Chapter 1 – Why Do Teachers Need to Know About Assessment?

Educational Assessment - Review By Brenda Roof
Classroom Assessment – What Teachers Need to Know - W. James Popham


In chapter one the author discusses the importance of teachers knowing and understanding about assessments. Teachers need to be informed about assessments for a variety of reasons. Teachers will be more effective instructionally if they know how to properly assess a students learning. Federal laws also impact the need to now about assessments and scores. Teachers need to be able to talk to parents about testing and scores, as well as, what the scores represent.
Testing is typically not a favorite pastime for teachers. This is probably due to the negative connotations around tests and testing. Teachers in many cases do not understand how to test or write instruction based tests. This topic is not always addressed in their formal education programs. However, if testing can benefit instruction greatly teachers should be taught at least of its importance. A teacher can greatly improve instruction with tests that are effective and measurable.
In 1965 legislation was introduced that contained significant test-based accountability provisions. Today we have the No Child Left Behind Act, signed by President George W. Bush, January 8, 2002. This act put a larger focus on each States accountability to test scores in reading and math. Schools must show “Adequate Yearly Progress” (AYP) in grades 3-8, which means from year to year scores must go up. If the scores do not go up, the school is marked inadequate. If the school fails two years consecutively, they will lose Federal funding. In addition the schools will have to meet certain sanctions, which could prove devastating for the school and the staff, as well as the students. This law has caused a shift in teaching. The focus is sometimes more on the assessments and scores instead of on teaching and student learning.
In the past there were three kinds of tests all pencil and paper. The three types were essay style, multiple choice and true and false. Today educators realize that paper and pencil test do not measure all types of learning. Many teachers also test orally or hands on, in addition to paper and pencil. There are systematic ways to get a fix on a student’s status through formal assessments or testing as it was called in the past. The author talks about assessment versus testing and the fact that they are interchangeable words. As a result Educational Assessment has been defined as “a formal attempt to determine students’ status with respect to educational variables of interest”. Students vary in how much they know about a subject, how skilled they are at performing a certain task and how positive their feelings for school are. The assessment is also a way to get a formal fix on a student’s status or comfort level.
In the past there were four commonly known reasons to assess students for. The first reason is to determine a student’s strengths and weaknesses. Teachers should know what each students prior accomplishments are in order to put instructional energy toward weaknesses and avoid too much time on strengths or mastery. A teacher can do this with a pre-assessment. The second reason to know about assessment is to allow the teacher to determine, if a student is making satisfactory progress. This is like a dip stick into the students learning, that occurs every now and then to assess their progress. This can be accomplished with formative and summative assessments. The third reason to assess is, to assign grades by collecting evidence of accomplishment, measured by grading. The more frequent and varied a teacher assesses, the easier it is to assign grades, which can then show evidence of gains or losses. The fourth reason to assess, has been to determine a teachers overall effectiveness. Through assessments a teacher is given evidence of learning which can either back up the instructional approach, or allow for change in the approach.
Today the reasons to assess comprise of the four traditional reasons already discussed as well as these three newer reasons. The first additional reason is, influencing public perceptions of educational effectiveness. Because today statewide educational test scores are published and schools as well as districts are ranked, teachers must be able to explain how and why their students score and place on the high stakes tests. The second newly developed reason for teachers to understand assessing is, student’s assessment performances are increasingly seen as part of the teacher evaluation process. In many districts teachers are required to assemble assessments both pre and post that demonstrate learning as a result of their teaching. Teacher evaluations usually contain evidence of this in their administrative reviews. Some teachers will also point out that a group make-up of students could also contribute to learning, but by having evidence from years past or other classes this can be easier to show. The third new reason teachers today should assess is, for clarification of instructional intentions. Assessment devices can improve instructional quality. An assessment should never be instructional afterthought. The assessment should be prepared prior to instructional planning to allow the teacher to understand what is expected of students. As well as incorporate it in the instructional activities. The better the teacher understands what to teach the more effective the instruction can be.
Teachers must know and understand the importance of assessments. Instruction will be more effective when teachers understand why they are assessing. Students are better able to understand their strengths and weaknesses as well as the teachers and parents. Accountability makes the need to understand how and why to assess essential in schools today.