barone feb post

Barone: Routman Chapter 7

I really enjoyed reading this chapter and couldn’t agree more with the statement that assessments should bring benefits for children. It can be so overwhelming for teachers to know how, when, why, and who to assess and to make sure that they are assessing properly. Aside from the stress of all the standardized tests, teachers need to know how to truly make meaningful assessments daily and in a variety of ways. The first thing teachers need to ask themselves when assessing is if their assessment is valid and useful. Once the teacher has assessed the students, they need to determine how they are going to use that data. Teachers can record student’s strengths and weaknesses and monitor and adjust instruction based on the results of assessments. The best teachers are flexible ones because when you are truly teaching, constant assessment is being done, which results in the students guiding your lessons. Lesson plans are obviously important, but their meaning and paced is always controlled by the students. Great teachers plan with passion and adjust with understanding. Using daily assessments throughout teaching, teachers can monitor and adjust accordingly to ensure student achievement. If teachers are not constantly assessing, their lessons would have no meaning and validity. I really loved the section of the chapter that talked about goal setting. Every year I have my students create goals for themselves and I also set goals for myself. Throughout the year we discuss our progress together and it really creates a positive and encouraging environment.