Jonathan Campbell Measurement & Evaluation Grant Williams February 20, 2014 Assessment Philosophy The word assessment

conjures all sorts of images in the mind of a student. As an individual who has been a student for more than nineteen years when I think of assessment my mind is flooded with images: scantron sheets, final exams, sweaty palms, and that sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. The further I am immersed into the world of education the more I realize that assessment does not have to be a stressful endeavor; assessment is much more than exams and tests. Although some claim that assessment is one of the most powerful weapons a teacher possesses, it can also be said that assessment has a substantial influence on students personal achievement. Thus when considering assessment the most important aspect is to consider the influence of assessment on the students. My philosophy is that assessment should be used as a tool to benefit the students education. Keeping that in mind I will consider the following issues in the following paragraphs: redos and retakes, formative assessment, and grading and testing practices. When considering redos and retakes I initially believed this was a fantastical idea and all students should get as many redos as they want. After reading Rick Wormelis article Redos and Retakes Done Right I realized that my opinion on this topic was unrealistic and missing many of the contentious points of the issue. When considering testing students in general Wormeli and I agree, the goal is that all students learn the content, not just the ones who can learn on the uniform time line (Wormeli 22). Yet when entering the real and sometimes brutal world of the classroom teachers are faced with dilemmas that challenge this notion of retests for all. For example should a student who never attends class be allowed to redo assignments and tests. In my opinion the answer to this question is yes. Although that student may not be attending class it should not have any reflection on their understanding of course material. Then the question becomes, if such a student does not do well on the test how much time do you spend re-teaching the material to that student? The honest answer is that teachers are not afforded the time needed to re-teach every student who fails to attend class; sadly this means that some students may fall through the cracks and never learn the required material. Wormeli supports the fact that the time it may take to afford all of these retakes is not time we are afforded as teachers, it would take to grade 22 to teach the curriculum currently listed for grades K-12 (Wormeli 24). This idea contends the notion of teaching students who do not learn on the uniform time line, as teachers are given a limited amount of time we must find a way to narrow the margins of education to fit within our limitations. With this in mind I believe that redos and retakes should be afforded in a honorable and realistic manner. Although some may argue that it is bias and unfair I believe that redos should be afforded only once per final assignment or test. As a teacher my policy is to offer help to students on an open door policy. Knowing that time restrictions are prevalent in the education system I think it is important to offer resources to students so that they can approach a teacher for help when they need it. The mentality of practice makes perfect fits into place here, as students

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who have practiced and asked for help will be awarded redos. As I have stated above I think in the mind of fairness you must also offer redos to students who have not taken advantage of resources or attended classes, I believe that this is only fair. The practice of writing an assignment or a test is to show your understanding of a topic, I believe that even if a student has not taken advantage of resources they should be able to show their understanding. I also believe that the students who take advantage of resources offered will show on their redos. Again keeping in mind the time restraints I believe that it is reasonable to put a time limit on redos, for education purposes it is sad that we cannot offer students unlimited time to submit assignments. Ultimately redos and retakes are something that teachers should be offering as students should be given opportunity to improve their understanding of a topic and show that improvement in a written form. Checking for student understanding is an important and intricate aspect of assessment. One way to check for understanding in students is formative assessment. I do not believe it is enough to just ask a class if they understand a concept, or to give a final assessment as a means of testing their understanding. I believe that teachers should be analyzing student understanding along the way with a variety of formative assessments for different types of learners. Formative assessment is an important tool for teachers as students may not be aware of what they do or do not understand (Fisher 1). If a teacher waits and only gives students the chance to prove their understanding on a final assessment they may realize that students do not understand the concepts taught; Unless you check for understanding, it is difficult to know exactly what students are getting out of the lesson (Fisher 1). I believe that the formative assessment is an important tool for all teachers as it helps improve their instruction and check for student understanding. Although this may mean more work for the teacher in the long run formative assessment goes a long way in assisting with student understanding. As stated above students do not learn at a uniform speed, formative assessment allows teachers to see where students are along the continuum and offer students assistance with topics that may challenge them. I believe in the long run formative assessment will mean less work for teachers, as they will already know where students strengths and weakness are. If we are able to address our students in this manner it enables us to help them gain a greater understanding of the topic. Thus formative assessment is like a stepping-stone on the way to greater understanding. Ultimately a students deeper understanding of a topic is going to be reflected in their final grade. When considering grading practices I think it is important to consider what a grade reflects. Although many recent critics are against giving students grades, I believe it is an unrealistic expectation not to give grades to students. That being said I think there are some ways of avoiding the stigma around grades. One of the ways that his can be avoided is by refusing to give zeros on content. I believe that even if a student has not done a test or assignment it is unfair to give that student a zero; recording a zero on a 100-point scale for a students lack of work on an assessment not only falsifies the report of what he or she knows, but also immediately generates despair (OConnor 41). I believe this is true; students do not deserve or earn zeros. When a teacher gives a student a zero they automatically discourage them from trying their best on their next assignment, a zero does not show what the students is capable of. Even if a student has missed all the classes in a unit they should be able to attempt to demonstrate their knowledge of a subject, or be given opportunities to make up for it within reason. If a student is not able to make up an assignment I believe it is reasonable to redistribute the worth of that assignment

Campbell among other things the student has completed. That way it still shows a students understanding rather than giving them a zero. The audience for who we are grading is also important to consider; What meaning do we want our grades to convey? and Who is (are) the primary intended audience(s) for this message? (Brookhart). In my opinion it is trivial to assume that schools should agree on a basic system to cover all subjects; when subjects are testing for different types of understanding, expertise, and perhaps even different types of learners. Why should they all conform to the same system? However, it is unrealistic to assume we can stray from these practices. Thus I believe it is important to grade students on the accomplishment of reaching curricular standards and their understanding rather than their performance alone.

If we were grading students on their performance alone it would be easy to create a test, which evaluated their understanding of a subject. Testing for curricular standards and understanding is a much more complicated and difficult task. I believe it is important to offer different types of final assessment; therefore you can test different types of learners. Whether this be through choice of questions on a test or choice of projects, this is important as it appeals to the different types of learners. Not all learners can demonstrate their knowledge in every way, being able to show your knowledge in a variety of ways will help students better show their personal understanding of a topic instead of conforming to one type of assessment and only showing what one type of learner knows. After reading my philosophy of assessment I would hope it is clear in my opinion is that assessment is not for the sole benefit of the teachers. What I have aimed to do is create an assessment philosophy, which will benefit the students I am teaching. I am trying to avoid the stigma around assessment being exactly those things I experienced: scantron sheets, final exams, sweaty palms, and that sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. As I explore the world of education I am confident that my views are apt to change; however, I believe my assessment philosophy will always be to assess with the interest of the student in mind. Works Cited Brookhart, Susan M. "Starting the Conversation About Grading." Educational Leadership. 69.3 (2011): 10-14. Print. Fisher, Douglas, and Nancy Frey. Checking for Understanding: Formative Assessment Techniques for Your Classroom. Alexandria, Va: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 2007. Internet resource. O'Connor, Ken, and Rick Wormeli. "Reporting Student Learning." Educational Leadership. 69.3 (2011). Print. Wormeli, Rick. "Redos and Retakes Done Right." Educational Leadership. 69.3 (2011): 22-26. Print.