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When I saw "positive space" in students and reflected that to them, the results were stunningly different from when I reported on their "negative
space." It gave students something to build ona sense of possibility. I began to spend at least as much time gathering assessment information on
what students could do as on what they couldn't. That, in turn, helped me develop a conviction that each student in my classes brought strengths to
our work and that it was my job to bring those strengths to the surface so that all of us could benefit.
Understanding 10: Informative assessment isn't just for the teacher.
Up to this point, much of my thinking was about the teacherabout me, my class, my work, my growth. The first nine understandings about
assessment were, in fact, crucial to my development. But it was the 10th understanding that revolutionized what happened in the classrooms I
shared with my students. I finally began to grasp that teaching requires a plural pronoun. The best teaching is never so much about me as about
us. I began to see my students as full partners in their success.
My sense of the role of assessment necessarily shifted. I was a better teacherbut more to the point, my students were better learnerswhen
assessment helped all of us push learning forward (Earl, 2003). When students clearly understood our learning objectives, knew precisely what
success would look like, understood how each assignment contributed to their success, could articulate the role of assessment in ensuring their
success, and understood that their work correlated with their needs, they developed a sense of self-efficacy that was powerful in their lives as
learners. Over time, as I developed, my students got better at self-monitoring, self-managing, and self-modifying (Costa & Kallick, 2004). They
developed an internal locus of control that caused them to work hard rather than to rely on luck or the teacher's good will (Stiggins, 2000).
Assessing Wisely
Lorna Earl (2003) distinguishes between assessment of learning, assessment for learning, and assessment as learning. In many ways, my growth
as a teacher slowly and imperfectly followed that progression. I began by seeing assessment as judging performance, then as informing teaching,
and finally as informing learning. In reality, all those perspectives play a role in effective teaching. The key is where we place the emphasis.
Certainly a teacher and his or her students need to know who reaches (and exceeds) important learning targetsthus summative assessment, or
assessment of learning, has a place in teaching. Robust learning generally requires robust teaching, and both diagnostic and formative
assessments, or assessments for learning, are catalysts for better teaching. In the end, however, when assessment is seen as learningfor
students as well as for teachersit becomes most informative and generative for students and teachers alike.
References
Costa, A., & Kallick, B. (2004). Assessment strategies for self-directed learning. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.
Earl, L (2003). Assessment as learning: Using classroom assessment to maximize student learning. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.
Lortie, D. (1975). Schoolteacher: A sociological study. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Stiggins, R. (2000). Student-involved classroom assessment (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Wiggins, G. (1993). Assessing student performance: Exploring the purpose and limits of testing. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Wiggins, G., & McTighe, J. (1998). Understanding by design. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Carol Ann Tomlinson is Professor of Educational Leadership, Foundation, and Policy at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville; cat3y@virginia.edu.
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