Sara Houser English 496 Practicum Spring 2018

Assessment Statement

Assessment is an ongoing process that can be a source of frustration for even the best of
teachers – especially given the increase in standardized and state-mandated tests, and the
difficulty of those tests for students of diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds. As a teacher, I
believe that, despite the difficulties presented by these ever-changing assessment expectations,
and the sometimes unclear delineation between different types of assessment and evaluation,
how assessment is handled in a classroom on a daily basis can, to a great extent, determine the
effectiveness of one’s teaching, especially in regards to working with English language learners.
In my classroom, assessment is much more than teaching to the state- or district-
mandated tests, having students take these tests, and making judgements about their learning
based on these scores. Although these assessments are essential for gaining an understanding of
student achievement at a schoolwide or district-wide level, I tend to view assessment, instead, as
an ongoing, purpose-driven process in which students are able to demonstrate what they have
learned through various modes, using instruments and tools that are culturally sensitive and
linguistically and cognitively appropriate. I believe that, while formal, standardized, criterion-
referenced and norm-referenced tests such as the WIDA test (for English language learners) and
the M-STEP (for all learners) are useful in determining some information about a student’s
language proficiency and their content-area learning, these tests are only a small piece of the
puzzle. It is necessary to engage students in ongoing assessment in the content areas as well as
the four areas of language proficiency (reading, writing, speaking, and listening) in order to truly
determine if students are progressing in both their content and language learning over time.
Oftentimes, such high-stakes examinations do not engage students in learning beyond the
required ‘fact dump’ necessary to pass the exam. I believe that authentic assessments,
specifically performance-based assessments that require students to thoroughly learn the
necessary content and language in order to successfully complete a task that is engaging for them
and relevant to real-life expectations, coupled with regular informal assessment on a formative
and summative level, are far more effective in determining the abilities and learning of one’s
students, and is far more likely to solidify what they have learned in their memory, to be drawn
upon as they move forward with their educational development. As such, this type of assessment
is purpose-driven in the sense that the purpose is not to simply pass a test and move on,
effectively leaving behind and forgetting all of the memorized information needed before that
point, but to engage students in showcasing their learning in a way that promotes continued
learning and provides multiple modes (performances) through which that learning can be
demonstrated over time. Some of my favorite assessments that fit into this definition, and work
well for English language learners include use of portfolios (including e-portfolios), student
conferencing, and student learning logs and response journals. While these type of assessments
tend to be more subjective, if a teacher focuses on creating rubrics that provide fair guidelines for
assessment and effectively inform the students of what they will be graded on, the sky is the limit
with how students can be assessed.
I believe that a healthy addition to these ongoing methods of assessment is incorporation
of self- and peer-assessments, such that students are able to make judgements about their own
quality of work and the areas in which they could further their learning or improve their language
proficiency. I believe that grouping students for both learning and assessment across the
Sara Houser English 496 Practicum Spring 2018
Assessment Statement

curriculum can be a useful tool in effectively evaluating students’ performative use of language
and their ability to demonstrate their learning. Providing instruction for students in how to
effectively and fairly evaluate themselves and their peers is an essential, and sometimes time-
consuming part, of this process, but the benefit of creating autonomous and critically-thinking
learners, in my opinion, outweighs the potentials difficulties of engaging in this type of
assessment.
Of course it is essential that the instruments used to formally measure student learning are
valid, reliable, and relevant to the instruction that has taken place, and that as a teacher I am
aware of any limitations that a particular assessment tool or strategy may pose. Before
employing any assessment in a classroom, it is necessary to evaluate the assessment thoroughly,
ensuring that the assessment instrument is practical, reliable, valid, and authentic (to the greatest
extent possible), and that it provides an opportunity for washback of the information, which I
have already mentioned previously as a determining factor in my tendency to prefer the use of
authentic, performance-based assessments. I recognize that it is not always feasible to conduct
only authentic assessments in the classroom, and that the level of subjectivity that comes with
such assessments can make it difficult to use them consistently, but it is important to consider
and work toward assessments that allow students to continuously engage with the material in a
meaningful manner while simultaneously providing them with opportunities to showcase their
learning through means beyond standardized tests and pre-developed chapter quizzes. Above all
else, it is key that assessments actually address the content and language goals of the students
and the classroom teacher, and that students are engaged in assessment that accurately reflect
their language and content-area learning over time. As an educator, my goal is to utilize
assessments that both meet these criteria and engage students in continued and active learning as
an ongoing process, in addition to preparing students for, and assessing students by, the state-
and district-mandated tests.