Why should we assess students? Why do we currently assess students?
What is the real purpose of assessments? The authors suggest the purpose of assessment is to provide teachers with feedback that will enable them to calibrate their teaching. It's such a simultaneously simple and complex notion considering how convoluted the role of assessment in schools has become. The current purpose is to compare, sort, and select students. I say this because often assessment feedback isn't received in a timely manner, and when it is received, timely or not, the results aren't used to make real instructional decisions - at least not by the teacher. There are no opportunities for teachers to calibrate their own lessons and practices. Most change is mandated from above.
Also, if the purpose of assessment is to calibrate teaching practice, there shouldn't be high-stakes tied to student assessment. We (as a field) over-assess, usually using invalid measurements. Further, student achievement and student assessment performance should not be synonymous. Not everything that can be measured should be.
How do we get from where we are, to where we need to be? How can administrators empower teachers to make instructional decisions based on assessment feedback?
Tiffany, I have been struggling with many of the same ideas. Thank you for the reminder that assessment is about improving my teaching. Giving immediate feedback is vital and students appreciate knowing exactly how they are doing. Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteGreat points, Tiffany. With high-stakes testing, teachers & students often don't even know where students aren't performing well, which makes it impossible to improve our practices. It's disturbing that many of the standardized tests we administer to kids are shrouded in secrecy. That's not appropriate or effective assessment! I just started Pathways last night--hoping to finish chapter one today and start blogging about it tomorrow. Thanks again for the inspiration to read this book!
ReplyDeleteI got the book, I'm going to settle down in a few and start reading. But I've always wondered why Educators like Calkins, and others, who have the resources, influence, and voice to really put a stop to all this testing come together and start some kind of a movement/get the ball rolling and teachers like us can rally along side them. Does that sound to farfetched/unrealistic????
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