Assessment

Blog Post: Assessment

Chapter 15 focuses on assessment - the process through which educators collect data about their students’ progress. This data, if used correctly, will inform instructions, as the students’ strengths and weaknesses are revealed as well as the effectiveness of the teacher’s method of instructions. Assessment is an ongoing process and may be conducted formally or informally.

Formal assessments or standardized tests are the major means through which the state measures the performance of their schools. These tests are based on state and national standards which define the knowledge and skills that all students should acquire to be deemed proficient at their particular grade level. School districts design their curriculum based on these standards. Ideally, standards are necessary because they set high expectations for student achievement and provide a basis for teachers, students and schools to be accountable.

Like the author, I believe that state and national standards are often inequitable, because all students are not given equal opportunities, yet are measured by the same standards. Many urban schools do not have the resource and cadre of highly skilled teachers to provide the students with the learning experiences these standards require. The New Jersey Assessment of Skills and Knowledge (NJASK) and the Grade Eight Proficiency Assessment (GEPA) are two state mandated standardized tests administered in our schools during the month of March. The state of NJ invested huge sums of money developing these tests and places a lot of weight on the results. The schools’ reputation hangs on the results and schools with poor results are penalized. They get reduced funding, state monitoring, arbitrary removal of teachers and principals among other sanctions. In order to avoid those penalties, schools devote many months to test preparation – teaching to the test rather than exposing students to broad domains. Any subject that is not tested is put on hold; break time is reduced, after school and Saturday programs are dedicated to test coaching.

The chapter points out that, in spite of the negatives, standardized tests can improve instructions. Teaching to test can be worthwhile if teachers provide students with the necessary demonstrations, strategies, resources, support and feedback that the students need to meet the standards. She adds that no one test is a true measure of our students’ competences. Therefore, standardized tests should be accompanied by other assessments such as, portfolios, performance based assessments, open-ended questions, teacher observations, and self-assessments that are based on work samples, interests, motivation and attitudes about learning (p. 559)