Blog Entry from the last 2 weeks (transfered from word press so you can see it)

Week 3:

 

This journal entry will likely be far different from those of the other students, as I am writing it at 9:00pm on Wednesday evening, after sitting through the videos, discussions and projects of tonight's class. What might make it even more different is that today there has been a confluence of readings, discussions and new information (at least for me) from various courses, topped off by our discussions regarding standardized testing. Although there may have been a lead question which was to be answered in this entry, this is what I am posting, as it is my true "reading response", albeit somewhat tainted by the above mentioned additions.

Truth be told, I am feeling rather deflated after tonight's class. Please don't take this to mean that the material was not interesting, the discussions passionate, or the topics off point. Rather, I have come home with the realization that as present and future teachers, we face an uphill struggle in terms of providing excellent, meaningful and practical education to the children we are and shall be charged with teaching in the coming years. This morning during a reading education course, I learned that in the vast majority of classrooms accross the United States, only 10% - 20% of the school day is actually dedicated to reading and writing. Allington, in an article I read but am too tired to source correctly, states that in order to achieve true fluency and comprehension as regards reading, the school day should be split, and I quote, into "50% reading and writing, and 50% other stuff". I must agree. There is such a huge gap between the current, fragmented time allotted to this super important aspect of education and the ideal, yet no real or practical means of closing that gap. In addition, we learned that in many school districts, teachers literally "read from a script" during various blocks of education, completely disregarding the inherant truth that each little person staring up at him or her is a unique human being, with unique needs and unique ways by which they are likely to best learn the material being presented. No deviation from this script is permitted, and as such many of those children will move through the system without ever truly receiving the education they rightly deserve.

In today's text (as well as this evening's class), it has also become apparent to me that, in many instances, as in the scripted reading instruction blocks I mentioned above, I, as an educator, will be forced to subject the children in my charge to testing which in no way can accurately depict what it is I have taught them, how well they have understood the subject matter, or how much they have grown academically during their time in my classroom. Now to be fair, other methods of assessment are available which to one degree or another can provide a glimpse into these things, but in my weary mind, it appears as if the bureaucracy of Federal, State and local institutions has crippled the teacher's ability to educate in the way he or she knows would most benefit the students.

I did not travel to the other side of the world and fight a war, build a successful business, and then shift careers at the age of 32 for the opportunity to "teach to the test". I changed careers because I wanted to truly influence the lives of children; to introduce them to literature, the solar system, earth worms, wombats and molecules. The idea that our educational system is generally geared to satisfy the unrealistic allbeit well meaning expectations of policy makers is, to me this evening, disheartening. Now by no means should you conclude that I am having second thoughts about this class, this major or even this career. I am not. I am merely temporarily at a loss as to how I am going to do my job to the best of my abilities with all of these restrictions binding my hands behind my back. Then again, that is what this (and my other) classes are for, and I hope that as I progress through this major, some of these questions shall be answered. Good night.

Week 2:

Authentic Assessment
Using the authentic assessment method, one is attempting to assess a student’s ability to take a learned skill and then utilize it in a real world format. One such example might be to create a lesson plan discussing the process of germination, the importance of agriculture to our society, and the ways in which farmers plant seeds. Then, in order to take an authentic assessment of the student’s comprehension of the subject, the class might go outdoors where each student plants seeds in a correct manner and then explains to the teacher why agriculture is so important to society and how germination will occur as a result of the seeds they have planted.

Informal Assessment
During informal assessments, educators hope to measure progress or learn new information about their students through spontaneous, unplanned observations. Because spontinaiety is the basis of this assessment format, having a “plan” in itself almost negates the concept. Ignoring that for a moment, an educator might decide to allow 30 minutes of “free study” at the end of the class day, during which time each student may pick a subject covered during that day to explore further. During “free study”, the teacher might take informal, random notes as regards which subjects students choose, how students group themselves (via subject or social click), etc. This would be a form a informal assessment.

Paper-Pencil Assessments
Paper-Pencil assessments are probably the most commonly used form of assessment in today’s mainstream classroom, due in part to the fact that it is possibly easier on the educator to make clear assessments when presented with written examples of a student’s understanding. One example of a paper-pencil assessment might be to teach a block on the fall of Rome. Once the teacher is done with his presentation, the students are asked to write an essay putting themselves in the shoes of a small boy or girl in Roman times, and to describe their home life, eating habits, schooling etc.

Standardized Testing Assessments
Possibly one of the more controversial methods of assessment, standardized tests are created by “test experts” who likely have never set foot in the school in which their tests are being administered. The idea is to measure general levels of achievement over a large base. An example of a standardized test might be the ACTs or SATs. Another microcosm standardized test might involve creating a test for all third graders at “XYZ” elementary in order to test their level of knowledge of American History. This might give the administration an idea of how well the subject matter is being covered in the various classrooms, and whether or not certain educators might need to reformat their lesson plans in order to better enforce the material.

Norm Referenced Assessment and Criterion Referenced Assessment
As explained in the text, criterion references assessments are designed to shed light on whether or not a student has mastered a specific subject or objective. This gives the educator a better understanding of that specific student’s needs, as well as highlights his or her achievements. Norm referenced assessments on the other hand are designed not to measure a specific student’s abilities, but rather to weigh his or her strengths and weaknesses against grade or age-related peers. In simple terms, criterion referenced assessments will let us know if tommy has learned his multiplication tables this week, whereas a norm referenced assessment will let us know how Tommy’s understanding of the multiplication tables stacks up against all of the other 10 year olds in the town, county, state, or country. It is my position that there are benefits to both norm referenced assessments and criterion referenced assessments alike. It is important to pay attention to the individual needs of the students in order to ensure that he or she is getting the individualized help needed in order to master a subject. At the same time, its is also important to gain an overall understanding of how math, science, history and language arts is being taught in a county, state or country, and whether one district might be lagging behind (or roaming ahead) in terms of subject comprehension. If the latter were found to be true, a study might be conducted into that districts teaching methods which might later be instituted in other districts in order to improve their scores in that subject area.