INTASC Standard #8

Assessment of

Student Learning

“The teacher understands and uses formal and
informal assessment strategies to evaluate and
ensure the continuous intellectual, social, and
physical development of the learner.”

artifacts

We keep track of all the important scores for which we want to put in the computer in a grade book so we have a hardcopy. We have had parents come into the class on short notice and it is great to have this as a reference for missing work and scores.
I believe the best way to really become informed on how a student is doing in a certain area is to observe them. I truly know how each student is doing with their understanding of a certain math concept becuase of the observations I conduct everyday. I will usually stop a few students and ask them to show me one problem and talk me through the process of getting their answer. If they can do that and I see their logic I make mental notes or jot them down. I know if a student looks to me for words and numbers they are confused and need more instruction from me or from a peer.

I try to do one-minute timings everyday. Doing this, I usually listen to every individual and see their progress every few weeks.

reflection

I believe that assessment is best used to help teachers identify strengths and weaknesses of their students and to drive their future instruction. Knowing where their students are is the only way that teachers can know where to go and what to teach next. Teachers need to use the assessments to determine interventions that will benefit their students, and to see if the interventions that they have been doing are working. I believe that teachers should use a variety of assessments so that they get an accurate view and understanding of how a student is progressing. I believe that teachers should also share assessment information with parents to let them know how to help their child at home. There have been many times I have to completely change my plans for the next week because of the results of an assessment showing me the kids were not ready to move on; or vise-versa and we had to move on more quickly than I anticipated because of the mastery of a concept.