Section A:

Last semester in our planning course we began to touch upon assessments. We learned
how to create formative and summative assessments to accompany a week long lesson plan in a
specific subject, so I came into this course with some background knowledge on the subject.
However, I was surprised by all the steps that go into creating assessments. And how to ensure
theyre both reliable and ethical. Not only that, but I learned about the importance of diagnostic
assessments as a precursor to an upcoming unit.
I think because I only had the opportunity to intern once a week for my first two
semesters, I never had the opportunity to actually see any diagnostic or summative assessments
occur. However, I was able to witness numerous activities that my co-teacher used as a
formative assessment. From what I gathered though, she didnt actually make her own
summative assessments in subjects like math and science. She simply took the chapter test from
the textbook and administered that to her students. So Im glad we touched upon the dos and
donts of creating assessments. I now know that my tests should begin with easy questions and
build up to harder questions so the students arent stressed from the get go. I understand that
every question I create has to align with the standard and be able to be justified with an
alignment statement. I believe the way that this class broke the assignments up into parts really
helped me to better understand the process of creating an assessment. Its not just making up
random questions to test students knowledge. Its choosing a set of standards, creating learning
objectives, then creating assessment questions using blooms taxonomy to ensure theyre not just
questions that require rote memorization.
One thing I still struggle with however, is the idea of standardized testing and the idea of
teaching to the test. Unfortunately, my final semester interning I saw this occur week after
week as my co-teacher readied her students for the Florida Standards Assessment, also known as
the FSA. The entire month before the FSA she completely skipped teaching science or only
spent around 15 minutes on the subject so she could spend around 2 hours teaching math
concepts the students would encounter on the statewide test. During this time I witnessed one of
my students have an anxiety attack over the impending test, and the fact that it could hold her
back a grade if she didnt perform well. She is only 8 years old. The amount of stress these tests
put on young children is something I will struggle to get used to. I dont understand how all the
classes we take preach differentiation, yet students are subjected to a one size fits all test.
One thing that has really changed for me with assessments is the concept of diagnostic
testing. I had only encountered this idea in literacy courses that use diagnostic testing to
determine a students strengths and weaknesses in reading and writing. I had never considered
the thought of giving a diagnostic test before a new unit to ensure my students had the necessary
background knowledge needed for the upcoming lessons. I now have a better understanding of
how diagnostic testing can help me as I differentiate my lessons to meet the needs of my
students, as they will change unit by unit. One student may struggle with animal classifications
and need extra help but may flourish in a future astronomy lesson.
Section B:
As for my general beliefs and philosophies of assessments, Im a big proponent of
student portfolios. Student portfolios generally consist of anecdotal notes, observational notes,
formative assessments, summative assessments, and conference sheets (if these are utilized by
the teacher). These portfolios can be used as documented mastery of content knowledge. My
co-teacher once showed me a few student portfolios before the FSA because she had a feeling
they might be necessary to help keep a student from being held back based on their standardized
test results. I struggle with the idea of standardized tests and the pressure they inflict on young
students. I want my students to feel confident in the content they have mastered and by keeping
organized portfolios I can show proof of each individual students growth throughout the school
year if need be. I also like that I can incorporate differentiation into my formative and
summative assessments within the portfolios to ensure students have equal opportunity to master
a specific content.
In a past literacy course we had an assignment that required us to write about our
teaching philosophy. In my paper I talked about how students dont all learn the same way. We
have kinesthetic, auditory, and visual learners. Our classes may be made up with a mix of below
level, on level, and above level students. All these students learn in different ways, so how can
we expect students to test the same way. This reflects back to my feelings on being able to
differentiate certain formative and summative assessments based on my students learning levels.
For example, if I gave the students a summative writing assessment I might differentiate based
on learning level by giving my below level student a writing paper that was made up of half the
page reserved for a drawing and the remaining half of the page for writing, my on level student
might get a fourth of the page reserved for a drawing and the remainder of the page for writing,
and my above level student would use the whole page for writing. Each student is completing
the same assignment, theyre just presenting the work in a different way.
I would also create an environment that is safe and inviting. I would give lessons on
accountable talk, teaching my students how to respectful give feedback or suggestions to their
peers. This way I could incorporate self and peer assessments. This concept not only helps
students learn to communicate effectively with their peers, it also helps them recognize where
they are in relation to their peers and set learning goals that they set into action. It also helps
them develop as active citizens in a democracy.
The areas I feel most strongly about in terms of assessment are student portfolios
(formative and summative assessments) and differentiation. I feel like a broken record when I
talk about this, but its because its something that I hold important to my teaching philosophy.
Assessments shouldnt be used to add pressure to a student, an assessment should be used to
ensure I have done my part to instill the necessary knowledge upon my students. If a student
struggles in a formative assessment, I know that I might need to pull that student for a one-on-
one or small group reteach, this is part of the check as I go method. This way I know when that
student goes to take a summative assessment they have had the same opportunity to master the
content as their peers.