Learning to Love Assessment

Reflection from Reading Carol Ann Tomlinson's article "Learning to Love Assessment" in Educational Leadership.

Carol Ann Tomlinson discusses in her article the journey she took as she developed an understanding of what assessment is.  As I read, it really reminded me of my own journey to understanding what, why, and how we assess our students.  It was as natural a progression for me as it was for her.  Ultimately she came to the conclusion that we all hope teachers and students can come to, that assessment can help everyone “push learning forward” (Tomlinson, C., 2009, p.13).

The understanding of Carol’s that resonated with me was number eight, “informative assessment isn’t just about students readiness”  (Tomlinson, C., 2009, p.12).  Although it is true that assessment can help drive our instruction and let us know if students are ready to begin delving into a new topic or need more background knowledge, we also want to remember that assessment can tell us more than that.  “When I could attach what I was teaching to what students cared about, they learned more readily and more durably.  When I could give them options about how to learn and express what they knew, learning improved”  (Tomlinson, C., 2009, p.12).  I have always been a believer that we need to find some way to tie our instruction into a meaningful learning experience and allow our students a creative outlet to express their understanding.  In looking at summative assessments, I often do inquiry-based learning activities where students are able to choose their knowledge output be it creating a movie, glog, online scrapbook, digital story, or any other idea that may cross their mind.  Students become more engaged and take ownership over their product when they can have more options.  They care about what they are sharing and/or creating.

I can’t honestly say that any of Carol’s understandings transformed my view on assessment but rather affirmed what I already knew. This was actually a confidence builder and something I can use to back up the information I pass on to the staff in my buildings.  We have really shifted our districts viewpoint on assessment to not so much focusing on the summatives but rather sharing what our learning objectives are and using formative assessments (or instructional assessments) along the way to help gage the students understanding.  We have also looked at a more personalized learning approach.  I believe that Carol’s article tells us that we are moving in the right direction.

There is a benefit to technology’s place in assessment too.  It allows us to do more instructional assessment s even when students are not within our school walls.  Tools like Edmodo allow them to share with their collaborative groups, or Socrative allow for a quick pulse check at the beginning of class or exit slip at the end of class.  Thinking about incorporating technology into assessment allows us to open the doors even further.  I think my love of technology is what helped me to move along the path of assessment understanding quicker.  I was already looking at a variety of ways to assess students in different settings both online and real time.  The options help to address the needs of all our diverse learners allowing them to share their learning in a format that suits them best.  

References:

Tomlinson, C. (2008). Learning to love assessment. Educational Leadership, 65(4), 8–13. Retrieved from the Walden University Library using the Education Research Complete database.