I think so! Do you?
##
Traditional Assessment Pyramid (bottom up)
as learning
for learning
of learning
Reconfigured Assessment Pyramid (bottom up)
of learning
for learning
as learning