Assessments and Educational Interventions for Students with LD

Educators in present education systems are constantly acquiring essential information about the academic strengths and weaknesses that their students possess. In order to gain information that will be beneficial for students’ learning, educators must evaluate the academic performance of their students as a means to improve learning in content areas. Ultimately, at the heart of education lies assessments. Educators use assessments as a means to further understand the learning process of their students as well as to address concerns or areas that need improvement, with concepts like instruction, in order to help students reach full academic potential within the classroom. To acquire additional information pertaining to how educators use assessments within their classroom, I interviewed Mrs. Beth Vondran, an Kindergarten educator at St. Mary’s East Primary School in St. Mary’s Ohio. Mrs. Vondran is currently in her 29th year of education and has years of experience using assessments to monitor academic student achievement as well as using those results to alter her instructional practices to benefit her students. It should be noted that through The Ohio State University Education Program, I am currently observing and educating in Mrs. Vondran’s Kindergarten classroom in order to complete my Junior Level field work requirements. Therefore, being involved in the classroom, I have been given the opportunity to witness first hand how multiple assessments administered to students

Assessment is a valuable tool to measure students learning and achievement. It is an essential element for teacher to reflect on what and how they teach. To assess students is to collect evidence of their learning. Teachers use the information to modify their lesson plans and adjust their instructional methods; students need feedback on their performance to concentrate on their vulnerable areas. Assessment is necessary for parents to reinforce their children strength and assist them where extra attention is required. The data collected will inform school

Assessment is often thought of as a punitive exercise. But the purpose of assessment is to ensure that students meet specific standards of progress and to rectify learning deficits before a child falls too far behind. Assessment can also identify a child's strengths as well as his or her weaknesses. As well as comparing the child's performance with his or her peers, the teacher can assess specific learning needs, learning styles, interests, aptitudes, and other critical components of the child's developing learning personality.

Classroom assessment involves the professional decision of the teacher to determine how to implement assessment, what should be assessed, and when should assessment occur. Teachers must be able to interpret each students’ unique learning abilities in ways that are credible, fair, and free from bias. Possible factors to consider when creating these multiple formats for assessments include gender, ethnicity, culture, socio-economic backgrounds, and special needs. Each and every student in the classroom should be give the same opportunity to display their strengths. And it is important for teachers to properly manage an assessment plan that will benefit students, as well as the teachers, in the classroom. Eventually, a well-constructed assessment plan will be able to contribute to the development of lifelong learners within the teacher and the students.

The assessment process in a teaching environment is a necessary requirement to enable you to be able to measure a student’s knowledge and understanding. Assessments come in many different forms and use many different methods, each are important in obtaining an outcome to which the tutor can obtain positive outcomes.

After observing a 7th grade classroom, I have seen our class objectives being used in the classroom. I saw how a teacher uses assessment to check her students understanding and adjust instruction to meet the needs of the students. I saw different forms of assessment of formative assessment. I saw observations, the use of questioning, worksheets, and homework. The teacher reviewed material and retaught material that students had trouble understanding.

For each student, their assessment, lesson plans, and curriculum developments will be different too. Some have concluded that we all learn the same way. Not so, what will work for one will not work for the other. Assessments are considered as a common thread in the transition process. Assessments are used for collecting data on students needs, interest, and preference relating to their future.

It cannot be said that all assessments are unnecessary and academically limiting for students. If teachers are to know their students’ strengths and weaknesses, they must formulate a way in which to assess their knowledge. In order to create a curriculum adherent to the most specific needs of a teacher’s class, assessment must play a role when devising the course of action for the academics taught.

For ongoing assessment, student understanding assessed through the use of observational checklists, anecdotal records and analysis of contributions to class discussions. Students are given opportunities to demonstrate their knowledge, skills and understandings through a range of assessments and ongoing feedback to children on their learning. Students produce a variety of work samples, including designated assessment activities. These should be evaluated to determine students’ level of achievement and understanding.

Effective classroom teachers use a variety of assessments daily to determine student progress. Assessing students can be ongoing or at specific times during the school year. After any assessment is given, it is vital for the teacher to analyze the results of the assessment. Teachers should continually monitor student progress in order to ensure student success. The assessing, analyzing, and monitoring requires planning and organizing.

An educational assessment is a process of documenting and using data to understand and analyze the knowledge skills, attitudes, and beliefs to redefine program and improve a student’s learning. The data can be used to assess the achievement of learning outcomes or based on data, which shows inferences about achieve patterns. Furthermore, the information allows educators to focus on individual learning plan, learning community, or educational institution. One assessment that requires further analysis is the American College Test (ACT) used for college admission and high school achievement.

Part of the requirements of being a teacher is to assess students’ growth over each lesson, unit and year. During the past two week, I have had the opportunity to research different types of assessment that helped me clarify if I was using the right tools to evaluate the students. I read about diagnostic assessment that is use before a lesson to measure learning progress over the duration of a program (Assessment, 2014). Formative assessments are in-process evaluations of student learning that are typically administered multiple times during a unit (Assessment, 2014). It also gives the teacher feedback on where is the student comprehension of the material. Summative assessments are used to evaluate student learning, skill acquisition, and academic achievement at the conclusion of a defined instructional period (Assessment, 2014).

Developing a system for assessment is a very important part of becoming a teaching professional. This is a personalized task, as what will work for one individual may not work for another. A teacher will have to adjust what techniques they can use to be successful in assessing the understanding of each class, and this technique may change slightly for every class as they all have a unique set of students.

Assessment is commonly divided into two types that relate to these two purposes: summative and formative assessment (Chappuis & Chappuis, 2008). Summative assessment is designed primarily to document what students know, that is, what has been achieved in the instructional endeavor. This is how assessment has been most often used, as the “processes of evaluating the effectiveness of a sequence of instructional activities when the sequence was completed” (Wiliam, 2011, p. 3). Formative assessment is designed primarily to deliver information during the instructional process to help make decisions about what actions will promote further learning (Chappuis & Chappuis, 2008). This distinction has been referred to by Stiggins (2002) as assessment of learning (i.e., summative) versus assessment for learning (i.e., formative). It should be noted that Newton (2007) suggested three purposes for the use of assessment: judgment,

Assessment can become part of the learning activity which can be modified to monitor student progress.” (“Assessment, Articulation, and Accountability”, 1999)