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Phase 4
While reading the book What should I do? Confronting Dilemmas of Teaching in Urban Schools by Anna Ershler Richert, the topic of assessments related to my ImagineIT project. Over the past few years, there has been a shift in the way students are assessed. In the past, students were given “plug and chug” types of problems, multiple choice, and more mechanical problem sets. However, this style has diminished student’s ability to be problem solvers.
As stated by Ershler Richert on p. 90, “when tests are used…in a formative way they can be a mechanism for indicating student’s misconceptions and thus providing a starting point for addressing students learning needs.” One potential solution to my issue would be to construct more real world assessments that provides various stages to be assessed. Furthermore, assessments should be utilized as a monitoring tool rather than a punitive measure. In my diverse learner classroom, students would benefit greatly from this approach. This has challenged me to think about the true goal of assessments. The true goal of an assessment is to direct instruction to achieve an outlined objective rather than to give a grade.
As stated by Ershler Richert on p. 90, “when tests are used…in a formative way they can be a mechanism for indicating student’s misconceptions and thus providing a starting point for addressing students learning needs.” One potential solution to my issue would be to construct more real world assessments that provides various stages to be assessed. Furthermore, assessments should be utilized as a monitoring tool rather than a punitive measure. In my diverse learner classroom, students would benefit greatly from this approach. This has challenged me to think about the true goal of assessments. The true goal of an assessment is to direct instruction to achieve an outlined objective rather than to give a grade.