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Enhancing Student Learning Through Assessment
By Barbara Creps
CRT. TerraNova. NAEP. Nevada
Writing Proficiency. It seems as if
students are constantly being tested.
However, none of these tests give teachers
the immediate feedback that they need to
make students successful. In order to truly
get to the heart of student success, teachers
need assessment for learning. Assessment
for learning often means formative
assessment. However, a deeper definition
begs to exist. This definition asks not only
who is and isn’t meeting standards, but rather
how the student is doing on his journey to
obtaining mastery of the skill. Formative
assessments are useful for the teacher while
assessments- for- learning are useful for the
student.
Luckily, teachers have moved beyond using
assessments only for judging students.
Assessments for learning can be viewed
as a type of compass that tells us in which
direction to lead the students toward mastery
of the concept. Teachers can then adjust
their instruction so that the target goal is
hit. It also allows the student to be aware of
the target goal and how to get there. With
an effective assessment system, students
will want to learn and teachers will want to
do their very best in offering instruction that
makes students successful.
What Teachers Need to Know and Do
Rick Stiggins, Director of the Assessment
Training Institute, maintains that there are
two important concepts that teachers need
to keep in mind when designing classroom
assessments. First, they must articulate
the achievement target that they want the
students to hit. Second, they need to know
how to transform these targets into quality
classroom indicators.
Teachers need to ask themselves, “What
knowledge do the students need to have
in order to master the concept?” and
“What performance skills do we expect
them to achieve?“ All teachers need to be
knowledgeable of the targets their students
are shooting for.
Performance assessments are great
instruments to use. With performance
assessments, we observe students while they
are completing a task or examining the final
product they have created. Think of writing
as an example. What does “good” writing
look like? Or in reading, what makes a
“good” reader? Being able to communicate
to the students with clear, concise terms is
key to having students master those skills.
This mastery is the foundation for quality
assessment. Teachers need to be given the
opportunity to collaborate and define those
achievement targets. “We cannot assess that
which we don’t understand.” ( Stiggins, 1999)
Once those target assessments are defined,
teachers need to know how to transform them
into quality classroom indicators. With proper
indicators and documentation, teachers can
gauge student learning progress from day to
day. They can provide evidence of where the
student was, where he is now, and where he
should be in the future.
Teachers need to know which assessment
is best fit to meet the needs of the students.
While multiple choice tests may be the best
option in some assessment contexts, other
times a performance assessment will provide
the teacher with more information. Knowing
which method to use will help teachers guide
instruction and provide students with accurate
and detailed feedback. Stiggins defines this
as assessment literacy.