To many educators, assessment is a tool used to determine a student's scoring on a test or assignment. However, to me, assessment is a tool used to discover students' preferred learning style, their prior knowledge on a subject, their on-going progress, as well students' understanding and knowledge of a certain skill or topic at the end of a unit. Evidently, assessment is an essential part of students' schooling. As a teacher, I believe it is my role to use assessments not only as a tool to determine a grade; rather, as a tool to ensure learning occurs and is meaningful. I also believe in using rubrics, not only as a tool to measure a grade, but also as an instructional and teaching tool.
1. Knowing Your Students
In my belief, the first type of assessment educators need to use, is an assessment tool that will allow them to know every student in the classroom. By getting to know students individually, we are able to discover their preferred learning styles, academic level, talents, and interest. The information educators are able to gather through such assessment is crucial, as it helps them tailors their lessons and teaching to students' needs. There is no doubt that when a teacher knows his or her students, she or he is able to create an environment where learning is accessible to everyone.
In my classroom, I had students fill out a poster where they had to color images and fill out some answers. Elements of the poster allowed me to identify students' strengths and weaknesses (who is artistic, who enjoys writing, who struggles with spelling, who is able to do simple math, who struggles with basic addition and subtraction, as well as individual goals, and interests).
2. Diagnostic Assessment
Diagnostic assessment is a type of assessment that allows us to identify students' previous knowledge on a topic, or their mastery level of a certain skill. Diagnostic assessments are an integral part of the beginning of a unit as it allows us to ensure the material of the unit aligns with students' knowledge and skills. Teacher can use the following tools as diagnostic assessments: K-W-L Charts, graphic organizers, concept maps, as well as short reading comprehensions, and basic math sheets.
K-W-L Charts
K-W-L chart is a chart that allows students to fill out what they already know, what they want to know, and what they have learned about a topic. The first two categories are filled out at the beginning of the unit and the last one at the end. Such a chart not only allows the teacher to determine students' prior knowledge on a topic and the things they would like to learn about, rather, it also helps them formatively assess what they have learned at the end of the topic. |
Graphic Organizers
A graphic organizer is typically a sheet where one is able to visually represent and see the relationship between certain ideas or facts. Graphic organizers can serve as great tools to assess students' prior knowledge on a topic.
Concept Map
Short Reading Comprehension
Providing students with a short reading comprehension at the beginning of the school year allows educators to identify students who excel at reading, comprehension, and writing, as well as those who struggle and require additional help and guidance. Of course, the length of the chosen text and complexity of questions will vary depending on the grade level. |
Math Sheets
Short math sheets can also serve as great diagnostic assessments at the beginning of the school year, as it can allow the teacher to identify those who are strong at math and those who are still struggling. Evidently, math worksheets will defer based on the grade level.
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3. Formative Assessment (Assessment for Learning)
Formative assessment is an on-going type of assessment that allows the educator to identify students' need of improvement as well as assess their progress. Formative assessment is never graded and serves the ultimate purpose of helping the student improve by providing constructive feedback and suggestions for improvement. Here are various formative assessments teacher's can use: observation (teacher's logbook), class discussions, thumbs up, middle, or down or fingers up, red, yellow, and green cards, exit cards, gathering worksheets, Problem of the Day, journals, ungraded quizzes (digital or handwritten), checklists, review games, self-assessments and peer-assessments, etc.
