Wk 4 Reflection

The readings for this week revolved around student assessment.  I read through Ch 7 of the CAST book Teaching Every Student and it explained that, as we differentiate our instruction to meet the various needs of the students, we also need to differentiate our assessment strategies.  We often give tests in a single format, that may be a hindrance to some students.  For example, a paper-based test may not be the best option for a student with vision impairment.  The student may know everything being asked, but if (s)he has difficulty reading the material, the test score may not truly reflect what (s)he knows.  The material given in an auditory format may better suit this student.  So, we should set learning objectives and goals for our instruction and our assessment.  This will allow the students the flexibility to best learn and best show us what they have learned.

Also, what I see in many of my students is an inability to overcome test anxiety.  Many of my students perform particularly low on the high-stakes State Tests, even though they have performed at very high levels in my class.  When I talk to them, they tell me they were worried and confused and just could not get going on the test.  Well, their score does not accurately show their knowledge.

This brings up another point, that was not addressed in the readings, but is something to think about.  I believe that we are doing a much better job at designing classroom instruction.  Many schools focus on Project-Based Learning (PBL), small group activities, and technology initiatives to better allow for collaboration and general creativity.  But there is a disconnect when it come to our classroom instruction and the State testing.  For testing days, the students enter a sterile room (we are required to remove or cover everything in our rooms) and are required to work independently and silently on a paper-based test for 4+ hours.  Then the school district, school, teacher and student are all graded based on that one, out-of-context test.  Is that really how we should "test" our kids?

References:

Rose, D. H., & Meyer, A. (2002). Teaching in the digital age: universal design for learning. Retrieved from http://www.cast.org/teachingeverystudent/ideas/tes/