No Excusess Assessments
Leslie Mitchell EDU650 week 5 Discussion#2
“Assessment is not about you as a teacher, it is about your students” Lopez, D. (2013).
The Author Damian Lopez of No Excuses University makes a great valid and bold statement by making the reader understand that it is crucial for teachers to be aware that it is about what children know, what they need to learn and what they need to accomplish. It is imperative that teachers know developmentally appropriate practices to understand how a child develops. Teachers need to be in tune of their abilities and stages of development.
Defending our Assessment Practices Questionnaire
Meaningful Assessments
DATA Driven Instruction
Positive Outcomes
Why are you participating in the assessments that you use with students?
I am an active participant in the Desired Results Developmental Profile 2015 assessment as a required tool by the California Department of Education. I am not only a participant but, I am also a certified trainer that believes that the measures in the assessments are uniquely designed to be used as bench marks. This creates awareness to let us know where the children are according to their stage of development.
Value of DRDP 2015 Assessment
It is an observational tool uniquely formulated and designed by measures that determine developmentally appropriate bench marks divided into specific domains.
It is an assessment used from Early Infancy to Kindergarten entry.
It is also used for children in an Individualized Family Service plan or Individualized Educational Plan.
It is aligned with the Department of Education California Early Foundations.
It is culturally diverse and included dual language learners.
Do you participate in assessments that you find no value in for students?
I could honestly say that prior to understanding the assessment, I felt like the DRDP assessment had no value. However, now that I have a solid foundation and knowledge about it, I feel like I know exactly what I am doing and what I am implementing. I am more focused about creating a plan in order to create great outcomes for children as individuals and as a group in a classroom.
Are you using an assessment you have no idea how to deliver, but are afraid to ask for help?
Prior to becoming a trainer, I had no idea of the value DRDP 2015 brought into my classroom. I hated the idea of collecting observations and enhancing environments to capture a skill that needed to be observed in order for me to rate. I did ask for help from my peers, but I felt we were all in the same situation. Instead of helping each other out we complaint on how to get it done by a certain deadline because it was required. However, as I got more interested in the tool and had the opportunity to become a trainer, I understand the value and awareness it brings to an educator. Now, I understand that it drives the curriculum and it helps me individualize each child's learning. It helps me concentrate on a live data driven classroom. I can see growth, consistency and at time regression. The data determines the areas I need to strengthen as a group or per child.
Now, I offer trainings and I collaborate with others to bring resources and ideas that will make the "dreadful" assessment easy to understand and complete.
Resources
Desired Results Developmental Profile (https://www.desiredresults.us/drdp-forms)
- Official Desired Results Developmental profile website
Lopez, D. (2013). No excuses university: How six exceptional systems are revolutionalyzing our schools (2nd ed.).
Turnaround Schools Publications
National Center of Quality Teaching and Learning (http://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/tta-system/teaching)
- Official NCQTL website