assessment

“Teachers often have little say in the administration of standardized tests, but they can feel empowered by their capacity to use alternative assessments.”

I have never been excited about assessment before, but this quote from the Rubin article certainly gave me some exciting things to think about.

I might not be able to control what standardized tests my students must take and be judged on, but I sure can come behind and give more assessments, different ones, that might give me a more accurate picture for what needs to be worked on.

Rubin made another good point in his article though, there are a variety of ways a new assessment method might not be entirely valid.

·      Student differences in preference for testing formats

·      Familiarity or lack thereof with processes

·      Performance variability due to affective factors

I can’t even tell how many times I have attempted a test or assignment in school and done it completely wrong, just because it was new, or wholly unlike anything I’d ever done before.

Assessments are wonderful tools for teachers, and they ought to be our best friends. It’s good to know that there is a plethora of options out there for assessing our students in ways that are most helpful for instructing them.