Hello
blog readers and welcome back for round two! Hope you enjoyed my first entry
and please feel free to chime in with your own comments below. Please. Anyone.
Today
I have decided to discuss educational assessment, an important focus of my
current studies and certainly a relevant consideration as a prospective
educator.
I
want to begin by connecting the issue of assessment with my first blog entry. I
have mentioned in the past how curriculum, assessment and instruction are all
integrated aspects of teaching and education. Each of these aspects influences
and informs the others. For example, the backward design process of unit
planning asks teachers to use assessment to bring curriculum to life and drive
their instruction. Therefore, as I previously pondered the evolution of the
educational system from the old story to the new, it is important to understand
that assessment too is in a state of transformation (Drake, Reid & Kolohon,
2012).
How
about a quick history lesson? A Brief History of Assessment
While
the above video (and this blog for that matter) only scratches the surface of
assessment, it undoubtedly describes the shift in philosophy regarding the
purpose of assessment within a classroom. In Ontario, this move toward a more
holistic approach to curriculum and learning has led to the ideas of assessment
OF, FOR and AS learning (Drake, Reid & Kolohon,
2012).
Mistakenly,
assessment is often confused with evaluation. In a classroom, students
hear the word assessment and teachers immediately sense the collective shudder
as they panic and tremble, fearing the next quiz or major test. Many students
loathe report card day or rack their brains thinking about the cruelty of a 79%
grade.
While
assessment OF learning is an important means of evaluating student learning, it
should not be the only consideration. Students may not test well, can have bad
days (based on mood, illness, etc.) or face issues regarding performance
anxiety. Unfortunately, it is assessment OF learning that is often the deciding
factor in determining student academic success (Drake, Reid & Kolohon, 2012).
However,
it is clear that assessment is (or at least is supposed to be) so much more,
especially when it involves detailed feedback and meaningful work, as pointed
out in the video.
I
tried to think of instances in my own educational career where constructive
feedback and engaging learning experiences led to opportunities for authentic
assessment, and I keep coming back to the same idea. Music.
In
high school, I would learn a piece of music every month for performance class.
Leading up to the performance, I would meet with the teacher regularly, both on
an individual basis and in a group setting, to identify sections of the music I
was finding difficult or that needed more practice, to receive helpful tips
about certain musical interpretations and to set goals for the following week
or the actual performance. To me, this is assessment FOR learning. And while
there was a formal evaluation at the end of the road, I enjoyed the process. Oh
and by the way, I learned something!
Maybe
that’s why, even today, I don’t mind sitting down at the piano and learning a
new piece, particularly when the pressures of a final performance or
conservatory exam are removed. Yet, I have never written a research paper
outside of the context of school. I don’t practice algebra equations in my
spare time. So, how do I capture the authentic nature of learning music
and translate these ideas into my history class? How do I create opportunities
to authentically assess learning? Don’t even get me started on questions about
developing assessments that are reliable, valid and fair (Drake, Reid & Kolohon, 2012). Ah, the many
apprehensions of becoming a teacher…no one ever said this would be easy.
And
if the rambling above is not enough to deliberate on as a future educator,
don’t forget that teachers must also ensure their students reflect on their
learning and attempt to understand their own metacognition. Assessment AS
learning is something I have really only begun to consider since arriving at
university. Engaging in self-assessments, understanding my own learning strategies,
and being well-educated in success criteria or levels of expectation have
allowed me to get to this point (Drake, Reid & Kolohon, 2012). Strangely enough, this blog itself is a form
of self-assessment, which I can use to gauge my own understanding as it
relates to class material, readings and other reviewed educational resources.
So,
wait a minute…if a majority of assessments in classroom should be formative in
nature and assessment FOR and AS learning are essential elements of student
development, why are grades and marks the focus of academic success? Can you
envision an educational system with no marks or grades? Can you imagine that at
the end of the school year, the only thing a student needs to ask in measuring there
level of achievement is a simple question: “What did I learn?”
References:
Drake, S.M.
& Reid, J.L. & Kolohon, W. (2014).
Interweaving curriculum and classroom assessment: Engaging the 21 Century
Learner. Toronto, ON: Oxford University Press.
