FIAE Chapter 3

This chapter was no doubt the most in depth I have ever read into properly assessing.  There are fifteen different way to performing good assessment.  Good assessment advances learning and is integral to instruction, determines what’s worth being assessed, provides even information to the teacher to inform instructional practice, never saved for the end and is ongoing emphasizing formative over summative feedback, is never kept a secret and performed with the end in mind, focuses on developmentally appropriate, enduring, and essential content and skills, authentic to the learning experience, highly valid indicator of what students know and are able to do, reliable, occurs appropriately and doesn’t seem like a test, engages more than one discipline, calls for the use of different tools and products, uses tasks that reveal common misunderstandings, includes those being assessed in its form and criteria, and last but not least is conducted with multiple experiences over time.  There are many ways as a teacher to assess students and these assessments are vital in understanding what a students knows and what we need to focus on to help ensure mastery of weak or non existent areas of learning.

To be honest, when I read this chapter I felt a bit overwhelmed with all the knowledge about proper assessment.  It makes me feel like there are many ways I can unintentionally asses improperly and get the wrong ideas about my students.  However, over time and with the help of my future colleagues I know I will use assessment properly in my classroom.  I think it is essential to have to keep improving my curriculum content wise and differentiation wise as well.