Week 9: The Power of Assessment

Assessments are a pain in the butt. There is probably a more professional and polite way to say that but at least 40 hours of my week are spent being both professional and polite so the lax is needed. It is the truth though. Deciding which way we would like our students to manifest all that we teach them during a term is stressful and overwhelming. Rubrics and baseline assessments and collecting data and reflections and assignment sheets and goal setting. There are so many moving parts and you just pray that you chose the correct assessment and that at the end of it all, there is some sort of progress/growth. 

This week was our end-of-term summative assessment. It was a Socratic Seminar and I was so nervous. I arranged the seats in circles and explained the expectations a million times. I didn't want this to be an assessment that my students dreaded; I didn't want them to be nervous and overwhelmed, but I also didn't want them to not take it seriously. It was a weird balance and it forced me to be sure of my expectations at every second and find the line between justice and mercy. 

After the first day of the seminar, I had the students reflect on successes from the day and what they would like to do differently next time. I was excited to read their exit tickets and to see so many students saying that they were proud of themselves and were already achieving the goals they had set for themselves. The second day brought forth the same peace, especially as I watched my B5 class having a natural, fun conversation about whether or not Daisy and Gatsby should be together. I smiled because they didn't know they were having intellectual conversations about an American classic novel with a Lexile level higher than they had ever read. They didn't know how far they'd come. They were too busy having fun. 

They didn't know how far they'd come. They were too busy having fun.

After my A2 course, I had my students complete a self-assessment/reflection so that I could analyze the classroom data for my PPAT assessment. Next week the rest of my classes will take the same evaluation, but for this particular class, I was amazed at the growth. Looking at the difference in the scores the students had given themselves for speaking and listening standards was astounding. One standard had a 28.8% increase in students evaluating themselves as Proficient! I cried at the numbers. For the first time, I had tangible evidence that my students had learned something under my instruction. And it was also the first time I came to understand the power of assessment.

I thought about the continual stress I would have felt if I hadn't analyzed the data and compared the baseline and summative assessment scores. I probably would have continued to worry if my students had learned anything and if my instruction plans and methods were effective. Insecurity is a barrier to effective instruction and analyzing the assessment data broke down what has been standing between me and powerful teaching. It gave me confidence: confidence in my lessons, my management, the relationships I have cultivated, and my ability to do this thing for the rest of my life. 

 Insecurity is a barrier to effective instruction and analyzing the assessment data broke down what has been standing between me and powerful teaching.

Oddly enough, I am now looking forward to the next assessment. I look forward to a new unit where together we learn and together track progress. These students continually impress me and I can't wait to design new ways for them to utilize their strengths while developing understanding. 

-Ms. Gee