In the name of assessment...
Prior to the start of this class on assessment, we were asked to think about and make of list of all the things we do in the name of assessment in schools. At first it was kind of hard to think of some of the things besides the obvious summative and formative kinds of tasks. In the end, the class produced a fairly large list of all kinds of things we do in the name of assessment.
As part of this activity, we were given sticky notes and asked to write down some we thought were good and some we thought we not as good. When we were finished we had nine topics. We were then asked to rate them in the form of a diamond - the top being the most important going down to the bottom being the least important.
It was interesting to see what others picked for their sticky notes and how they rated them. It also told me a lot about how my views of assessment differ from my peers. Looking at my own diamond I can tell that the ones I put on the lower tiers are practices in my building that I think could be use used more effectively. It has made me question my own teaching and what I do in the name of assessment for my students; especially with PLCs and district/school wide assessment. Even though I don’t necessarily agree with how my building implements these practices, how can I make the best out of these and do what is best for my students?