Nicole Friesen Philosophy of Assessment EPSE 310 307 January 21, 2013 Evaluation is an important part of education.

n. How we as teachers handle it is what makes it so important. Evaluation is the source of feedback from teacher to student. Students need to know that they are on the right track in their learning. This can come from both formative and summative assessment. The more teachers can give to the students the better for them. Assessment is not only for students though; it is helpful for parents to know. When parents know how their students are learning in the classroom they are able to come alongside their students to encourage and help them succeed. Assessment is also helpful to teachers for the same reason as parents. It is also for teachers to hold themselves accountable to parents and administration and ultimately the students. The school district and the Province are the tools that keep teachers accountable to a set of rules and the curriculum. Teachers also have to report assessments to the districts and the Province in order to prove they are keeping the standards. Grading has been a topic of discussion amongst all of us teacher candidates. I definitely see the pros and cons of the grading system that is in place now. Grades drive up the competition in the classroom and in some situations that competition is warranted but in other situations, effort is much more important. Within Social Studies evaluation can be very subjective as students are required to interpret evidence and build arguments based on that evidence. These arguments cannot be technically wrong if the evidence supports it. On the other hand, the pieces of evidence that students need to know are objective types of assessment. I would include many different types

of formative and summative assessments in Social Studies. There would be group projects, individual projects, essays, unit tests and quizzes. There would definitely be a mixture of criterion reference assessment and observational practices. Checklists and rubrics will be most likely the performance assessment models I will use. At the beginning of the school year or semester, if I am not in a linear school, I would like to ideally hand out a course syllabus to students, or come up with one with the students. I really think autonomy helps students learn and get engaged in school. They should have some voice in how the year will go. Although the autonomy will depend on the grade, my Grade 8 students will not have as much autonomy as the Grade 12s. With choice, ESL students will be able to choose assignments that will be the most useful for them in order to engage them in learning the material.