Module 1 Blog - Jarod Rollins

 1.     In your experience, how does assessment determine what a student learns and doesn't learn?  

Assessments are an opportunity for the teacher to receive data about student knowledge and abilities. In a pre-assessment the teacher can see what learning targets have already been met or may need extra attention, this shapes what areas are covered and how deeply they are taught, which ultimately shapes student learning. Formative assessments help teachers create a road map for learning. Each student will understand the curriculum and progress towards the learning targets at different speeds and in different ways. This means that the teachers will need to make adjustments and accommodations to help each student along the way so that by the end of the unit every student has achieved the learning target and standards. Summative assessments are a confirmation of this and hopefully show that each student has reached the goal. Assuming that the assessments are reliable, valid, and bias free, they directly impact what and how students are taught and subsequently what they learn.



2.     How does assessment relate to what is valued and what is not valued?  

The assessments that teachers are using in the classroom directly relate to learning targets and national standards like Common Core and state standards. These national and state standards reflect what is needed for students to be successful employees and citizens. Regularly, committees at the state and national levels decide what should be in the standards, they essentially decide what is valuable and what is not. This leads all the way back down to the classroom and shapes what is taught and assessed. If something is assessed then it is valuable, whether it is valuable to the teacher or state or nation. Sharing learning target and what will be assessed with the student also determines value. By getting that information at the beginning, students see which learning is valuable and what they need to strive for. 


3.  In your classroom, what is worth assessing and not worth assessing?

As a teacher, the main things I will focus on assessing will be the learning targets and learning standards. Part of me wants to say that everything I teach should be assessed, because if it’s not worth assessing than why am I teaching it, but I don’t think that is realistic. I will have a limited amount of class time each day and must use it very wisely. I will use formative assessments daily to make sure my students are on track towards the learning targets. There may be things that I spend a few minutes on here and there because a student asks a question, or to give more background to a lesson that are not worth assessing. I want to make sure that my students are hitting the bigger important learning goals and standards so that is where I will spend my time assessing.

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