On Tuesdays, the writing community at Two Writing Teachers hosts the Slice of Life. Everyone is welcome to join in by writing, commenting, or just reading slices from around the world!
I have been participating in a district think tank about assessment over the last couple of months. Today, we had a six hour meeting to try to develop a brochure that communicates, articulates, and condenses our beliefs about balanced assessment. Integrating the work of other institutions and districts, I love the concept of balancing growth and achievement, and the other elementary educators and I developed bullets to support this concept, crafting statements about balanced assessment.
Our bullets align to my beliefs about assessment--that we assess for three basic reasons: to make instructional decisions, to determine whether students have learned the objectives, and to hold ourselves (and be held) accountable for student achievement.
And yet, the experience that I had with my own daughters who are high school students are gnawing at me as I reflect on the work and the thinking that we did today. Conceptually, I believe that assessment is a cornerstone to education, right there along with curriculum and instruction in a rock solid triangle. And, I believe that great assessment leads to great learning, driving instructional decisions and curriculum development/revision.
But what about college? Assessment also creates GPAs. At any college admission information presentation, the presenter talks about the rigor and the overall performance as important factors in potential acceptance. How do we get around the fact that assessments create GPAs, and in competitive high schools, GPAs are important components of college applications? Do we count formative assessments into GPAs? Within our conference room of teacher leaders, we did not have consensus. Some teachers do count formative assessment, while others use it only to provide information to students about how they are doing. If they don't average formative assessment into reported grades, should students who reach targets more quickly receive higher grades? Do high quality assessment practices lend themselves to 100 point grading scales, or should we be thinking about reporting meeting and not meeting standards? But then, how would that serve students as they apply to highly selective colleges and universities?
I was so proud of the work we accomplished this morning--of the clarity of our bullets that explain balanced assessment. However, the complexities and questions that surround assessment overwhelm me as I think about communicating these ideas and visions to the rest of the community. The more I think about it, the more questions I have. Oh dear.
Happy Slicing,
The more you think, the more you question. A trouble, yet the way we must approach this very important work that deals with humans, our most precious resource. I would have loved to have been in those discussions. I love the way you see the three "rocks" of education.
ReplyDeleteThe trouble with grading as a part of a selection processes is that it seems so final. When we look at formative assessments, our mindset is focused on the next step. We are looking towards the growth, not the end result because there isn't an end.
College is, as we know, a step towards so much growth, not an end point, but a huge beginning Perhaps we need to morph the idea that attaining college acceptance is not a goal but an entry point to growth. It is tough when desires are high for a particular school, yet I've attainment of that college acceptance become it become the goal. Perhaps our goals should always be step or two beyond what we think our goal is!
I think something has gone very wrong with the way we view assessment and the weight we give it, from the very earliest grades. Kids are in the process of developing, and there are so many variables that neither we nor they can control. I wish there was some way to formulate a sort of holistic assessment, as opposed to this narrow GPA focused one that we aspire to in middle and high school? As you say, Melanie, the more you think and dig, the more questions arise.
ReplyDeleteI think something has gone very wrong with the way we view assessment and the weight we give it, from the very earliest grades. Kids are in the process of developing, and there are so many variables that neither we nor they can control. I wish there was some way to formulate a sort of holistic assessment, as opposed to this narrow GPA focused one that we aspire to in middle and high school? As you say, Melanie, the more you think and dig, the more questions arise.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a really interesting project. When I think about formative assessment, I think it should be a tool for teachers, to help them learn what kids already know and what they need. It seems wrong to average that into grades. And from a completely different point of viewI'm listening to a book on tape right now, HOW CHILDREN SUCCEED. The authors cite several studies that say that it's not intelligence or GPA, but rather things like perseverance and self-regulation that actually show whether kids are going to succeed in college. Those are a lot harder, I think, to measure.
ReplyDeleteYes, this is so true. I thought I was working out what I believed about assessment and grading, but then I talked to a colleague who shared her perspective as the parent of high school students applying to college. I think we are at a difficult stage right now with regard to grading. There's a disconnect between what college admissions are looking for and what is best for kids. I suppose there's always been a disconnect.
ReplyDeleteDeb
Not very fancy in 1st