Week 1 Assessment

Week 1

 

Reflection

 

This week has helped to fill in some missing blanks that have been discussed in previous classes. Though we have learned what content to teach, this is the first time we have discussed how we know what to teach, how we evaluate and assess our students, and how we adapt our teaching based on these assessments. Before this week, everyone knew about standardized tests and content exams. However, this class has given us insight into what happens behind the scenes in a classroom. Of course, teachers know how to follow the given standards and curriculum, but they can also decide how to teach them and how much focus needs to be put on certain content.

Notes

Assessment 

Teachers use assessments to determine knowledge, behavior, skill level, or personality in order to guide their teaching. Using the information teachers gain from assessments, they can decide want content to focus on, if student’s have successfully mastered content or standards, and what teaching practices are most effective.

Summative vs. Formative vs. Diagnostic

Summative assessment is typically a graded assessment that occurs at the end of a content section or a course. Formative Assessments are not graded and are used as a guide by teachers to determine the next steps. They are meant to be low stakes. Diagnostic assessments are used before starting a course or new unit. The results from these assessments are used to plan lessons or to differentiate students into groups based on content knowledge.

Issues with Assessment

When using an assessment a teacher needs to evaluate its fairness. For example, it needs to take into account cultural or background differences, as well as language barriers that may cause confusion in DLL or ELL students.