No single assessment instrument can possible capture a phenomenon as multifaceted as student learning and growth, so I strive to strike a meaningful balance between formative, summative, and other forms of assessment in my classroom. Different types of assessments provide students with different ways to demonstrate their knowledge and mastery of mathematical concepts, and it is my responsibility to decide what kind of data I need about a given aspect of students’ progress and then select an appropriate form of assessment to verify, measure, and document their learning. Similarly, it is my duty to prepare students fully for success on assessments. This includes providing appropriate accommodations for learners with disabilities and language-learning needs, but it also extends to preparing students for the demands of particular assessment formats (especially those that they may be seeing for the first time).

 

I take great care to design, adapt, and select assessments that are aligned with my students’ learning objectives. If assessments are not aligned to such goals, it will be impossible to measure student progress against grade-level content standards. I also make a concerted effort to minimize biases in the assessments that my students see by using names and scenarios that are resonant with their cultures and backgrounds. Finally, I utilize multiple computer-based assessment tools to gather diagnostic, formative, and summative assessment data in a way that is engaging for students and helps me to identify and address individual learners’ needs in a more accurate manner.

 

Of course, another key component of engaging learners in the assessment process is providing timely, effective, and descriptive feedback that pushes them to examine and communicate about their own thinking and learning. I spend a great deal of time sharing feedback with my students verbally, in writing, and via computer-based assessment tools. My goal is that this feedback will help them set big goals for their own learning, track their progress toward achieving these goals, and teach them how to produce the sort of high-quality work that demonstrates their mastery of a topic.

 

Once my scholars have taken an assessment, it is my job to analyze the data and assess students’ learning progress. I often undertake this task independently, but I have regular meetings with instructional leaders at my school to examine data and identify trends and re-teaching opportunities. My data analysis is always aimed at finding patterns and uncovering learning gaps that I can remediate through differentiated learning experiences. In other words, I use scholars’ assessment data to locate their strengths and weaknesses and address them through individualized or small-group instruction.

 

Click the buttons below to learn more about the types of assessments I use in my classroom and the ways in which my students invest in their own learning and data.