Introduction In my classroom, I am always assessing students, whether it be formally or informally, so that I always have a true and accurate "pulse" on every aspect of my classroom. Assessments give me a chance as a teacher and facilitator to peer into the community of students for an in-depth look at what is working, what needs to change, and how effective my strategies are. Essentially, assessment in my classroom is the most important tool for moving the needle on student progress.
Students in my classroom also use assessments in their goal setting. When I make these assessments student-facing and friendly, students are able to track their progress daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly. When students are able to define their progress in their own words based off of assessments given, they are able to modify and plan for their success with the educator.
There are many types of assessments I use in my classroom, including formative, summative, and diagnostic strategies. I also have testing that ranges from daily exit tickets to year long MAP testing diagnostics. These different methods of assessment give me a complete picture of student progress in my classroom. From these results, I am better able to modify lessons, small groups, and reteaches so that students are met where they are.
I use the following types of assessment:
Daily/Weekly Assessments
Monthly Assessments
Year-Long Assessments
Conclusion Overall, my goal with assessments is to create enough data points for monitoring learner progress that I have a profile of each student and where they are at in any given lesson, week, month, or year. These are either formal or informal, but each carries benefits that are helpful to creating a profile for my students. Once I have these profiles built for each student, I can effectively guide my decision-making for how to proceed with each student.
These profiles help me engage my students in their academic growth as well. I use the data to drive and motivate them to achieve the growth they want. If I truly want to move my students to dramatic results and growth to close the achievement gap that is so high in New Orleans, I have to track these assessments vigorously and in a way that students feel invested as well.