Testing! Around the country school years are coming to a close and that means testing is at its peak. Why are we doing these tests though, what is the point? How do we as teachers decide what to assess, and what to simply teach. To make sure assessments are not wasting our valuable class time or instruction. It is important to look at the assessment we have and decide how is helping what we are teaching.
In Wiggins and McTighe’s Understanding By Design, the author’s talk about looking at designing assessments and lessons in a backwards model. This means that lessons, activities, and engagement are prioritized by what the goal of the assessment is. By doing this there is more meaning created in the lessons, because they are given purpose.
When thinking of criteria fro an assessment, there are questions that I must ask myself in order to decide if the assessment is meeting the needs of the students and the lessons I am teaching are meeting the needs of the assessment. Some questions to consider when developing an assessment are; What is the goal of the assessment? How with the goal be measured? These questions can aid in the design of an effective assessment. More explanation of this criteria can be found here.
Assessment are more than just a final grade. They are the means to be able to assess understanding and drive instruction towards that understanding.
Wiggins, Grant P., and Jay McTighe. Understanding by Design. Vol. Expanded 2nd ed, ASCD, 2005.
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