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.