Assessment Practices

Assessment is one of the more fascinating aspects of our profession. It is amazing how many various assessment strategies exist, and how it substantially changes from classroom to classroom. At first, this has the perception of being a good thing, and I believe it can be, however, upon further investigation, we often find that there are some assessment practices that are great, and others that are poor. Obviously, assessment practices embedded and implemented through research based strategies are more effective, so naturally this is the road I find myself on, however it is ever changing. In my first year of teaching I simply followed the assessments of my subject partner. Fortunately for me, he was an exceptional data-informed instructor and loved to dig into data collected from assessment, which I believe is the root of all good assessment. What we do with the assessment data truly define many aspects of us in our teaching. I have the philosophy I always share with my students and their parents that must because you did not understand a concept on October 23, does not mean you will never show evidence of learning in this area. I love providing formative assessment with quizzes that students take as true feedback as they know if they make corrections and show evidence of learning, they will always have the opportunity to improve their marks. This brings me to my second assessment practice. I try to take the fear and focus on the mark out of the equation. The reality is that grades are important in our society, but our perception and self worth does not need to be influenced by them. We use our assessments to attack the grades. Do what is in our circle of influence to impact things we cannot control. I find that my class often leaves my homeroom with a growth mindset and new outlook on the learning process. To be honest,i change little things every year, always looking to improve, but my process, and the process of the school or district hasn't changed during my career simply due to the length of it. I've only been at this for 3 years. 

The research I used for assessment can mostly be contributed to the work of Jo Boaler who spoke to assessment for a growth mindset in her book, Mathematical Mindsets. She speaks to the impact of formative assessment and the practice of using assessment to get an understanding of where they are, where they need to be and finally ways to close the gap. This means I should not be providing assessment, then moving onto the next concept. I have been intentional in my classroom in ensuring that student receive assessment feedback (in an array of ways) then we discuss where we should be, and identify ways to get there based on their learning needs. This is where student voice and choice enter my practice. I find providing this too early in the instructional process does not allow the students to make informed decisions, but assessment feedback does. Some students prefer to work through work booklets and repetition, other love more problem based learning strategies, others learn through collaboration. there is a myriad of ways to engage learners as long as they know where they are going and why. Due to my linear ways of thinking, I love utilizing the data to support my strategies, simply put, my students score better. Yes I am basing this on summative assessment in the end, but I also compare it to where they were before they began. Pre-assessment is critical when using student learning to provide evidence of learning, rather than student achievement. Challenges I have encountered mostly stem from the same place. Attendance issues and lack of effort. If student aren't in my class regularly, they miss out on critical learning, but also critical self reflection and opportunity to improve. Within the same branch, students who are not intrinsically motivated or do not have support at home, also struggle. 

As instructional leaders, we need to ensure our staff and competent and held accountable in the area of assessment by building efficacy and capacity. From a biased perspective, this is why Professional Learning Communities are effective. They allow teachers to collaborate and provide support to attack these issues in their nature. As a district, it is critical to ensure that principals understand the importance of providing accountable time for their staff to work in a collaborative setting where they can share ideas, beliefs, assessments, instructional strategies and much more. Above all, leaders that are most effective in the area of instructional leadership have the innate ability to identify strengths in their staff, and provide opportunity for them to utilize their gifts to improve both their own capacity, but also that of others. A leader who values efficacy as a form of improving student learning is a leader who will see positive results.