Assessment (week 14)

*Chapter Summary*

This week in the book, we are learning about assessment of classroom learning. The test discusses the roles of assessment in teaching while discussing measurements, evaluations and other ways to determine the effectiveness of assessments.

Some ways to measure students learning that were covered in the chapter include:
· Written tests
· Selected-response test
· Short-answer tests
· Essay tests
· Performance tests

The text warns that performance tests pose challenges for the teachers because reliability and validity of performance tests have not been established. In my opinion, and where my personal experiences come into play this week, are in this section. I think that performance test are great, but I have found that students do better when there are a variety of testing options available. I think that teachers that include multiple techniques within one test offer the students a better chance of succeeding.

The text also discusses the differences between norm-referenced grading and criterion-referenced grading. I think in my classroom, I will use criterion-based grading to do the actual grading, but will also take into consideration the scores of the other class members, as this way I will be able to tell what I needed to make clearer in my lesson and which students need help with what.

Another item discussed in this chapter was the incorporation of technology in classroom assessments. As I have stated all semester, I am a huge advocate of this. I think that it is vital to introduce students to this at an early age because it is the future of their schooling and every-day-life. I also think that this type of testing allows for a more broad repertoire of testing skills.


*Personal Changes*

I think this class has opened the door for me in looking at alternative ways to instruct my classroom. I have to say that the more we look into options of actual classroom management and assessment, I am enjoying the information much more.


*This Week in the DB*

The posts to the DB this week are scarce. I think because it is Thanksgiving week, a lot of students have their minds on other things. I would like to say though, that I have read another student's initial post and she and I vary a bit in our thoughts about assessments. I think the variation between students when learning new things is amazing. I love to read how someone else interprets the information.


*Question of the Week*

The question for this week is: Choose one of the following general education blogs to read for the week
https://mail.otc.edu/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.speedofcreativity.org/
https://mail.otc.edu/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.k12opened.com/blog/
Answer the following questions about the blog you choose. Please include the url of the blog you choose in your write-up. Also, give a sentence or two about why you decided against the other blog.

I chose https://mail.otc.edu/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.k12opened.com/blog/ because I think that it offers a lot of valuable information. I did not chose this one over the other because I disliked the other, rather, I would think this one's information could be more beneficial.

Would a blog like this one help you with your teaching?
Possibly. I think anything that offers information like this could be beneficial, especially for first time teachers.

Would you be able to get ideas for teaching from this blog? How? Why? Explain.
Yes. I think this offers information on programs options that are helpful in teaching ideas.

Did you learn something new from the blogger? What and why did it strike you as memorable?
Yes. I learned about the automatic vocabulary presentations in PPT. I think this is something that a lot of people might not know.

Would you want to create a site like this for others? Why or why not?
Yeah, if I had time. I think that any information you can share with others that might make their life easier is worth sharing.