In thinking about class this week, I was reminded about my time in school when it came to assessments. As someone who freezes up when given a multiple choice test, it is now very interesting being on other the other side. As I think about the kind of teaching that I hope do in my classroom, it is my hope that my students never think of me as someone who gives hard questions simply because I am mean or out to watch them fail. My goal in looking at assessments, is to test my students in a manner in which is reasonably fair and gives them the best opportunity to show me what they know.
The use of the VDOE website as a great tool is something that I know I will have to revisit when I find myself struggling to create rubrics that do not have my own personal bias at the center. Looking through the many forms of assessment I found it extremely helpful to see the break down of which question will help assess what certain thing in a student. I know personally, how to create an assessment is the portion of the lesson plan that I always find myself struggling with. I know that I want the end goal to be, and I often know the steps on how to get them there, but the assessing portion seems to carry a heavy weight that is intimidating. After last night, I feel like my understanding of the many times is much deeper and I would be more willing to use different means to determine a students understanding of the information that was presented.
Hi Caroline, Thank you for sharing your personal experiences with testing. Keep in mind that when assessing students it is important to see what they know but also to assess what they can do with what they know. Asking kindergarten students if they would have rather been a pilgrim or a Native American and why… after learning about the first Thanksgiving gives students a chance to think about their knowledge in a new way. Providing opportunities for students to go the extra step pushes thinking and helps to build the skills needed in the world outside of K-12.