No Excuses University -- Assessment
Discussion 1 Week 5
“Make no judgments where you have no compassion.” – Anne McCaffrey
•Share your perspective on Lopez’s quote and statement above. Describe how your mindset has changed or been validated.
“Assessment is not about you as a teacher; it is about your students” (Lopez, Chapter 8, pg.97)
As an educator or educators we must commit to creating an environment that focuses on the student being successful at learning. It should be a partnership between the educator and the child, the child and the parent, and finally the parent and the educator. Assessments should be used to provide feed back as to where the student has deficiencies and of course strengths. As an educator I believe that the assessment is both about the educator and the student. It can reflection of where the students abilities maybe and where the educator may lack. It should not be used as a tool to point fingers but as a tool to establish strengths and weaknesses.
•Consider the 4 questions Lopez lists under “Defending our Assessment Practices” (p.98). How might you use these questions in your current or anticipated practice? What value might it add to your practice by keeping these questions in mind?
As an educator these questions are great to keep in mind. They could be used as a focus to consider what is in the best interest of the student. When planning, teaching or assessing the end result should always be the same, the education of a young mind. Always having the student in mind and what may be the end result of it all. Remembering that just because a student may not do well does not mean they did not understand the concepts. As educators we must remember that not everyone learns in the same manner.
•In what ways have you succeeded/failed to make students your partner in assessment?
As an educator allowing the student to come into a partnership to want to acquire the knowledge is a great way to ensure that everyone is working together. By keeping the students motivated and using different concepts to teach the same lesson can be very effective. Also thinking outside of the box and allowing the students to explore the "what ifs". When children are allowed to think, move and react to their environment in a positive matter it can create an atmosphere of constant learning.
Reference:
Lopez, D. (2013). No excuses university: How six exceptional systems are revolutionizing our schools (2nd ed.).Turnaround Schools Publications.