Assessing Student Learning

 As I read Chapter 13, the information about formative and summative assessments made me think about the weight assessments carry in the classroom. I’ve always known that tests and quizzes are important, but I didn’t fully realize how assessments should be woven into everything we do, not just something we tack on at the end. Slavin explains that assessments are most useful when they are designed to improve learning, not just measure it (Slavin, 2020), which challenged the way I’ve been thinking about them. I honestly felt a little overwhelmed at first because there are so many factors to consider: reliability, validity, fairness, various types of assessments, and ensuring that I’m measuring what I think I’m measuring. Slavin emphasizes that a good assessment must be both valid, meaning it measures what it is intended to measure, and reliable, meaning it produces consistent results (Slavin, 2020).

While dissecting this chapter, the idea that assessments are not just for grading stood out to me the most. Assessments should be used to guide instruction and support student growth. That shifted my mindset. I think I’ve sometimes fallen into the habit of using assessments as more of a final checkpoint instead of an ongoing tool to support learning. Slavin stated that assessment should be closely tied to learning objectives and instruction (Slavin, 2020). Therefore, I should use different types of assessments throughout teaching to check for student understanding and provide feedback, so that I can determine how the objectives and instruction connect to the assessments that will be used. I realized that I can’t just throw a test at the end of a unit and assume it’s doing its job if I haven’t been assessing along the way.

In my own classroom, I have had moments where I gave a test after teaching certain standards for a few weeks, only to find that the scores were not what I expected. I wasn’t sure what went wrong. Was it my teaching that caused students to struggle with understanding the material, or was the material just too challenging for them? Or was it the test itself? This chapter made me realize that I need to think more carefully about how I design assessments and whether they truly align with what I teach. I also need to ensure that I’m giving students enough opportunities to practice and receive feedback before the “big” assessments. Slavin points out that “formative assessments provide feedback to both the teacher and the student about how well students are learning material, allowing adjustments before final evaluations” (Slavin, 2020). That hit me because I’ve sometimes waited too long to check for understanding and missed chances to help my students before it was too late.

One thing I want to try is using more formative assessments regularly. Not just quizzes but quick check-ins, exit tickets, or even just conversations to see where students are. I think this would help me adjust my teaching sooner, rather than waiting until it’s too late. I also want to improve my ability to write clear learning objectives, because if I’m not sure what I’m aiming for, how can my students be? Slavin reminds us that “the alignment between learning objectives, instruction, and assessment is crucial to student success” (Slavin, 2020). That made me reflect on how often I’ve been unclear about what exactly I want students to learn.

After reading this chapter, I gave a lot of thought to the balance between fairness and flexibility. For instance, how do I accommodate students who require additional time or need the material presented differently, without compromising the standard? Slavin states that fair assessments provide all students with an equal opportunity to demonstrate their learning (Slavin, 2020); however, determining what that looks like in practice is something I aim to implement in my own classroom this upcoming school year. I plan to consult with other teachers, explore differentiation strategies, and investigate alternative assessments that still maintain a rigorous standard.

Overall, this chapter reminded me that assessing student learning is more than just assigning grades; it involves a deeper understanding of the learning process. Slavin’s words stuck with me when he said, the ultimate purpose of assessment is to help students learn (Slavin, 2020). It’s really about understanding where my students are and helping them get to where they need to be. It’s going to take some effort to improve, but I want to strive to use assessments to benefit my students' success.

References:

Slavin, R.E. (2020). Educational psychology: Theory and practice (13th ed.). Pearson Education.

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