4-ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION

The Heuristic View

CI Masters degree graduates analyze and understand the various roles

of multiple types of assessments for monitoring, evaluating and
responding to student learning; they understand, develop, use and
critique formal, informal and performance assessment techniques,
including local, state and national assessment systems to improve
student learning.
The masters program prepared me to face the political and social
aspects of education as related to standardized testing. Though I still
struggle with the effectiveness for gauging student progress on an
individual level, especially for those students who regularly perform
poorly in high stakes testing, I see the benefits for collecting holistic
data. Since education is highly correlated with success on an
individual, state, and national scale, it is important that we have a read
on students as they progress through the education system. As a
masters student, assessment both formal and informal, formative and
summative, is valuable for adjusting teaching strategies and
curriculum content.
Culturally proficient assessment does not punish or isolate students
because of their ethnicity, socioeconomic status or learning needs.
Assessment is timely and impacts instructional strategies. The material
covered in class should match that covered on assessments either
directly or indirectly.
I am a very good test taker but I know that not all students can do well
on high stakes tests. When I plan assessments I do so with two goals in
mind: 1) the assessments should measure student progress towards
meeting the state standards and the objectives for the unit 2) the
assessments should be varied i.e. lab reports, quizzes, worksheets, and
exams. Variation in assessment allows all types of students to succeed
even if they have test anxiety or other barriers to performance.
Currently, I enjoy writing assessments that encourage students to
generate answers rather than regurgitating facts so I include charts
and pictures for them to fill in or short answers in which they analyze
data related to the topics that we covered in class.

The Service View

I am accomplished when 85% of the class gets a B or better on my

exams and when everyone turns in their worksheets. I know that it
doesnt seem like much, but my first student teaching placement was
rough because I had 3 classes of students that couldnt turn in
assignments. I am still baffled. I am currently working in a different
school and have been buoyed by my recent success on a vertebrate
unit quiz and a majority of homework being turned in. I am empowered
because these students do work in the classroom and seem to enjoy
learning about the material.
I create fair assessments that encourage learning and an
understanding of the material. As a competent teacher I believe that
assessment is the proof that I have chosen engaging curriculum and
taught it well enough that students can draw upon their knowledge to
answer questions.
How will this accomplishment affect/effect your professional activities?
The more practice I gain creating assessments, the more beneficial
they will be as a measure of student success and instructional
effectiveness. Assessment, graded or not, is key to quality education.
Writing good assessments also sets the boundaries for the material
covered in the unit and helps me plan curriculum and instruction.

The Learning View

I had a difficult time transitioning from taking university exams to

writing high school level exams. My first few exams and other
assessments were college level and format because that is what I was
exposed to for the last 7 years. Though I had taught all of the
information on the exam, the format was difficult for students and I felt
that they knew the answers but didnt understand the questions. As I
have progressed through the program, my test have become more
grade specific while still maintaining rigor and high expectations.
I have learned to use ExamView which has been a great asset for
building multiple choice and short answer sections on tests. I also like
the worksheets and labs on HHMI and The Biology Corner. I have
learned that not everything has to be put in the grade book and that
some things can be graded in class. This has saved me long hours of
grading and students get instant feedback on how they are performing.
My mentor teacher is AP certified so I have had the opportunity to look
at past AP Biology tests and yearly curriculum for this course. I am
even more convinced of the importance of assessment and teaching
students to be smart test takers. I now stress the financial benefits of

high test scores as students continue on the college which, in my

experience, motivates them to do well.
ExamView, AP scoring guidelines, College Board, schoology, formative
assessment, summative assessment, interim assessment,
PowerSchool, high stakes testing, low stakes testing, make up exam,
participation points, alternate assessment, differentiation, short
answer, multiple choice, modified true/false, science skills, EOC (end of
course assessment), ISAT, the Biology Corner, HHMI, etc.