Assessment Tips and Tricks
In addition to the six open ended questions that I asked teachers when interviewing them, I also asked them the following question:
"Do you have any tips or tricks for making assessment less intimidating for new teachers?"
Below are some of the informative and helpful responses that I received. These tips and tricks should be kept in mind and referred to often when planning any kind of assessment.
Provide study sheets for parents and students before a summative assessment that has either similar questions to the test on it, or key information that students will be tested on. This will help parents guide and focus studying at home.
Always directly correlate your assessments to the outcomes!
Backwards design is excellent - always have the end assessment(s) in mind.
Trust your instincts. |
Stay organized. |
Do your best. |
Read assessment questions out loud to the entire class or to a certain group of students that would especially benefit from doing so. This will help student comprehension, help pace tests, and also prevent students from skipping or reading questions incorrectly.
Keep things simple. Do not overwhelm yourself or your students when making or delivering assessment.
Know what your principal and/or district expects.
Keep parents in the loop about assessments. Send emails, write notes in the agenda, make phone calls, do whatever works for you. If parents are informed about assessment, they can help their children succeed, reducing stress and anxiety for everyone involved.
The more formative assessments you do, the more likely you are to know when it is appropriate to do summative assessments with your students.
Do not be afraid to use assessments that are provided for you. You don't always have to start from scratch!
When planning assessments, always ask yourself: HOW BIG IS THE OUTCOME THAT I AM ASSESSING? Make sure you are not spending too much time on smaller outcomes and not spending enough time on larger outcomes. Use yours and your students' time effectively.