Chapter 10 Taking Stock: Standards, Assessments, and High-Stakes Testing Diagnosing individual student needs PP189P4 It is important for

teachers to know where the students are in order to know what goals to set for each student. I understand this, sometimes some instructions dont work and need to be changed. I experienced it from my junior block experience. By evaluating students to achievement the teacher knows rather to continue on to the next topic or reteach the original lesson. I think both student and teacher accountability is important. Because students rely on the teacher to know the material and to teach it. And teacher relies on the students to be prepared and ready to learn. Teachers use many types of assessments to determine students achievement and knowledge. They must use more than one type.

Informing instruction PP189P5

Evaluating Programs PP189P6

Providing accountability PP189P7

Formal Assessments: Standardized and criterion referenced Informal Assessments: Observations, Portfolio, Inventory, Conference, SelfAssessment, and Survey PP190Table 10.1

Classroom Assessment Practices

Teachers should use alternative assessment practices for students that cannot do the traditional pencil paper test successfully. PP191P(box-struggling readers) Every assessment is successful and unsuccessful at the same time. PP191P4

When I was in school, I never saw any teacher use alternative assessments. I think many students would have benefited from alternative methods. Every assessment has their limitations and as a teacher, they must understand one assessment might work for one student but another student might not be

successful at it.

Reading for Information and Its Role in Formal Testing

Using the Results of Informal and Formal Assessments

Each assessment needs to be: tied to your stance on learning, driven by learning goals, systematic, tied to instruction, inclusive of the learner, and integrated into a manageable system. PP192P2 Standardized tests have significant rewards and consequences attached to them. PP200P5 Letting students know that they dont have to stress the test and make sure they get all the answers correct. PP201P1 Teachers should explain some common words in questions on tests. Such as analyze, compare, justify, and skim. PP204P4 Conclusions can be drawn about a schools successes or failures by examining, the assessment and test results and reviewing the wide variety of demographic and other data that accompany the results. PP210P5 A criticism of standardized tests is that by the time the results are posted 6 months later, the students have advanced to the next grade. PP211P2 A forum for discussing such concerns can diffuse defensive responses while assisting schools in getting down to the business of curriculum

I have been in classrooms that the assessments were over things that the teacher had never taught. It is important to keep this statement in mind because there is no point to test students over something you never teach. By having money tied to the test, then the schools start to forget about teaching anything other than items found on the test. I really like this idea so that students do stress the test as much. This allows the students to do better than they would have when they were stressed. I love this idea! Sometimes the only reason the tests are hard, is because how the test makers word the questions. These results can help determine which schools need more professional development. Also, it helps parents decide which school to send their children to, if their current school is not performing. I could see why people would not be happy about it taking so long to receive the results. Its hard to fix instruction at this rate. I like this idea because a lot of parents will have comments and questions and this allows them to get answers. Also it spends up the curriculum

improvement. PP211P3

improvements.

Summary: Throughout the chapter, I have learned about many types of assessments and why they are important. The government created mandates to force schools to participate in standardized test, if they would like the funding from the government. Also the chapter helps explain ways to help students become more successful on test. Such as pretests and defining the different words found on these tests.