"What teachers do in their classroom really matters" (Duckor, 2007, p. 28).
RESEARCH
What is Assessment? Assessment is checking for student learning throughout teaching. Assessment should be done for learning so that teaching can be adjusting while learning is still taking place (Leahy, Lyon, Thompson, & Wiliam, 2005). Assessment is also done at the end of learning so that students can show what they know.
Purposes of Assessment Formative
Formative assessment is the assessment of small bits of information while learning is taking place. It is listening carefully to what students say and then using that information to guide them in their learning (Duckor, 2014).
The process of formative assessment provides feedback for teachers to adjust teaching in order to improve students’ learning (Perie, Marion, Gong, & Wurtzel, 2007).
In the classroom, this can appear as a practice worksheet, a thumbs up, a survey, a pretest, and so much more.
Interim
Interim assessments occur between formative and summative assessment. They evaluate students’ learning based on academic goals and they inform decisions that are made for future learning at the classroom level, and even at the school or district level (Perie et al., 2007).
In the classroom, this can appear as a quiz halfway through the unit, a project or presentation, and a homework assignment, among other things.
Summative
This is the last chance for students to show what they know. It is given at the end of a unit to show students’ learning based on a set of content standards (Perie et al., 2007).
Appears in the classroom as a test or a final project or presentation.
(Perie, Marion, Gong, & Wurtzel, 2007)
In order to have an effective, balanced assessment system in my classroom, I will have a process in which I plan my assessments for each lesson. I will have formative assessments throughout my lessons which will inform me how my students are understanding and learning the new material at the moment. This will help me adjust my instruction based on immediate feedback. I will include interim assessments that will help me to see if my students are ready for the summative assessment. My summative assessments will be based off of the objectives and standards that I taught. These final type of assessment will only be given when I feel as though my students have accomplished all of the objectives. I will keep record of the results of all of my assessments so that I know how to adjust instruction both immediately and for future purposes.
My balanced assessment system is affected by national and state tests, such as the MSTEP. These tests impact this system because they drive instruction. It is important for students to score well on national and state tests so that the data drawn from the test reflects the success of the school and the programs in place. National and state tests also reflect the effectiveness of a teacher, so it is important for me that my students do well on these tests. Because of tests like the MSTEP, I will have to use some of our classroom time to prepare my students for the test by practicing test-taking strategies and reviewing skills that they should know in order to do well. Since national tests are comprehensive in nature, a teacher may have to briefly and quickly teach several content expectations that they haven’t been able to cover in depth before the test. This may take some class time that is typically designated to instruction and classroom-based assessment.
Classroom-based assessments will be driven by state mandated expectations, but these assessments can be on a single unit at a time. Therefore, in the classroom, my students will only be tested on a few objectives at a time.
BELIEFS
I Will...
Have a redo and retake policy
Have students take an assessment in advance if they plan to be absent
Assess my students of objectives that we explored in class
Give students homework as practice
Interimly assess students to track progress
I Will Not...
Allow students to abuse the redo and retake policy
Penalize students for a planned absense
Trick my students by assessing them on objectives that we did not explore in class
Use homework as an assessment
Give a summative assessment to a student whose interim assessment results say they are not ready yet