Thinking about assessment...

As a part of my assessment graduate course, we are working with Rick Wormelli's Fair Isn't Always Equal. He addresses assessing and grading in the differentiated classroom. And aren't we all so differentiated nowadays?

So how do we create successful assessments for our students? Differentiation does not mean using three different levels of worksheets. However, differentiation can be as simple as allowing students more time, regrouping by student interests and levels, or a list of choices for assessments. Some teachers are differentiating without even thinking about it. They are just acting in ways that they think are fair for individuals and they are realizing that fair doesn't always mean the same thing for everyone. So imagine how equitable classes would become if in-depth training and study was allowed into differentiation?

Wormelli speaks of beginning with the end in mind. He deals with two types of assessments--formative and summative. Summative is the summation of your lesson. The final assessment. But its also the beginning. Mapping out the final assessment first lends itself to successfully covering the lesson's essential objectives/standards. Wormelli even speaks of giving students the test at the beginning of the unit and allowing them to listen carefully for information that they know they will be tested on at the end. We have to stop letting assessments be a surprise to the students. Letting them know what is on the test isn't always about a review sheet the day before the test. Give the review sheet--or a skinny version of it to be filled in--at the beginning. Imagine the purpose that is set when you know ahead of time what you are expected to learn!

Teachers also have to use formative assessments--mini-checkpoints along the way--to examine what they are doing in their classroom and what is working. Instead of lamenting what students aren't doing, let's examine what we aren't doing. The most powerful question from Wormelli's reading is "What did you learn from a student today and what did you do with that knowledge?" What exactly are your students teaching you about your practices and what are you changing? Formative assessments, followed by teacher reflection, can help raise student engagement and achievement.

I feel that teachers are where the change has to occur, but that's the easy part. How can we begin with the end in mind when the end is being created in another state by a test-making company? How can I convince teachers to change the way they assess throughout the year when their major accountability comes from outside the room, outside the building? I feel very frustrated when I start to think about the role of government in education. Rules are being made by people who do not know at all what students are like in the classroom. So how do I fight that battle?