Blog Post #1: My Assessment Experience as a Student
Throughout both my elementary and high school careers, I felt that I had many assessments. When I think of my assessment history during this period of time, I think of knowledge and curriculum-based tests. In elementary school, there were constant math and language tests (pop quizzes, if you will), that drilled the class on their understanding of certain concepts. What I also remember is that I did pretty well on these assessments, except for in math. Testing was just another part of the day for me, and I neither liked nor disliked the idea of a test, except for, again, in math class. I was not a strong math student, and therefore, feared assessments in this subject above all else. As for the other subjects, I found that the assessments that I did take helped me to improve my knowledge and helped me to think critically. In high school, my experience was pretty much the same. I received the same progress reports as I had in elementary school, and therefore considered myself "average". I like to think that I handled myself well during the fast-paced tests that were flung at me in high school, and I know that I became more aware of my study habits and self-regulation during this period of time.
For the most part, I found that my memories of assessment, or being assessed, were quite positive during my time in elementary school and high school. I felt like my teachers always took a great interest in all of their students' wellbeing, were aware of theirs student's needs, and were attentive, all thanks to in-class assessments. From my assessment experience growing up, I have learned that it is imperative that the teacher understands their students, so that they can accurately, yet without bias, grade their work. I believe that by having different kinds of assessment (one-on-one, group observation, etc.), teachers can more accurately help their students, as they look for patterns within the assessments. Lastly, I believe that teachers should approach every assessment with a positive and encouraging attitude. If teachers are able to make lessons interesting and appealing to their students, I believe that they will respond well to it, and hopefully, that would also be reflected in their grades, report cards, and progress reports.
Blog Post #2: Growing Success
Before reading Growing Success, I really had no idea how I could assess my future students or even the reasons why I would be doing it. Going into this course, I will admit that I was completely overwhelmed because I did not think that I would be able to figure out how to mark or the purpose of marking. Thankfully, I can now say that I am much more confident as a teacher (and assessor?) as I think that I will now be able to help my future students learn and grow, with the help of Growing Success.
In all honesty, one section that stood out to me was on the fundamental principles of assessment. I think that I remember this section the most vividly because it was covered during our first assessment class, and it was covered in my specific table group. Going over and dissecting the principles really helped to ease my nerves on how to assess my future students. After reading this chapter, I found it quite easy to come up with examples and situations that fit with each principle. I know that I will most definitely be challenged by the concept of, and the how's and why's of assessment in the future, but I also know that I can look back to this specific page to check that my assessments are valid and reliable for all students.
Another section that I found quite interesting in Growing Success was on the achievement chart. Though success criteria and the achievement chart had been talked about in other classes, I never really understood how to come up with tasks that fit the criteria until we covered it in Assessment. Another thing that confused me were the levels of achievement. I knew that levels 1 and 2 did not meet the "standard" and that 3 and 4 did (or were above), but I didn't really understand how to make for it. How did all of my past teachers figure that I was a level 3 in some subject, but level 4 in others? After reading Growing Success, I learned that level 3 was meeting the provincial standard and that level 4 didn't necessarily mean that the student was above a course or grade level, but that they showed a high degree of effectiveness in their work.
Though I will be using Growing Success, I glanced at Growing Success-The Kindergarten Addendum to see if there were any differences between the two. Though they both have many of the same sections, The Kindergarten Addendum does not feature a few sections, and the sections that are in the document are much more vague. The Kindergarten Addendum does not include much information about accommodations, modifications and alternative programs, but instead, discusses them briefly under another section. I was interested to see what was and wasn't included in The Kindergarten Addendum, and was even taken aback by the lack of success criteria in the document.
Overall, both Growing Success documents have helped me to relax about how to assess. I know that I can always refer to them when I need guidance, or when I am unsure of what the provincial standards entail. I am much more confident in my abilities as a teacher and facilitator, and am excited to start my journey, with this document bookmarked, of course!
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