Assessment+(continued)

**Is assessment really a separate activity from learning? What circumstances may impact whether it is or isn’t?**

Assessments can be either separate from learning or included, depending on what you are assessing and what tools you use for assessment. Diagnostic and formative assessment should always be included in the process of learning because they give the teacher guidance on what the students are learning and what they still need to learn. Both diagnostic and formative assessment help to form and shape the lesson and unit as you move from activity to activity. Summative assessment may or may not be separate because you may be assessing the effectiveness of a lesson or something the student has previously learned.

Assessment should be used within the classroom so teachers can evaluate what the students are learning throughout the lesson. Assessment helps students become involved in their learning because when students are aware of what they are being assessed on, they are likely to participate in their education. This facilitates active learning by having the students contribute to the assessment process. For example if a student is given a rubric or checklist prior to doing a project, they know exactly what is expected of them and they can fully participate and meet the learning objectives of the project. They are able to show all the knowledge that they are accountable for and what they have learned throughout the lesson. Assessment is not separate from learning (since the assessment is based on everything one has learned), but more showing the product of what you learned so teachers can see what information a student knows best and what areas they need help in. Assessments are able to support the educators efforts and help the teacher by giving them evidence in the effectiveness of what they do in the classroom.

The way an instructor presents assessments determines if it is a separate activity from learning or not. For example, if a teacher is presenting the content of the lesson and expects students to answer questions using response devices in their classroom, such as a clicker, he or she can monitor the student’s learning during the actual learning of the lesson. With a clicker, each student is able to respond with an answer. The teacher may teach a lesson, and throughout the lesson, ask questions to ensure learning. When responses are collected from the clicker, the teacher can see the results using the clicker system software. and display them if they wish. This is a form of assessment, however it takes place during the actual learning process. If a teacher gives a quiz, test or project, the teacher could be making the assessment a separate activity from the learning. However, even with that being said learning still can occur during tests, quizzes and projects. Feedback from teachers, checklists, and rubrics can all encourage learning throughout the lesson.

Assessment should not be a separate activity from learning, but something that is used as a tool for learning. Assessment is supposed to be used to measure whether or not students are meeting your goals and objectives, so it should be directly connected to learning. Diagnostic assessment is connected to learning because you are measuring whether or not students have met the prerequisite skills. Formative assessment is a part of learning because as students are participating in the process of learning, they are being assessed to make sure they understand what they are doing. Summative assessment is part of learning because students are showing what they have and have not learned. As you can see from these forms of assessment, learning does not stop at a test. Students can learn things through assessment as well as through a class lesson. Students have the opportunity to see what they understand and what they do not understand.

Circumstances that impact whether assessment is a separate activity is the school and teacher. Many schools focus on “teaching to the test”, meaning the state assessment, but unfortunately no real learning occurs when using this type of teaching. Assessment should be integrated into the daily routine of the school day so that students do not put so much emphasis on assessment, where they become anxious. If we as educators assess students work and progress throughout the school day we are bettering our students. Our students will learn to understand what mistakes they are making and how to fix it before it becomes a habit. If we only taught to the test our students will only learn how to become good test takers rather than how to fix mistakes and learn from them. A few ways to incorporate assessment is through technology. For example clickers, Google Docs, portfolios and surveys. We can assess how well students collaborate with one another, their creativity in work, how well they organize thoughts, etc. using these type of tools. These are all important aspects of learning that should be assessed.

When teachers use technology as a form of assessment students are able to have a more positive experience. Using Google docs, portfolios, and surveys allows students to gain feedback from teachers and also their peers. Instead of teachers marking student’s assessments as wrong right away, these forms of technology assessments allow students to expand their thinking and also correct their work as they continue learning. By implementing tools which allow students to reflect on their work and critique the work of their peers, students are able to deepen the process of learning. Blogs and wikis are great technology tools which allow students to build upon the knowledge they have already gained. In order to have students focus on the process of learning they need to be involved in activities which impact their lives. Having them solve real world problems and be apart of their communities will help them to expand their thought processes. When students are taking part in authentic assessment they are engaged in educational tasks that are meaningful and directly related to real talks they may need to perform in the future. This type of assessment is not separate because as the students complete the assigned task, the teacher should be observing and grading the students based on their work. To grade using this type of assessment teachers can use a checklist or a rubric. Teachers should also be providing feedback to the students as they progress with the assignment.

Assessment can be used to encourage higher order thinking skills by having the students teach what they have learning. By the students teaching they are using the higher order thinking skills of Blooms Taxonomy. If they are given the chance to problem solve, they must be able to experiment, apply, analyze, and conclude. This will drive their own thinking process because they will they will use experimenting and will understand why something is or isn’t the solution to the problem. An example is to have the students participate in the assessment process through collaboration of grading criteria. A rubric is an assessment tool that students and teachers can collaborate on to determine a fair grading system. The rubric serves a a contract between the teacher and students and should be made clear and concise.