Blog #6 Checklist, Rating Scales, Rubrics

Informal evaluations are useful tools for teachers to use when they need specific information about their students.  I think informal evaluations are very important, and to me are the best ways to test children and get authentic results.  This chapter talks about three main informal evaluations; checklist, rating scales, and rubrics.  Depending on what grade level you are teaching, tells the teacher what evaluation would be the best for your classroom.  I can say that I could probably see myself using checklist and rating scales in my classroom.  I like them because they are practical and easy to use.  I like that I can tailor them to fit my needs, and that they provide immediate feedback.  When reading the conflicts about informal assessment results case I was surprised that the second grade teacher said that the first grade students don’t know the objectives to be passed to second grade.  Can’t all teachers say that?  Not just first, second, or third.  Students lose the objectives during the summer if they don’t have parents, or summer programs that challenge them enough to maintain and keep all the content that they learned throughout the year.  My question is, don’t second grade students have objectives that need to be passed to move on to the third grade?

Any evaluation has advantages and disadvantages, you just have to decide what assessment works better for your style of teaching and would work in your classroom.

When they talk about the rating scales and a disadvantage being rater bias, what do they actually mean by rater bias?  I understand that these assessments don’t exactly replace their actual performance so how do they become rater bias?

My final question when reading the chapter was about rubrics.  When the chapter talked about students using rubrics, how do the students use the rubrics in elementary?  Do they actually let the students check themselves in elementary when they are doing homework?

I liked this chapter and I know that I plan to use a diverse system of assessment when trying to assess how my students are doing.  What might work with one student or class one year might not work the next year.  Teachers are supposed to be flexible and willing to not only teach diverse lessons, but also be diverse when assessing them.

Blog #5 - Observations

I believe that observation is the best way to assess how a child is learning and developing.  This allows the teacher to observe the child’s behavior and the teacher getting to know the child as an individual.  Observation is important for pre-k and primary age because it’s the most direct way to see how or if the child is progressing in learning or developing.

 When reading about using technology while observing, I wondered if we can videotape a student without getting parental consent first.

 I believe the advantages of informal assessment do outweigh the disadvantages.   The text said that the focus of the classroom assessment is to encourage students to produce knowledge, rather than to reproduce knowledge.  Piaget’s believed that children construct knowledge; assessments can stress the child’s active involvement in learning, which is displayed through performance of tasks or examples of work, rather than through assessments that are limited to mastering the skill.  When reading this, I wondered, why do we have standardized testing if it really limits their learning.  Anecdotal records are quick and easy to do.  The running records give a better snapshot of what has occurred over a period of time and really is a great tool to aid the teacher in what and if the child is developing and learning.  When reading, I wondered if anecdotal records are used for more than just the behavior of a child.  Can anecdotal records be used to record how they are doing in reading or math?  You could put post-it notes in their file about other observations other than just behavior.  To me, the informal assessment allows the child to act in a normal way, and they feel comfortable doing so, and the teacher in turns gets a more accurate example of what the child can do.