Standard #6: Assessment
The teacher understands and uses multiple methods of assessment to engage learners in their own growth, to monitor learner progress, and to guide the teacher’s and learner’s decision making.
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Reflections: Spring 2015
The teacher understands that every student is an individual with individual strengths and weaknesses. They understand the purposes of assessment and when it is appropriate to use assessments to address specific learning goals. The teacher knows the proper assessment must require meaningful feedback to all students. Teachers understand that meaningful and positive feedback can be what will help students to set goals for themselves.
When I was in high school, I always made list of goals at the beginning of each semester. This made me work toward something. I was not one to let myself down; I knew that if I set a goal then, I would not have to scramble at the end of the semester when it was too late. In my Practicum class, I was in charge of creating a lesson plan for writing. For homework, I had the student write me a short essay, which would be turned back into me the following day. I graded these papers; however, they did not receive a letter grade but rather constructive feedback. I want them to know what they did correctly, and what needed more attention. While I was babysitting this summer, we had school lessons we planned and completed in order to stay on top of the game. The girl I was babysitting was very reluctant; she wanted no part in this. Therefore, I decided to make it a game. We completed the math lessons with shaving cream, chalk, paint, and food. I tried everything in order to keep her engaged and focused, and it worked.
I do not want to be a teacher who only gives out exams. An exam is a method best for certain subjects such as Math, Health, and Social Studies. However, for classes such as English and Science, exams may not be the best assessment method. My goal as a teacher will be not to hand back grades; I want to hand back comments and other feedback. This is to ensure that my students understand where they gone “wrong.” If the majority of my class gets an answer wrong; I will know that is an error on my part, and I will fix that. This feedback is how I will ensure that each one of my students is making progress. My strength as a teacher is that I am aware that not everyone is a test taker. Not every student learns the same way; I will bring multiple methods of assessment to my teaching. In certain subjects, I will offer different methods of assessments, worth the same amount, that my students will choose to complete.