Regular updates and musings on curriculum and technology in the Salisbury Township School District in Allentown, PA.
The number 1620…
One of the areas in which shift is occurring is in the area of assessments. This video brings to our attention just how many 20th century paper/pencil tests the average students takes in their school career. With the integration of technology, we can now make our assessments reflect the real-world and change the meaning of the number 1620.
Video created by Barry Bachenheimer
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I think this is very interesting. I have moved away from tests this year. I still give a vocab test each week. I use reading counts. Other than that, everything in my room is project based. At times, at the end of a unit, I will give a group test. The purpose here is to simply review the content. I want students to talk about what they learned. They may use the book to clarify or elaborate on their ideas. This is very different from the rest of my grade level. I don’t know if it is better or worse, but it is indeed very different. I do worry that students will not remember as much content or as many of the little ideas. For example, I don’t know if students will remember the characteristics of each biome. In the past, they had to memorize it for a test. I do know they will remember what makes up a biome, how biomes are different, and why they need to understand biomes. What happens when the Science PSSAs are full force? Will students need to know the big ideas or the little facts? My guess is it is some of each. How do we know where to prioritize?
Writing in my classes is a more concrete example of student’s growth and learning than a test. Students write different drafts every week, but they only take one test, maybe two, a quarter. I would rather see them self-assess their own writing abilities and make the necessary improvements ("life"), instead of me telling them on a test their strengths. However, I do believe there is still a need for testing to cover the basic facts in order to complete future writing assignments. For me, everything is centered around helping the students become better writers for assignments, PSSA Tests, and future endeavors. The need for testing is a very fine line, and different for different students!
I think we should be careful to make a distinction between tests and assessments. Assessment of student learning should inform our instruction and provide evidence (or lack of) student learning and growth. Assessments can take many forms and should be used frequently. Tests are often summative in nature, and without formative assessments to guide our planning and teaching, tests often do not provided information in a timely manner to effect learning. I like Lynn’s idea of projects, and Beth’s use of actual student writing. Good food for thought in the video, Randy. Thanks!