Assessment Chapter 9

Science can leave many teachers confused when it comes to assessments. Some teachers view assessments solely for summative evaluations with little to no feedback for the students. Other teachers use formative assessments to provide feedback for the students and summative assessment to issue a grade. "Classroom teachers have many assessment options. No matter which options they choose, teachers need to be able to collect sufficient information so that they can make generalizations about students' learning and make good planning decisions" (Krajcik). Without collecting sufficient information the teacher is unable to see where the students stand in their class academically.

Assessments do not have to be multiple choice, fill in the blank, short answer tests that many think of when they hear the word assessment. Some examples of assessments are observations, discussions, anecdotal records, checklist, clinical interviews. When it comes to interviews they can be formal or informal interviews. Students find informal interviews less stressful than other types of assessment. A great way to start these interviews are with open-ended questions because it gives the student a clue to tell what he or she knows about a topic. Assessment can also be done through concept mapping because it shows the students' conceptual understandings.

In school students often times leave tests saying "I never learned that stuff". When I conduct a test I will make sure my students are prepared and they have been taught the material. Things for a teacher to consider when making a test are does the items match the content I hoped students would learn and did I really develop these ideas in class? The teacher also what to think about the writing level the test is written at as well as her students reading levels. Students can also present artifacts such as writing samples and daily journals in order for the teacher to assess. Students can also create products, drawings, music, videos, portfolios in order to show the teacher what they know/ have learned.

When it comes to scoring teachers need to have a set rubric in order to score every child the same. There should be no "fluff" and straight to what is expected out of the assignment. Teachers can make up their own rubric for the assignments but it should include certain criteria for project-based science classrooms. The rubrics should include the following criteria: understanding of concepts, use of higher-order thinking, ability to answer driving questions, relatedness to the world, level of collaboration, level of creativity, presentation, and use of cognitive tools. Teachers are not the only ones that can do the assessments. It is important to see where the students think they are as well as where peers think a student is at. This way you have more than one opinion on an assessment. Assessment information is a great way to give grades and make decisions.

I want to incorporate different types of assessments in my classroom. That way my students do not get sick of the traditional multiple choice, fill in the blank, true false type of assessment. I want to use checklists, rubrics, observations, interviews, etc as assessments in order to see where the class falls academically. Test after test will just beat the students over the head and cause anxiety for some. Changing up the assessment will allow them to show what they know in multiple ways.