Student Assessment and Student Learning

Testing is just one way to assess students' learning in the classroom. Some students buckle under pressure with traditional test that involve instant recall that can lead to test anxiety. Traditional tests, still have their place but other forms of assessment are also important in gauging students' comprehension of material. (jes, 2010, Duncan & Noonan, 2005).

Using self-and peer evaluations, portfolios, class resources such as blogs and wikis, students are more involved and active learners than ever before. Students are taking ownership in their education through these non-traditional assessments which are having students think more critically about their own work and try to earn higher/better grades. (Lancaster, et al, 2010) Assessments that are learner-centered help students improve academically.  These assessments can give students immediate feedback in the form of online questionnaires or even in-class polls where students use interactive response systems (clickers) to answer questions that check for comprehension. These questionnaires are anonymous to students, but the teacher has special software that allows them to see who answered incorrectly, so s/he can talk to those students at a later time to make sure the whole class can move ahead to the next topic.

I have used peer and self-evaluations successfully. This did require some class time to teach students how to give constructive criticism and to learn the rule of thumb that for every negative comment, you need to find at least two positive comments to encourage one another. (jes, 2010) Students were also thoughtful and insightful about scoring their own work. Sometimes they were harder on themselves than I would have been. This lead to wonderful teaching moments as I showed the students all the areas that s/he had gotten right. This  helped students see themselves not so negatively. I used self and peer evaluations for end of unit projects and presentations. For the peer evaluations, students would be given a rubric that I created using Rubistar. While a group or individual was presenting, the "audience" would make helpful comments and check off the criteria that was being graded. Students would also have to include a statement about what they learned from the presentation. During the self-reflection I would have students write about what they liked about the project, what could be improved, and what did not work so I could adjust the assignment the next time I gave it.

There are also class and digital portfolios that can be used for assessments. Portfolios can be used to show that students have reached required benchmarks or even show student growth over a period of time. Showing student growth is mutually beneficial. The teacher and student both see the progress the student has made. (Cramer, 2009). This can lead to a student feeling more confident about their school work which can make a big difference since the school I last taught at had a large drop out rate. If a student feels that they are improving, they can change their opinions and feelings about school and stick with their education. To me, that is the most rewarding part about alternative assessments, are seeing my students' smiles after earning a good grade.

References

Cramer, Matthew. (2009) "Digital Portfolios: Documenting Student Growth."   Horace.   Summer 

       2009, Vol. 25  No. 1.

 
Duncan,  C.R. and Noonan, B. (2005) "Peer and self-assessments in high school." Retrieved June 19,         2011 from http://pareonline.net/pdf/v10n17.pdf.

EdDLaoshi. (2008).  Assessment for Learning. Retrieved June 20, 2011 from
       http://www.youtube.com /watch?v=3BFGwg9vGJc&feature=player_embedded.

 

Froyd, J. & Simpson, N. (2008). “Student learning addressing faculty questions about student-centered               learning.” Texas A&M. Retrieved June 18, 2011 from http://ccliconference.org/files/2010/03                 /Froyd_Stu-CenteredLearning.pdf.
Furger, R. (2002) Assessments: what teachers can do. Retrieved June 18, 2011 from                                        http://www.edutopia.org/what-teachers-can-do

Jes. (2010)  Guiding self and peer assessments - two technologies. Retrieved June 19, 2011 from                 http://wp.wpi.edu/atc-ttl/2010/11/22/guiding-self-and-peer-assessment-two-technologies/.

Lancaster, J., Waugh, J., and Wood, J. (2010) Designing and implementing student-centered                     assessment. Retrieved June 18 from http://ccliconference.org/files/2010/03/Froyd_Stu-                        CenteredLearning.pdf

Park University. (2010).  Classroom assessment techniques. Retrieved June 18, 2011 from                         http://www.park.edu/cetl2/quicktips/classroomassess.html.