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Haley Johnson

MEDT 7476

Fall 2022

Opinions on Assessment

My classroom assessment processes are partially required by my county. The county

requires teachers to give certain assessments such as the iReady Diagnostic. This is given

three times a year. It shows student growth and progress in math and reading. These scores

are checked in the fall, winter, and spring. This test is done solely on the computer to gauge

progress towards the Georgia State Standards. I also assign student benchmark assessments

which help me to see if there are any learning gaps or teachable moments. The benchmarks

lead to student learning because they are relevant to the standards we have been working on

during class. The iReady Diagnostic is not as relevant because the questions are all levels and

all content areas. It does help me to see what reading level my students are on, but it is not

always relevant to the specific lessons that I am teaching. For example, the kids normally fail

the geometry portion of the iReady Math Diagnostic because we do not teach geometry until

late February. Although these assessments are used in my classroom for different forms of

planning, both of these Formative assessments help students prepare for the GMAS which is a

high stakes assessment.

I have recently changed school districts. I grew up in the same district that I previously

taught in. I remember growing up and teachers warning us about the CRCT, which was the

standardized test back then. Even in first grade, we were very familiar with what was expected

of us when it came time for end of year testing. I then went on to teach in this district and I

realized why teachers were so concerned about those end of year tests. There was an intense

amount of pressure put on scores. The administration stressed the importance of us scoring

well on our assessments. The county would look at the scores and rank schools accordingly.
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Overall, it was too much pressure. I now see this clearly as I begin my teaching career in a new

county. I can already tell that the teachers and administrators I am now working with are not as

test oriented. We are giving more benchmarks and assessments throughout the year. As an

educator that has seen both sides, I truly believe that test stress is not effective. Children should

be learning information that is going to stick with them throughout their life. Cramming for a test

is not proven to help students retain information.