Chapter 10- Assessment

With the funding of schools tied to adhering to federal guidelines, assessment has become the tool in which districts are using to provide data to meet the requirements. Unfortunately, assessments have become based upon paper and pencil, multiple choice, fill in the blank, and short answer format. Technology has only been used in assessing when, the computer is used to quickly record and give "instant" feedback to the tester. In many instances, the use of technology is only available when testing students at the higher levels of education. At the lower levels, assessment in this content is restricted to computer based programs (i.e Destination Math/Reading, Istation), and assessing the progress of ELLs.

Chapter 10 makes a strong point in the beginning that, if technology is to promote meaningful learning, then students should have the opportunity to to use technology to create projects that assess their understanding of concepts, in real world application. This performance assessment is critical so that students, can express themselves in a manner outside of the standard way of assessing. Using performance assessment is a tool that I would like to further explore. For example, students would be able to create a working light circuit to show they understand that a closed circuit is necessary for electricity to reach the light bulb and generate light and heat. Students will have the option of using a PowerPoint (with diagrams), podcast, or even use other programs available on the web.

Along with performance assessment, the chapter also ties in the need to create rubrics for assessing students. Rubrics outline the tasks students need to accomplish, and the depth in which they need to accomplish these tasks to receive a certain score. Rubrics are necessary so that students remain focused on what they need to do, and not get off task when completing their assignment. The chapter cautions that educators understand what they are wanting the students to accomplish, and use the correct rubric for the task given. I see that I have a need to use rubrics more frequently in the classroom. Many times I have given students assignments, only to find that many still have questions about what needs to be accomplished. By incorporating the rubric, I believe that I can ease the uncertainty many students have about the assignment, and can create a more effective and meaningful project.