In the Classroom

Miss Brooks

Assessment
The teacher understands and uses multiple methods of
assessment to engage learners in their own growth, to monitor
Learners need endless
feedback rather than they
need endless teaching.
- Grant Wiggins

Summative assessment isnt always the best way to go about

teaching, but there has to be a way to give data to schools and
districts to show them the growth students are making. There is a
time and place for summative assessment, but you can also use it as
a form of formative assessment. Through this way, I have been able
to see where my students are struggling, which standards are not
yet mastered, and reteach. This reteaching may either be whole
class, but it could also be small group. A great use of formative
assessment that I have found useful is exit tickets, or a quick quiz.
These could easily be put in as grades, and when a students masters
the content, the grade may be changed.
When designing assessments for students, I tend to create the
assessment before planning the unit, or lesson. This is the most
useful when it comes to summative assessment. However,
sometimes I will, at a whim, give a formative assessment as an exit
ticket. This in which will go along with the students I can

In the Classroom

Miss Brooks

statement and is often spontaneous when I am uncertain what my

students have taken away from the lesson.
I have been blessed to have student taught through a National
Heritage Academies (NHA) school. NHA schools have a great
program for analyzing data and students test scores. This has made
accommodations and learning the progress of students much easier
to guide planning. You can click on a widget to show the standard
and which students in your class have mastered that content. As a
team, during our instructional team meetings, weve analyzed data
across the third grade to see which standards all students are
struggling with, but also what the other teachers are doing
dierently if their students have mastered the content and mine
have not yet.
Although it is extremely time consuming, I love reviewing students
work. I love giving them feedback and helping them exceed my
already high expectations of them. Quality is better than
quantity, is what I like to remind my students. Although students
are asked to complete four activities a week for our reading
workshop, they have the flexibility to choose which ones to work
on, and the order in which they are accomplished. Some students
will rush to finish these tasks, where others take their time and do
their best.

Third grade area assessment

During lessons, I will model my thinking as I am going through a

problem, and then scaold lessons to allow students to answer
questions in a step-by-step way allow students to be able to do the
work on their own.

Knowledge
I love to give students a choice or allow them their creative
freedom during assessments. One of my main summative
assessments for the geography of Michigan unit, my students are
asked to create their own brochure. They are given a rubric that
will show them what is considered mastery, but also what is graded
at a one, two, and above grade level or a four.
When analyzing assessment data, I have to keep in mind of my
special education students and my English language learning
students. Their scores may be lower due to their lack of
2

In the Classroom

Miss Brooks

understanding. Thus, when analyzing test scores, I like to look out

for what they are struggling with and finding ways to help improve
those skills for my students.
As a student, I loved getting feedback because I knew where to
improve. As a result, I like giving my students feedback on their
work, even if its just classwork. Feedback could be given as
positive or constructive, as long as students are learning from what
theyre doing. Sometimes feedback comes in forms of verbally
talking with a student about his work, or writing their feedback
down on their assignment. Or, I will do both as a result of trying to
reinforce my feedback.
When preparing for assessments, I like to try to give them practice
questions that will look similar to those they will be tested on.
Since my placement is through NHA, we are required to give a
certain test by a specific date. Although these tests are not the
most fun, I try to prepare my students by reinforcing the
importance of reading all of the directions and double reading
what is being asked of them. My students often rush through
assessments and dont answer what is being asked of them.

Dispositions
Instruction is aligned with learning goals and standards, with
assessment in mind. In class activities are planned to help develop
problem solving skills, while also learning the material at hand.
While testing is taking place, accommodations are taken into
consideration for special education students and students with
language learning needs. These accommodations could include
reading the test to the students as a source of comprehension,
shortening the assignment or assessment to only one question per
standard instead of multiple, or a quiet or separate room for
students to read the test aloud to themselves.