Chapter 1: Making Classroom Assessment Work

Chapter 2: Building the Foundation for Classroom Assessment

Group Members: Charlee A., Abigail G., Hailey J., Bridget M., Kari M., Kianna W.

Going through the text, my group felt it was important to note that it’s not how the student starts off the lesson or unit with, but how much they grew. This was the main area of discussion. The parachute example (p.2) also reminded us that when a teacher decides to evaluate is crucial. It is important to evaluate multiple times throughout the unit so you can track the progress of the student and evaluate your teaching thus far. If you only assess at the end of the unit you aren’t seeing how much they grew and maybe you caught them on a bad day, which you wouldn’t know if you hadn’t been checking in with students. Our group also talked about how it’s important to include students in the assessment process and give ample opportunities for self-assessment and reflection. I mentioned that it was key to not leave self-assessments only until the end of the unit because in my experience, I did not care about reflecting on how I could do better as the assignment was over with. We then focused in on the importance of reflection in one’s life; reflecting helps you to become a better person.

We then briefly discussed how including students in the rubric-making process could make students care about and perform better on those assignments.  I would have liked to discuss with my group their experiences in building the criteria for rubrics in school, as I only did this a couple of times and am unsure if it affected how I felt about the assignment and my work.

Finally, we discussed how it’s important to communicate with both the parents and the student about grades and give descriptive feedback so you are able to compile those and explain why the student received the grade they did. This also led us back to the reflection process and how giving feedback allows a student to reflect back on their work, and also on their actions.

*Still waiting on notes from recorder

My groups members all seem very nice and welcoming, however it did take us a while to get set up and on task, this took a lot of time away from our chapter discussion. The chapter discussion was definitely more between two individuals than everyone, so it would be nice for a pause to allow someone else to speak, though I appreciate their willingness to share. The last minute or two was slightly off topic as well, but I feel this was an okay way to create a friendly environment.