Student Assessment
A current policy issue that is plaguing our educational system is the emphasis put on student assessments. Teachers are at odds in their classrooms on whether to teach the necessities that students will need to be productive in our society, to simply teach what will be tested on state and federally mandated assessments, or both. Teachers are forced to find a balance within their instructions due to the time restraints that stand in their way. When teachers are able to find this balance and present all the concepts that are included in assessment, plus all other concepts, the results from the assessments can be very beneficial to their classrooms.
Assessment results have important implications for instruction. The primary aim of assessment is to foster learning of worthwhile academic content for all students (Wolf, Bixby, Glenn, & Gardner, 1991). School communities use assessment results in a formative way to determine how well they are meeting instructional goals and how to alter curriculum and instruction so that goals can be better met. But if what schools assess and how schools assess do not match what is taught and how it is taught, then the results are meaningless, if not potentially harmful. There's also potential for harm when decisions affecting students' futures are being made based on results of assessments made with tools that are not appropriate for the purpose.
Some schools are attempting to change assessment to match the content and format of instruction, and are therefore relying more upon alternative assessment. Alternative assessments include performance-based assessment, portfolios, student-designed assessments, etc., and are considered by many educators to be more reflective of new curricular goals and methods of instruction. Some educators view alternative assessment as a better way to determine how well students are learning traditional forms of assessment like multiple choice tests. Alternative forms of assessment might best serve
Assessment results have important implications for instruction. The primary aim of assessment is to foster learning of worthwhile academic content for all students (Wolf, Bixby, Glenn, & Gardner, 1991). School communities use assessment results in a formative way to determine how well they are meeting instructional goals and how to alter curriculum and instruction so that goals can be better met. But if what schools assess and how schools assess do not match what is taught and how it is taught, then the results are meaningless, if not potentially harmful. There's also potential for harm when decisions affecting students' futures are being made based on results of assessments made with tools that are not appropriate for the purpose.
Some schools are attempting to change assessment to match the content and format of instruction, and are therefore relying more upon alternative assessment. Alternative assessments include performance-based assessment, portfolios, student-designed assessments, etc., and are considered by many educators to be more reflective of new curricular goals and methods of instruction. Some educators view alternative assessment as a better way to determine how well students are learning traditional forms of assessment like multiple choice tests. Alternative forms of assessment might best serve
References: Berk, R. A. (1993). National Trends in Student and Teacher Assessment: Issues in Performance Assessment. Retrieved January 17, 2008 from http://nesonline.com/PDFs/1993_05Berk.pdf Elliott, S. N. (1994). Creating meaningful performance assessments: Fundamental concepts. Reston, VA: The Council for Exceptional Children. Fuchs, L. S. (1994). Connecting performance assessment to instruction. Reston, VA: The Council for Exceptional Children. National Center for Education Statistics. NEAP Overview. Retrieved on January 20, 2008 from http://www.nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/about/ North Central Regional Educational Laboratory, PBS Elementary/Secondary Service, in partnership with the National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (UCLA/CRESST) (1991). Schools That Work: The Research Advantage. Part IV: Alternatives for Measuring Performance. Oak Brook, IL: Authors. Romberg, T., Zarinnia, A. & Williams, S. (1989). The Influence of Mandated Testing on Mathematics Instruction: Grade Eight Teachers ' Perceptions. In Romberg, T. & Wilson, L. (1992, September), Alignment of Tests with the Standards, Arithmetic Teacher, 40 (1), 18-22. White, B. Y. & Fredericksen, J. R. (1994, Fall). Using Assessment to Foster a Classroom Research Community. Educator, 19-24. Wolf, D., Bixby, J., Glenn, J., III, & Gardner, H. (1991). To use their minds well: Investigating new forms of student assessment. Review of Research in Education, 17, 31-74.