Observations
As a teacher, I believe one of the best tools to assess students' achievements and progress is observation. Through observations, teachers are able to identify students' improvements and areas that need further development. However, observation is not enough. In order for the observation to be accurate, unbiased, and reliable, teachers need to keep track of their observations by writing small notes in a logbook for instance. |
Class Discussions
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Thumbs Up, Middle, or Down / Fingers
Throughout the lesson, as well as at the end, the teacher can have students use their thumbs to rate their understanding of the lesson where a thumbs up is used if they understood everything, middle if they understood part of it, or down if they did not understand the majority of the lesson. The teacher can also use the "fingers" strategy where they rate their understand on five (five being they understood everything and one they did not understand anything). |
Red, Yellow, and Green Cards
Exit Cards
Exit cards are small slips teachers can use to assess students' understanding of the lesson. Typically, they are either multiple choice or short answer. Exit slips are fantastic as they are individual and personal. Students can feel free to write their actual level of understanding without feeling pressure from their friends as with the thumbs, for instance. |
Gathering Worksheets
Another great way to provide formative feedback, is by collecting students' work at the end of class and writing comments. Students' work can then be kept in a working portfolio where students can keep all of their work. Such portfolios are great, as they can help teachers track
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Problem of the Day
Using a "Problem of the Day" is a great tool to formatively assess students' understanding of a previous lesson. Problem of the day can be used for any subject. For instance, before a spelling quiz, the teacher can ask students to write a meaningful sentence with five of the words, or after a math lesson, the teacher can ask them to complete a Venn Diagram or graph, etc. |
Journals
Ungraded Quizzes
Ungraded quizzes allow teachers and students to identify their level of understanding of a specific topic. Evidently, these quizzes are not graded and aim to recognize students' understanding of a certain topic. A fun way to perform such quizzes can be through technology, by using programs such as Kahoot, for instance. |
Checklists
Providing students with checklists allows them to identify if their work has all of the required elements. Using checklists as a formative assessment tool will help students ensure their work is complete.
Review Games
Formative assessment can also occur through games. Before tests, I believe it is important to review with students the material and ensure the information is clear to students. As I also believe in making learning fun, I use games to review material. For instance, before math tests, I use Jeopardy as a tool to formatively assess students' knowledge on a topic. |
Self-Assessment / Peer-Assessment
I believe self-assessment and peer-assessments are very useful formative assessment tools. As these two types of assessments are ungraded, students are able to assess themselves through the use of a rubric. The teacher is able to then provide students with constructive feedback based on their own self-assessment using the rubric. Peer-assessment is also helpful as it allows students to assess each other's work. Often, students might overlook a detail or elements of the assignment, thus, when a peer looks over his or her partner's work, he or she is able to identify details that might have been overseen. |
4. Summative Assessment (Assessment of Learning)
Summative assessment is the test, assignment, or perform task students need to complete, which is used to measure their understanding of a topic or their mastery of a skill. As such, summative assessments are graded. In order for students to succeed, I believe in providing students with a detailed rubric and checklist. I also believe in providing students with several options for assignments as it is unfair to measure a student's "smartness" based on a single type of assessment. Yet, I do take into consideration that it is not always feasible as sometimes there is only a single way to assess a particular skill. However, I believe that summative assessments should be authentic in order for students to see the relevance of a task to their day-to-day lives.
Tests
Tests are often use as a summative assessment tool. Tests allow us to determine students' level of understanding at the end of a chapter or topic. However, I believe a single test is not enough to identify students' understanding as it is possible for a student to receive a low grade because of lack of sleep, a rough morning, difficulty with memorizing, etc. As such, I believe students should be given several opportunities to demonstrate their understanding of a topic. In addition, I believe tests should be diverse and include various sections as for multiple choice, long answers, short answers, true or false, etc, as different students will do better than others in different sections. |
Rubrics
I strongly believe that rubrics are crucial for students' learning and success. By providing a rubric to students, we orient them towards the goal of the assignment as well as guide them throughout the completion of their work. Good rubrics are concise, well organized, have no more than five criteria, use child-friendly language, and are free of grammatical errors. Below is an example of a rubric I provided my students when I assigned a book report. The rubric was given with the instruction of the assignment and served as a guide. |
Options for Assignments
I believe in providing several options for the submission of an assignment. When giving students a project, I believe in letting students decide how they want to present their work (through an essay, poem, dialogue, short skit, video, etc). I believe in allowing students to use their talents to complete work and not to limit their creativity by giving a single option. However, I do take into consideration that giving options is not always possible as if I am looking to evaluate their ability to write a poem, I can only assess that by having them write one. As well, leaving assignments too open-ended can also be confusing to some students, especially in younger grades. Nonetheless, I believe in leaving assignments open ended to some extent, for instance, allowing students to write a poem on whatever they want as opposed to having them write a poem on a specific topic. |
Authentic Assignments
Most importantly, I believe in giving students authentic assignments, as I believe learning needs to be meaningful and relevant to students. As such, when I give an assignment, I believe in giving students real-life examples.
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Example of an authentic assignment:
Olympian Projects |