Stephanie Kibler Week 5 Assessment Matters More and more schools are judged by how well their students

perform on state mandated tests. During the Bush Era, student achievement became a focal point and an area of controversial legislature. In 2001, President Bush reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) referring to this revised act as No Child Left Behind (NCLB). NCLB gave the federal government and even larger role in educational matters and was a driving force in education policy. NCLB required states to bring all students up to a proficient level on standardized tests by the 2013-2014 school year. NCLB shaped many policies during its tenure and shaped how teachers delivered instruction. According to a position paper from the National Association of School Psychologists (2003), as a part of NCLB, administrators and teachers are rewarded or sanctioned based on student test performance, despite having little or no influence on some factors that significantly impact student achievement, such as student mobility and parent involvement. In a 2003 poll conducted by the Lynch School of Education, three out of four teachers felt that whether they are high stakes exams or not, state-mandated standardized tests aren't worth the time and money it takes to prepare for and administer them. Teachers also felt that high stakes testing did not increase student learning; 4,200 teachers in 47 states responded to the poll. Furthermore, Newman (2013) points out that some states lowered their proficiency standards in order to avoid sanctions from NCLB. Currently, the main use for assessment is to hold schools accountable for student achievement. By focusing mainly on school accountability and the ranking of schools,

vital opportunities are lost in our efforts to improve education. According to Guskey (2003), the focus should instead be geared toward helping teachers change the way they use assessment results, improve the quality of their classroom assessments, and align their assessments with valued learning goals and state or district standards. In my future classroom, I would like to use authentic assessment in order to bring real world experiences into my classroom environment. Jon Mueller defines authentic assessment as assessments in which students are asked to perform real-world tasks that demonstrate meaningful applications of essential knowledge and skills. I also believe that effective classroom assessment can be used as vital sources of information to hone my practice. These assessment tools will help me identify what areas I have taught well and what I need to work on. I will also be able to identify students needing extra assistance. In our assigned You Tube video, Rick Wormeli gives us a great deal of information concerning the two different types of assessments. It was interesting (I could say gratifying) to learn that his ideas about formative and summative assessments are close to the views that I hold. I believe that formative assessment gives more prescriptive material to impact student achievement. According to Stiggins and Chappuis (2006), educators have reached the conclusion that testing students only once a year does not inform many crucial instructional decisions. This conclusion has generated renewed interest in formative assessment. Summative assessment can be used to determine student progress after instruction and are generally given at the end of classes. I would use summative assessments in my classroom help organize my curriculum, ensure that I was teaching on the right page. In keeping with educational change and challenges, I will also seek out

assessment strategies that will more fully employ the benefits of the emerging technologies we are blessed with in order to foster the development of 21st century skills. Brian Stecher describes the components found in thriving schools. He gives us three categories: (a) description of a thriving school, (b) measure the important components of the school, and (c) signal to people the value of the things we see. Under the heading of the description of the thriving school, Mr. Stecher includes two traits which have often resonated with me. He points out in our increasingly global society; we have to produce globally responsible citizens. He also speaks of the resilient student; my mother has mentioned this term as she speaks about her students with severe emotional and behavioral disorders. She has said that most students who succeed against all odds have had at least one significant adult in their life. For some struggling students, that significant adult is a teacher. Common Core Standard: For the purpose of assignment four, I used a common core standard related to reading since that is my planned field of concentration. Common Core Standard: By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, in the grades 68 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range. Students will understand that: Reading a wide range of print and non-print materials from a variety of sources (internet, web quests, I-Pads) builds an understanding of texts, of themselves and of different cultures.

Different purposes to read include: reading to acquire new information and reading for personal fulfillment. The use of a variety of comprehension strategies greatly enhances understanding of text.

In order to assess my students on this standard I will use a variety of assessment tools, both formal and informal. I have included a rough draft of a reading rubric I would use for my reading class. Students would be expected to keep a reading journal and respond to their assigned reading for each day.

Reading Response Rubric CATEGORY Outstanding

Quality Entries show evidence of reflection about what youre reading.

Wow
Quality Entries include some reflection about what youre reading.

Basic

Needs Improvement
Quality Your journal has more summaries, drawings, or blank pages than reflective writing. Entries are confused. They do not make sense to the reader. There is no evidence of applying what you learn in the modules.

Quality Entries do not show reflection about what youre reading. A specific example Specific examples Specific or quotation is used. and or quotations examples and are not used. quotations are used. You usually attempt deeper thinking in Sometimes you You always attempt your writing. attempt deeper deeper thinking in thinking in your your writing. There is often writing. evidence of There is evidence of applying what you There is some applying what you learn in the modules. evidence of learn in the modules applying what you learn in the modules. Quantity You always write in your journal when assigned. Quantity You usually write in your journal when assigned. Quantity You often write in your journal when assigned.

Quantity You seldom write in your journal when assigned.

Neatness Entries are labeled with the Website and date. Your journal looks like you truly treasure reading, thinking, and writing. Spelling, Punctuation, and Word Choice You reread your journal with an editors eye paying attention to errors, marking revisions when necessary. Someone else can easily read your entries.

Neatness Entries are usually labeled with Website and date. Your entries are usually, neat, clean, and well-cared for.

Neatness Some entries are labeled with Website and date. Some of your entries are neat, clean, and well-cared for. Spelling, Punctuation, and Word Choice Sometimes you reread your journal with an editors eye.

Neatness Entries unlabeled. Your journal looks as though you do not treasure writing.

Spelling, Punctuation, and Word Choice You usually reread your journal with an editors eye paying attention to errors, marking revisions when necessary. Someone else can usually read your entries.

Spelling, Punctuation, and Word Choice You do not reread your journal with an editors eye.

It is often difficult Its very difficult for for someone else to someone else to read your read your entries. entries.

Resources: American Educational Research Association, American Psychological Association, and National Council on Measurement in Education (1999). Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing. Washington, DC: American Educational Research Association. Guskey, T. R. (2003). Using data to improve student achievement. Educational Leadership, 60(5), 6-11. Redecker, C., Johannessen, O. (2013). Changing assessment - towards a new assessment paradigm using ict. European Journal of Education, 48(1), 79-96. Stiggins, R., & Chappuis, J. (2006). What a difference a word makes a word makes: Assessment for learning rather than assessment of learning helps students succeed. Journal of Staff Development, 27(1), 10-14. Retrieved from http://ati.pearson.com/downloads/What-a-difference-a-word-makes.pdf

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJxFXjfB_B4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmYdW871pL4 http://jfmueller.faculty.noctrl.edu/toolbox/whatisit.htm http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/RL/6/10 Sample Rubric: http://www.esmschools.org/webpages/lobine/files/reading%20response%20rubric.pdf