DiMatteo Mod1 Self-Assessment 1

Module 1 Reflection Assignment

Self-Assessment

Samantha DiMatteo

Marygrove College
DiMatteo Mod1 Self-Assessment 2

After reviewing the Educational Assessment Knowledge and Skills for Teachers I

feel that I am proficient in the majority of the skills listed. Completing the Self-

Assessment survey validated this notion. I feel that I exemplify many of the skills

emphasized in both the survey and the appendix. Tomlinson and Imbeau (2010) state,

teachers learn to be responsive to the students they teach, and positive student

outcomes encourage continued teacher development(p. 139). Regardless of my

current level of aptitude, continued success as an educator requires ongoing

professional growth to support the needs of our ever-changing audience.

One of the most fundamental components of being a successful teacher is to

have a deep understanding of the content. This is an area that I feel I show great

strength in. How can we expect to transfer competence in the material if we do not

have it ourselves? Not only do I know the content of the math courses I teach, but I

know the content of both the prerequisite and post-requisite courses. Tomlinson and

Imbeau (2010) state, Students learn incrementally from their various starting points (p.

36). Mathematics is cumulative in nature so it is important that I have a strong

understanding of the material that my students have entered my classroom with so I

know which skills to build upon. Similarly, it is just as important that I know which skills

they will need in the future so that I can develop these skills and they will be adequately

prepared for the next course in their math sequence.

My next strengths are in my ability see the purpose behind each of my various

assessment options and appropriately administer them. Brookhart and Nitko (2015)

explain, Getting information about a students achievement from several assessment

modalities usually enhances the validity of you assessments (p. 10). Student

assessment must be an ongoing process to help us gain valuable feedback as to how

receptive they are being to the material. Assessments can come in many forms, from
DiMatteo Mod1 Self-Assessment 3

simple class discussions to more formal written exams. The key is to continuously

incorporate them into your classroom practice. Assessments can give us direction as to

the material we present and give us the opportunity to provide feedback to our students.
I feel confident in my ability to be able to interpret assessment results and make

sound educational decisions based on these results. Brookhart and Nitko (2015) define

the disaggregation of test results as when: the test results for the total population of

students are separated in order to report on individual subgroups of students-such as

students who are poor, who are members of minority groups, who have limited English

proficiency, and who have disabilities (p. 16). Standardized testing results can help

shape the ways in which we design our curriculum and administer our lessons. Each

year the results of state examinations (PARCC, and the HSPA), national exams (SATs,

ACTs, AP tests), and school-wide assessments (Quarterly Benchmarks, Midterms, and

Finals) are analyzed by our PLCs. We not only consider the results of the exams as a

whole, but we disaggregate the data and examine how well various subgroups

preformed on these tests. Tomlinson and Imbeau (2010) state, when we assume that

all students reach their maximum respective potential in they achieve the same goals

under the same circumstances on the same day, we operate in direct contradiction to all

that we know about human development (p. 35). All students learn differently, and

when we consider their backgrounds we can gain insight as to which students may

need a differentiated approach to the material. This analysis of such assessment

results helps to shape the curriculum and guide our lessons to best support the needs

of our students.
The main areas of assessment that I feel I need to improve upon include

developing rubrics and providing useful feedback on student work. Brookhart and Nitko

(2015) state, Simply assessing students and reporting the results to them is not likely to
DiMatteo Mod1 Self-Assessment 4

affect their performance (p. 5). I am confident in my ability to use assessments for my

own feedback, however, I do not always give my students rubrics prior to an assignment

or provide thorough explanations about their work after they have completed a task.

When attempting to develop a rubric the main barrier for me is determining how much

weight to assign to each portion of the assessment. Additionally, providing justification

for each category is a challenge. I struggle with the specificity of rubrics, sometimes I

feel the rubric is too detailed, other times I feel like each component needs more

elaboration. Brookhart and Nitko (2015) note, Feedback must give specific guidance to

students about what to do to improve (p. 5). When developed correctly rubrics are a

useful tools for letting students know what is required of them, they also help teachers

grade with consistence and can help identify which areas of the assessment students

showed understanding and which areas need to be revisited.

Assessments help to ensure that our students grasp the main objectives of each

lesson. If done correctly, they can offer valuable feedback to both the teacher and the

students. It is important that we constantly evaluate our assessment techniques to

ensure that we are doing our best to reach the needs of all of our students.

References

Tomlinson, C. A., & Imbeau, M. B. (2010). Leading and managing a

differentiated classroom. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
DiMatteo Mod1 Self-Assessment 5

Brookhart, S. M., & Nitko, A. J. (2015). Educational Assesssment of Students. Boston,

MA: Pearson Education, Inc.