Differentiating Tests Promote Self-Learning

Getting assessments to the desirable level is therefore vital, both for teacher and students. From the Educational Assessment Landscape chart, I believe the measurements go hand-in-hand to offer students the opportunities to show what they have learned through differentiated assessments, all leading to the final result of success in summative

When I think of assessments, I think of the state mandated assessments that grade the schools, the teachers, and the

2.2 The strengths and limitations of a range of assessment methods in relation to the individual learner needs:

Assessments should contribute to a student’s education and learning by including students in the learning process educators are able to assist and extend students learning (SCSA, 2014).

The data that I collect from assessments using “Words Their Way” gave me information needed to understand my student’s individual needs this in turn allowed me to gear my classroom instruction towards my student’s individual weaknesses. My action research allowed me to make an overall impact on students in the school at the time of the action research but also to future students.

Describe and explain the ways in which assessment practice has the potential to impact students’ learning:

In order to, actually learn a person has to fully grasp a subject to comprehend it. The third author, Kyoko Mori, author of the essay School,  declaims that, “No matter what the subject, our teachers never gave us very clear advice about how to do it better” (Mori 206). Most people would agree with that statement, not just because of the truth behind it, but from personal experiences where that certain statement has been applied before. It could be math, english, science, history, art, sports, music, or anything under the sun that could possibly be learned, where the teacher of that particular subject may explain something where it all sounds familiar; it could be on the top on someone’s mind and they just wouldn’t quite be able to get it, because of the way the teacher explained it. Most people have figured out that most things, if they want to be successful with it, they have to do it themselves to know if they did it right or not.

Ch. 2 – Who are the various users of assessment and its results? What specific instructional decisions can be made based on assessment results? Why must we build balanced assessment systems to support the instructional programs we offer students? This chapter nails down the purpose of assessing, which is gathering information to inform teachers of students of their instruction and learning, respectively. In this way, assessment is individualized to each student and classroom, and because all students/classes are different, it should inform the teachers of what is working or not working in the classroom, which should then influence some sort of change to instruction. This chapter also talks about the different levels of assessment – from the individuals

The assessment method must take into account the characteristic of the learner and needs to be consistent and relevant to what is being assessed. The assessment will not only focus on improving the learning, it will measure their achievements and also remind the learner of how they are progressing.

| |Consider the facts, issues, questions, and implications of the scenario, found on the student| | |

solving skills so that they can fully do their job and meet the requirement of their job.

Student chooses refusal skills that are appropriate for the scenario chosen, and explains them clearly and accurately.

Although testing has been around for a long time, I instinctively believe that testing doesn’t give a clear picture of student’s achievement. Thus, I make strong connection to the following quote: “A central question has been whether accountability policies and standardized testing helping or harming those children the polices are most often designed to serve” (Skrla, p.11). For instance, when I analyzed and interpreted the TAPR of Richard J Wilson Elementary school, I found valuable information that all teachers should know at the beginning of every school year. Specifically, when I examined the categories of testing and the students’ performance on individual TEKS. This practice would allow teachers to have a clear picture of what exact skills and content knowledge students are expected to achieve throughout the school year.

Assessments provide learners opportunities to develop mastery of their ideas, skills and competencies, whilst educators use assessment tasks as both teaching and learning tools (Spiller, 2009:6 & 7).

Informal assessment allows students to demonstrate their learning in a variety of ways which can benefit all students. It can include group or individual projects, presentations, essays, experiments, or demonstrations. Each of these can allow for “knowledge that transfers from one situation to another [which] is based on students’ abilities to understand central principles, see connections and make distinctions, and be strategic in attacking problems and analyzing information” (Darling-Hammond, p. 285). A variety of assessment methods allow for this to happen and for students to use their personal strengths to demonstrate understanding of the information. “Research into students’ preferences for alternative assessments shows that the assessments that have been positively evaluated by students were more authentic and thus made learning more realistic and powerful” (as cited in Brown, Irving, Peterson, and Hirschfeld, 2009, p. 99). Students should be able to think creatively and take hold of their own education and learning because they must ideally be prepared for a rapidly changing society where they must be able to adapt and formulate their own solutions. Teachers are able to provide feedback to the children so they know what was done effectively and what needs to be modified. Rather than teachers pressuring students to show understanding through a single examination, they will have opportunities to confidently demonstrate knowledge with less