Balanced Assessment

 In First grade, we primarily use three types of assessments- selected response (multiple-choice), open-ended, and performance assessments. Selected-Response According to the University of California at Davis (2020), selected response is the most widely used testing format.  It commonly includes multiple choice, true/false, fill-in-the-blank, and matching questions.  These tests are efficient and effective in scoring and can measure a broad range of learning objectives. Selective-response effectively measures a student's ability to draw inferences, apply information and interpret data.   However, they are limited to measuring lower-order thinking skills and are not reliable measures of synthesis, originality, or organization. They cannot measure real-world skills, and students can often guess correct answers.  Test questions must be well-designed to produce effective results. Open-ended Open-ended assessments include question prompts that require students t...

  There is much argument in educational circles about using effort and participation grades and whether they should be included as part of a student's academic grade. When evaluating my thoughts on this debate, I had to consider what the current goal of our educational system is.  Stiggins (2018) describes a shift of educational priorities focusing on  lifelong learners who can become employable members of society.  Our job is no longer just to teach academics to our students but to create students who value the intrinsic value of learning and can become contributing members of society. When students are rewarded for effort and participation alongside academic performance, they show an increased interest in learnin g (Schinske & Tanner, 2014). This increase in behaviors makes students more likely to improve their performance (University of Kansas, n.d.) and increase their intrinsic motivation (Shindler, 2009).   As educators, we need to empower the whole c...

Stiggins (2014) stressed that we must create a culture of confidence for our students.  To create this culture, educators must involve students in the assessment process. Students should be taught how to use assessments to set goals, assess their current progress, and develop a plan of action.   Students are invited to become partners in the assessment process to monitor their own progress (Stiggins & Chappuis, 2005).  With guidance from their teachers, students define the criteria they will be evaluated on. This inclusion allows them to evaluate strengths and weaknesses in their own work.  Grading and evaluation are transparent between student and teacher, which builds trust and confidence in their partnership (Stiggins & Chappuis, 2005). Through record keeping, students monitor their own performance over time through self-assessments.  These self-assessments function as a mirror that reflects their growth and builds their self-confidence as a lear...

Our 1st-grade students arrive in our classroom each year with their "learning portfolios."  These portfolios represent work samples and artifacts of students' growth collected at various times during the year.  Starting in their Kindergarten year, students and teachers meet three times yearly to select writing samples and math exemplars showing their progress and growth.  These pieces are shared at parent conferences and then forwarded to the next grade level. Students always delight in reviewing their work from their previous year in Kindergarten at their first selection conference.  They chuckle and "aww" at their first writing and math reasoning attempts.  We then review current work, decide which pieces show areas they have grown, and work on developing future goals.  Kids leave with a student-friendly goal sheet highlighting their strengths, areas to work on, and current goals.  These sheets are then stapled into their writing and math journa...

It seems we are always reviewing assessment data to drive our instruction.  Teachers are always looking for trends, patterns, and relationships in our students' performances and their relationship to our instruction.  Tables and graphs visually represent our data and help us discover these patterns and relationships (Joyce et al., 2008).  Instead of looking at a data collection sheet or a list of quantitative scores, these figures provide teachers visual summaries where patterns of behavior, results of new teaching strategies, or the success of a new intervention can be easily seen (University of Kansas, n.d.). This image summarizes the End-of-Year Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) for my 1st Grade intervention students.  It provides a breakdown of each subtest with percentages of students at each achievement level. This table quickly informs me about the number of students at each achievement level.  It provides specific information for...