Beliefs About Assessment as Impacted by Growing Success

After encountering Growing Success, I would say my beliefs about assessment have evolved.  Previously my beliefs were based on my experience being assessed, however, taking the perspective of the assessor has somewhat altered my beliefs about assessment. 

In my original post, the most prominent example of assessment I could think of was completing written tests. The idea seemed simple, you were fed information and being able to regurgitate it back in the written form proved that you learned the material. At this point in my learning and practice teaching, there has been much to support the idea that this may not be the most superior way to demonstrate learning.  For one, a test can be considered a performance rather than a demonstration of learning since other factors can go into performing well on a test.  For example, performing well on a test can be a demonstration of memorization rather than learning. Less than valid questions can lend themselves to triggering recognition rather than a demonstration of knowledge. Who hasn't experienced test anxiety? Under-performing on a test doesn't necessarily mean that you don't know the material. Perhaps there are life events affecting your ability to perform at that very moment or you experienced a level of test anxiety/pressure that acted as a roadblock to your recall of what you know, while any other day when you weren't on the clock or under the gun is no problem to demonstrate your knowledge. I could go on but I'll sum it up by saying that there are other (better?) ways to assess than by test.

Much like learning and instruction, assessment can be differentiated. With a focus on inquiry based learning and more attention being paid to individualization in education, there seems to be a growing acceptance that learning and knowledge are not as one dimensional as they appear to have been presented as in the past.  If educators accept the ideas of individual learning styles/preferences and differentiated instructional strategies, why should a differentiated approach to assessment of learning be any less accepted? Imagine if you asked a Spanish-speaking person, in English, what 5+5 equaled. If they knew it was 10 but couldn't reflect that to you in English, does that mean they don't know it? Offering a choice to students on how to reflect their learning makes for a more accurate demonstration of their learning. Someone with a more visual inclination will more accurately represent their learning to you through a visual mode of communication. This is one of the benefits to finding other ways of assessing. 

Let's get to the different purposes of assessment - for, as and of learning.  This speaks to the importance of continuous assessment, which has been reinforced throughout this course so far and in Growing Success.  The only way we can monitor learning is through continuous assessment.  Much like accounting/financial statements provide feedback about the financial status of a company, assessment does the same about our learning.  Teachers need to take a diagnostic snapshot of where students are at in order to effectively lead them where they need to be.  At the same time, students can monitor their own learning through formative assessment (self reflection, peer assessment, etc.). Finally, summative assessment will reflect the purpose of assessment of learning.  This is important and can be used as further feedback on how well a student is able to grasp a concept and reflect their learning through tangible/observable products.

In the case of students with special needs, the approach to assessment slightly changes depending on their level of need.  Students who require accomodations can be assessed according to the standard curriculum with supports as needed. In the case of students who require modifications, their assessment must proceed against whatever modified curriculum has been decided for them. In the case of special needs students, continual assessment is especially important in order to monitor their progress and level of continued need.

The achievement chart is something that gauges level of achievement of the curriculum. It can be considered at what level of success they are meeting the curricular expectations.  These must be individualized for the type of learning task and can be expressed/delivered in the form of a rubric, checkbric, cheklist and anecdotal records. 

Growing Success is a helpful document that sheds light on the various purposes of assessment, approaches to assessment and considerations for the assessment of students with special needs.  It is an effective resource for teachers of all levels as it provides direction and contains important principles associated with the practice of assessment