Assessment

Assessment is a way to get to know a student better.  There are different kinds of assessments like informal assessments or formal assessments.  An example of a formal assessment would be the TAKS test (a standardized test), where students levels of progress in certain subjects are evaluated by the state, school, or teacher.  Students are evaluated individually or in groups, and formal assessment lacks a one-on-one connection between the students and teachers.  Informal assessments are often done by teachers to observe student reading on a range of reading tasks and multiple contexts.  A teacher could assess a student informally by having a student read aloud in private.  Informal assessments are also known as authentic assessments.  An example of a math content authentic assessment would be to have students’ calculate a basketball game's averages.  You can have them think about how they would calculate the average of individual players and for the team.  They can even figure out shooting percentages of the players.  This gives them a relevance to real life situations.  A second example of an authentic assessment would be to have students’ manage a check book and bank account.  They can be given a certain salary on a weekly basis.  Then the teacher could randomly note an expense or expenses on the board for students to figure into their checking account.  (Example: Today your house rent of $500 is due and groceries $45.31)  A third example of an authentic assessment in the math content area would be to have students measure random items in their home like a kitchen table, soda can, or refrigerator door.  Students’ should determine what unit of measurement would be best for the object, like feet or meters would be appropriate when measuring a kitchen table.  A rubric could be made by the teacher in anyone of these examples as a means for the teacher to evaluate the student level of thinking process.  With a rubric the teacher can assess students’ range of knowledge, depth of engagement, use of strategies, metacognitive skills, and more.  Click this link for a Authentic Assessment Toolbox