This brief anecdote shows assessments being used early in life.
Most of us recall more easily the assessments applied to us later in our lives, as older children and as adults. You may not even associate the term assessment with Meghan’s interviews.
Yet, as we explain later, interviews are included in the broad definition of assessments.
Meghan’s situation also illustrates that assessment results can contribute to a decision, but everyone concerned may not interpret the results in the same way.
Although Meghan’s parents may have been right to have her repeat kindergarten, there is no way of knowing what would have happened had she gone straight to first grade, because she didn’t.
Decisions involve using different kinds of information.
Sometimes test scores play a major role; at other times, less formal assessments play a more dominant role.
In Meghan’s case, both informal (teachers’ observations, interviews) and formal (readiness test, intelligence test, projective test) assessments were administered.
Making good classroom decisions requires more than good intentions or previous experience.
Good decisions, such as what to teach, how to teach it, and how to evaluate students’ achievement, are based on high quality information.
Successful teachers obtain information about their students from high-quality assessments.
Similarly, assessment involves more than testing and grading students.
Assessment involves gathering and using information to improve your teaching and your students’ learning.
Whether you use teacher-made assessment procedures, assessments from your district’s curriculum materials, or state and standardized assessments, you need to be able to explain the results correctly to students, parents, other teachers, and school administrators.
Further, as you develop professionally, you may have the opportunity to participate in local and state committees concerned with assessment issues.
The media emphasize assessment as a major concern and consider it a newsworthy issue.
It is likely to remain so for much of your professional career.
This book discusses a variety of educational decisions that depend on assessments, especially in the classroom.