"An effective teacher enhances student learning more than any other aspect of schooling that can be controlled." ~Marzano, pg.1

One of the prime questions an interview panel may ask a future educator is, “How will your students be assessed?” This question requires a great deal of thought as well as dedication from the educator towards his or her future students. If we educators do not stop to think about the effective tools and strategies we will use to assess our pupils, the class would be chaotic.

‘Assessment’ refers to the tools and strategies that teachers use to accomplish two objectives: discover what their students know and don’t know, and how or if the educator needs to improve or change his or her teaching strategies. In my future classroom, I plan to conduct daily formative assessments, both formal and informal. My informal assessments will be something as simple as a class discussion, exit ticket, or bell work. My formal formative assessments will consist of small quizzes and playing tests (in band and choir). These assessments will help me to see if my students understand the concepts. At some point before the summative assessment, a test to wrap up all that we learned, I will issue a benchmark. The benchmark will give me some idea of how well the students will do on the summative assessment and whether or not I need to reteach certain concepts. After possibly re-teaching and issuing the summative assessment, if I see a student still struggling, I may issue a diagnostic. The diagnostic can help myself and other educators determine whether or not the child has a learning disability (or in some cases, gifted).

Keeping the parents updated on their child’s progress is an important aspect to think about. Because of the Family Educational Rights and Pricy Act (FERPA) it is ensured that student files will not be shown to anyone else in the school or otherwise. The file will only contain data and information on assessments taken by the student. To aid in parent-school communication it is important that schools implement a comprehensive Assessment Model (CAM). The CAM is a model that provides students, parents, faculty, and the district with actionable data collected from student assessment scores. This data is used to improve the type of assessments issued as well as the outcome. The CAM also includes information on how students will be assessed.

A prominent act signed in 2015 by President Obama is the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), effective for the 2017-2018 school year. In regards to the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) act, signed by President G.W. Bush, standardized testing will undergo some changes. Unlike NCLB, students will no longer be held to Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) percentages. One of the goals of NCLB was for students to be proficient on these tests by 2014. Student scores also went into consideration when evaluating teachers. With ESSA, the focus is more on how we can help a struggling student who scored low and how we can prepare them for higher education. Such tools include the ‘wrap-around’ theory. NCLB simply sub grouped struggling students, while ESSA looks at each individual and tries to provide all they can to help.  ESSA also includes funding for pre-school, an important aspect when dealing with early intervention scenarios. With ESSA, I feel confident to teach in the classroom knowing that there are plenty more resources educators can turn to to help their students.

As far as the scoring process goes for grading my students, I support mastery-learning models. The modern day point system offers a vague and ineffective overview on how well a student performed. With mastery-based learning ‘indicators’ are earned by students, not numbers. Such verbiage includes ‘mastered,’ ‘proficient,’ ‘emerging,’ or ‘below basic.’ The score shows students what they know and/or don’t know. Although the point system has been in effect for a long time, the points differ amongst educators, and therefore aren’t effective towards assessing students.

Educators must be prepared to train students for Norm Referenced Tests (NRTs) and Criterion Referenced Tests (CRTs). CRTs, like the PSSA’s, Keystone’s, and AP Exams are based on standards. NRTs are not. Such NRTs include SATs and ACTs. Both tests are taken by a group of students during the same window. The implication of a Bell Curve helps school districts see the highest, lowest, and average scores. Such tests help educators to teach to the standards in their lessons, doing their best to prepare students for the assessments as well as higher education.

With a shift into 21st century learning, I have been developing a vision for my classroom. I would like an open room, with natural lighting to ‘wake up’ the students and prepare them for learning. I will organize the room into different stations so students can focus on particular concepts of class at all times. Depending on the budget and what is available, I also envision my classroom with white boards and interactive boards. With the heavy integration of technology in the 21st century, I want to expose my students to as much of it as possible. Overall, I want my room to feel inviting and student centered.

As you can see, a lot of thought is involved when it comes to assessment. With the aid of ESSA, it may be a bit easier for teachers to help their students, due to the abundance of resources. Giving up, even if it is one failing student, is not an option. There is no longer an excuse for significant student failure. With the help of 21st century research and development, I will ensure that my students will be successful both now and in the future.