Assessment Dilema
How do we balance the assessment needs defined by the public and politicians with appropriate and valid classroom assessment?
posted by Cammy Todd @ 6:54 AM
8 comments
STEPs Course 3
This Blog is designed for participants in the STEPs Course 3 session offered by Wichita Public Schools during summer 2006.
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
About Me
- Name: Cammy Todd
- Location: Wichita, Kansas, United States
I am an Instructional Technology Specialist for Wichita Public Schools. I love learning new technologies and sharing with others!
8 Comments:
There is always a need to strike a balance in any given classroom with the needs of the students and assessments that are required. Even within the district we are often asked to assess students on material which is inappropriate. How we do it is a constant challenge?
I am working with a curriculum development team for a class we teach and we were really debating over the issue of "do we take out course content" just to make room for the additional assessments will be required to give in our classrooms. What is fair, the constant assessments or the course content?
A lot of the time we do not have time to properly teach the content area becuase we are taking up so much time teaching to the tests. It seems like we are doing more and more testing and a lot of it is of little value. It does not show what students are really capable of.
Andrea
Kim
Dave
I really think we sometimes are testing too much especially in April. I would like to see us add another 20 days to the school year calendar to meet the academic requirements of our class and to meet the assessment demands the district and public is adding to our plate.
I think that if we could have a test that is teacher and student friendly then it would make testing much easier. A lot of the time is spent on grading assessments.
You are so right! We need teachers creating assessments that go along with our curriculum that can be electronically graded. That's the ideal.
Andrea, Kim, and Dave
We need to find assessments that actually show what students can do. They need to go with how we are suppose to teach. They tell us to teach the kids one way and then when we assess them they are not able to use certain skills they have learned becuase of the test.
I agree. Our district assessments often are not aligned to what we are teaching and as we are more geared to using authentic assessment or hands on activities, out testing is still paper, pencil.
What a great thought! Are we testing just to test and then not having enough time to digest what are students are taking assessments over or are we testing over the material we present in our class and finding out if our students are learning course content to add to the big picture of total education experience.
Andrea, Kim, and Dave
I believe we have to have well defined testing that will satisfy both without over-doing it. The public needs to know that teaching children is and art and children are not business and do not conform to those molds. Too much testing only burns out but not enough does not give educators enough information. I think we need to test in black and white and not try to trick kids. Test only what we want to know.
Since I'm not a regular classroom teacher I don't routinely do a lot of testing which results in data collection. I agree with Suni's comments. Teachers have the best ability to determine what should or should not be tested.
I also agree that we need to test very clearly defined indicators. Often a math test that tries to test a student's ability to apply math concepts becomes more of a reading test than a math test. Testing needs to be very straightforward. Feedback need to come to students and teachers much more quickly.
As teachers we need to realize each day that we step into the classroom that all children can learn and we need to run with that thought each day. We have no idea what takes place in their lives outside of school. When these children are with us we are their safety net. If we need to reteach a topic over and over again to balance out the assessment so what. It is important that our children learn the basic skiills to survive.
On the other hand, "the public" needs to know that what needs to be taught is not just being taught, but being learning. This is where the balance act comes in. What is too much? Should teachers teach to the test? Students are given so many tests that the tests lose their importance.
It would sure be handy if we had some teachers in the political world that seems to make the decisions for us............
Pam, Dana, Debbie
Work with our teams, building reps and administrators to provide positive feedback to the public (which includes politicians) about what is realistic. Teachers are experts in understanding children's capabilities!
What a positive way to phrase it!!
I like the idea of providing feedback regarding what is realistic. My fear is that the politicians' views trump those of the professional educators. Ultimately, you are right. We need to work together at the building level to provide solutions to meet the testing demands put upon us and our students.
It is always my pet peeve that it is those who do not teach or who have never taught run the schools. There is no other job in the world that is held in such low standings that is so important. Even the health care system stands up to these people and win. Why can't we?
Sandy Suni Jan
I think there is not currently a balance between properly meeting the educational needs of our students and satisfying the demands of public and politicians. Students today are given so many assessments as a way for politicians and public to grade the teachers. The students often do not get the results, or get them so far after the test that they no longer care about their performance. I think that as professional educators, we need to stand up to politicians and say "too much!" If you really want to know about my performance, find a way to test me, not always my students. The public often does not realize that there is little validity in the testing as the tests often change from year to year and, of course, the students change, therefore comparision is impossible.
Amen. I don't believe that the public really knows what is going on in schools. They only know what the media wants them to know and that will never be good enough. Our kids could be the best in the world but we would only be number two or three because the media will not let us be successful.
Another part of this equation is the expectation that teachers can "do it all". The expectations are so high that teachers are overwhelmed by the demands of parents and the general public. Over and over again during staff meetings and inservices, I hear classroom teachers say complain that they are "teaching to the test", not teaching what children really need to learn (what we used to call "the basics"). There is no chance for teachers to use their creativity in the current climate of proving worth through testing.
--from Suni, Sandy and Jan
Right now, I understand the politicians to believe that No Child Left Behind is the guiding force for education. Realistically, can every child be at the 100% level by the year 2014? We are currently assessing our kids all the time. We push them to strive to get there, but there needs to be consistancy. What is too much testing? Will they think it's important? What happens when we get a new president? We test our children way too much and so many of them including the very intelligent children get test anxiety so bad that it makes them sick and not want to be at school. Perhaps we need to make testing so much an ordinary part of the school day that the students don't get stressed out and ALWAYS do their best. This won't happen until less emphasis is on test scores and the emphasis is where it should be, on what the kids learn and need to learn.
Debbie, Dana, and Pam
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