Assessment Considerations

One of the most important things I have learned in this assessment class is how important it is to clearly state what you are assessing. The intention and purpose of the assessment should be clear to the assessor as well as the students. For instance, if a teacher gives his/her students an assessment that asks a student to write down a description retelling a story, is it fair to take off points for missed spelled words or incorrect grammar and punctuation? It is vital that what we are assessing matches what students know and can do. One way in which this can be done is by clearly stating the expectations of the students before an assessment is given. Therefore, a student will know whether or not, for instance, grammar is weighted more than content. After coming to this realization of intentional assessment, I plan to create assessments more purposefully in my future classroom.

Another important concept regarding assessments is the feedback that is given to the student. Feedback is crucial to any type of assessment. I believe that feedback can be more helpful for students than receiving an actually letter grade. There are two different types of feedback - verification or elaboration. Verification simply states if a certain work is correct or incorrect, whereas elaboration asks the questions of why a certain item is correct or incorrect or how one can improve. It is my belief that feedback that is elaborative is more useful for students. In my own experience, the assignments that I have learned the most in are those in which I was given quality feedback and an opportunity to revise my work. In addition, the best feedback I have been given includes both positive comments and constructive criticism. It is always uplifting to read what a professor enjoyed about my writing for instance. The positive comments allow the receiver to be more open to and accepting of any constructive or critical feedback. Furthermore, the amount of feedback given is also critical to the receptivity of the student. If a paper or assignment is covered in comments, a student may be overwhelmed and not even read the feedback. On the other hand, if there is little to no comments, a student may feel like their piece of work does not matter. Essentially, feedback is a crucial part of assessment that must carefully be taken into consideration while executing.

Too Much Testing

Testing is a fact of every student's academic life. However, at schools labeled as needs improvement or failing, testing seems to be done excessively. At my clinic placement, my third graders have been practicing for the CMTs by taking practice tests every Wednesday. In the beginning the students did not think much of it, but now that it has become a regular part of their weekly routine, they dread the thought of it. As a result, the students mark down anything just to say they are done with the test and some students become so frustrated that they do not do anything.
So my issue is that I do not understand how the school district justifies preparing for a state test by making students take frequent practice tests. I think this is an ineffective way to prepare for an assessment. I also think the results received from the practice tests are invalid measures of the students' actual performance, since many of the students either refused to do the test or marked any answer. I understand that they want to use the practice tests as a means to inform instruction before the real test occurs, but if the test results are not reliable then the instruction created will not be the most useful.
Rather, I think a better way to prepare for the test would be to teach the particular skills and objectives assessed on the test and then follow it up by giving students the opportunity to see practice that portion of the standardized test. By doing it this way, the practice test is done with a clear purpose in the students' and teachers' minds, the students are not overwhelmed by the test, the results are more valid and will help better inform instruction.