Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Teacher Assessment Techniques
Teacher Assessment Techniques
Teacher Assessment Techniques
by
Michael D. King
After the learning task is determined, the lesson developer should decide what
student learning skills will be measured. The decision on the measuring of content
standards will determine the overall development of the assessment strategy.
Methods including: writing samples, portfolios, rubrics, interviews, observations,
surveys, and tests should be considered. Lesson developers should remember that
assessment is only as good as the purpose of the learning task, and why it is an
effective assessment of the standards of learning.
Assessment is a process that notifies the students and the teacher of the level of
learning that the students have achieved. Teachers are responsible for designing
assessment tools that evaluate student learning. The most commonly used method
of assessment is the pretest. This method allows the teacher to assess each
student’s level of learning on a particular learning objective before the lesson
begins. Consequently, the teacher can set the learning objective at an appropriate
level for the students, adjusting whenever necessary for the students’ individual
learning needs
The second part of the assessment of students occurs when the teacher reviews
individual student folders to determine the skill level of each student. This is simply
accomplished by the teacher reviewing a student’s accumulative folder and
recording any deficiencies that the student may have experienced in past learning.
This type of individual review allows the teacher to plan for additional support
structures for students identified as needing them. These support structures could
include special classes, additional help before or after school, or special attention
given to a student whenever content is introduced. This approach is commonly
termed the diagnostic approach to student assessment.
Designing assessment strategies is one of the most complex tasks for teachers to
achieve. Recently, new strategies for student assessment have emerged that go
beyond traditional assessments. These include alternative assessment strategies
(also called authentic assessment and performance-based assessment), which allow
students to demonstrate their learning in a real-life application. These types of
assessments, which require the teacher and the students to go beyond the
traditional paper/pencil technique, can bring about some of the most powerful
learning in the classroom.
Exhibit 2-1
Reflective Questions for Teacher Assessment
How do you use assessment strategies to plan for instruction?
How often do you share diagnostic/evaluative information with individual
students? What methods do you use to share this information with your
students?
What methods do you use to evaluate daily student performance in your
classroom?
Discuss the process you use to determine student grades.
What methods do you use to encourage quality work from your students?
Discuss how you use each of the following to assess and increase student
performance:
o standardized tests
o criterion-referenced tests
o teacher-made tests
o performance-based projects and activities
How many grades do you take weekly? Are tests weighted differently than
daily grades?
How do you prepare students to take tests?
How do you determine that your instruction was effective?
What do you do when your assessments show that most of your students did
not master