In a recent
professional development meeting that I attended, the group I was with
discussed many things about grading. There were many aspects about assessment
that were discussed at that meeting much of which we have learned in our education
classes here at Caldwell College. I believe that as teachers, it is our job to assess
each individual student in order to promote growth, motivation,
self-reflection, positive environment, and, more importantly, to help us to
adjust teaching so as to enhance student performance. I further believe
that assessment helps students know where they may need improvement and, at the
same time, assessment helps teachers know where the gray areas are in their
teaching. And finally, I believe that students should be graded based on
knowledge of the content as well as on their performance.
One of the primary teachers who was
in attendance at this meeting voiced her concern about the present report
cards. She was lamenting the fact that
social development was not part of the assessment criteria and any refer to it
was being taken out of the school report cards. She felt that not only should students be responsible
for and graded on their performance in class, but also for their attitude towards peers. She argued that a person could
be smart and at the same time be totally unable to get along with one’s peers.
I want to know your thoughts about assessment.
First of all, do you agree with my statements in paragraph #1? Why
do you think we assess students? In
your estimation, why SHOULD we assess students and how should we assess
them? Should we be grading social
development, as the primary teacher at my meeting suggested? Should social development then be included as one of the criteria
to be assessed on report cards? If you feel we should assess social
development then should this assessment also be incorporated on report cards at the upper
grade levels? Why or why not?
Look forward to receiving your input.
(You may just wish to address just a small portion of this prompt).
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ReplyDeleteI believe that assessment is extremely important and I agree with your statements in your first paragraph. In my opinion, which is similar to what you have already stated, we assess students not only to see where students need improvement but also to see where we need improvements. By using assessments, we are able to see if our lessons are allowing students to understand the information. If majority of the students do not perform well on an assessment, then we can modify the way we teach the information. Assessments are also important in order for both the teachers and the students to self-reflect. Teachers can self-reflect on their lessons and teaching styles while students can self-reflect on their progress, performance, and determine where they might need to work harder. In my opinion, performance can include many things such as participation in class, attendance, interaction with peers, and social development. I feel that social development is important; however, it should not be assessed on its own. I feel this way because some students prefer to work individually and I do not think that they should be penalized for not working along with one’s peers. Some students are very shy and that could be interpreted as not getting along with one’s peers. Teachers also need to take into account disabilities. I believe that social development could be used on a report if it was under a section in which social development is part of a grade that is combined with other areas such as attendance and participation.
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ReplyDeleteAmelia, your questions show that you care so much about the root of issues in education. You not only think about how to get through and survive the current systems that are in place, but you are clearly reflecting and contemplating about the way that certain systems in education (the report cards) should be, and that’s awesome!
ReplyDeleteIn response to your first question, “do you agree with my statements in paragraph #1?,” yes, I definitely do agree with your statements about assessment. Your attitude toward assessment, in my opinion, is just what it should be. I have met several teachers who view assessment as an entry on a ‘to-do’ list that they are anxious to just check-off. I have also met teachers who scramble to put grades together for a report card at the very end of the marking period. You, on the other hand, seem to see assessment as something that is WAY more important than a burdensome task that the school administration requires of teachers, but as a meaningful way to help students improve and to actually improve as an educator. You cannot plan future lessons or implement future forms of instruction in a way that is significant and will have positive outcomes without using assessment to determine what has been working in the past versus what methods yielded less than desirable results.
In response to the issue about whether or not social development should be on a students’ reports card, I do agree with the teacher who voiced her concern at the professional development conference that you attended. However, my thoughts about just how social development and progress should be used on a report card are not fitting for every type of educational setting.
I think that social development should be a part of assessment for some reasons.
Strong social skills and positive interactions with peers is a life skill. As you mentioned, a student can be very bright but still have issues with getting along with others. Teachers should be aiming to develop students into capable adults of the future, fully equipped with strong morals and methods of conducting themselves in social settings. In looking at the issue from this perspective, then, social development should definitely be a part of assessment.
Social development should not be a part of assessment under circumstances like the following.
If a student has a diagnosed disability that influences his or her behavior in a negative way, a teacher should not be judged harshly for this based on social development assessment reports. In the special education field placement where I am currently student teaching, many of the students take medications that affect their behavior and some face serious emotional issues at home that impact their social capabilities in the classroom. It was mentioned earlier that assessment of social skill may help a teacher to reflect on her own mistakes, but when there is a severe medical cause behind social issues, a teacher should not be looked at as inadequate if her students are not meeting social expectations for other children their age.
Assessments are necessary to see if a student is progressing and understanding certain concepts. Although, teachers are able to assess students several times throughout a particular lesson, a summative assessment is necessary to see how much the students have learned. I also believe social development should be included on their report cards. This gives the parents an idea how the students behave and work with others in the classroom environment.
ReplyDeleteI think that assessments are very important when is comes to a student and their progression in school. Assessing students should be done everyday, by observation, classwork, discussions etc. Formative assessments will help a teacher understand how a student is doing on that certain topic. Summative assessments are also important but I feel that they should not be given in place of formative. Summative assessments must be given to show what the student has truly learned. I also feel that social development should certainly be included on report cards , parents and guardians should be able to understand how their students work not only alone but with classmates and if they are behaving to their full potential. If they are not included on the report card, teachers could include social development with assessments and if the students social skills are not where they should ( taking disabilities into account ) a letter could be sent home to the parents that way.
ReplyDeleteI believe assessment is very important too. Students should be assessed everyday because the teacher should assess them as they do work in the classroom. Assessment isn't only giving a test. Tests are important to make sure that the child understood the information being taught. I think that not all students perform well on test but there are other ways of testing students for example, projects, group discussions, completing a lab etc. Social development is very important and should be brought to the attention of the parent in the report card because some children are very social at home but not at school so the parents could see that and make a comment to the teacher. The teacher can then work with the student become more sociable.
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