MEASUREMENT AND ASSESSMENT BLOG
While reading about measurement and assessments, I really never thought about the difference between measurement, assessment and evaluation. When you think about assessment most think of test but this year I am intentional when assessing my students using difference types of tools. Sometimes it’s a ticket out the door or KWL or even a challenge problem. I love the statement that all tests are assessments, but not all assessments are test.” Sometimes as teachers we think we have to have a test to assess whether students have mastered a concept. The article talked about assessment of understanding being more difficult which I think is a true statement. I can teach students a specific skill and they can learn the skill. The most important question is can they apply the skill. These standardized tests are assessing if students can apply the skills they learn which makes the test more difficult. As I embark on my student achievement study I will be assessing the students using various methods to obtain data and hopefully I will be able to show assessment of understanding.

Citation:
Kizlik, B. (2011). Measurement, assessment, and evaluation in education. Adrima.

When I think of the term evaluation meaning the worthiness of something. It made me think about why I chose my student achievement topic. What am I really trying to prove and how am I going to achieve that goal. The question is how am I going to determine if teaching using active learning strategies yields higher student growth? I must develop and evaluation process that will be appropriate and valid to prove teaching using active strategies will improve student growth.

Citation:
Kizlik, B. (2011). Measurement, assessment, and evaluation in education. Adrima.

As I watched the Patty LaBlanc videos my thoughts went to the creation of common assessments which will be used in my student achievement assignment. She talked about the most important aspect of common assessments is validly. I thought about her definition of validity; does the assessment measure what it is suppose to measure or are we just creating common assessment because we are required to in our schools. As a result when I meet with the math department I will become intentional about questioning why create the questions that we create in order to ensure that we are actually creating an assessment that does meet the criteria to be called valid.

Citation:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IF-oeuidRuU

As a teacher I think that administrators to value content professional judgment because in a local school we are the so called experts within our subject areas. When it comes to judgment of analyzing and interpreting data as teachers when we look at the entire picture of the school we do lean heavily on the professional judgment of the administrators. I do however agree with the article when it states that teachers and administrators have to realize the importance of their own judgments individually when it comes to evaluating the quality of assessments and the meaning of the results. Ultimately, we use that data to drive our instruction to help our students achieve their goals.

Citation:
McMillan, J. (2000). Fundamental assessment principles for teachers and school administrators. practical assessment, research & evaluation, 7(8), Retrieved from http://pareonline.net/getwn.asp?v=7&n=8

I do feel from a teachers perspective sometimes we are asked to analyze and
interpret data without any training or knowledge in the area. To be honest some
teachers lack analytical skills and need help to effectively interpret the data and
make judgments about the meaning of the results. For this reason you find some
teachers who are very good and some that really struggle and rely on their
colleagues. Now that the value added concept has arrived teachers feel
like they have to compete and become less willing to share best practices which
would ultimately help all students.

Citation:
McMillan, J. (2000). Fundamental assessment principles for teachers and school administrators. practical assessment, research & evaluation, 7(8), Retrieved from http://pareonline.net/getwn.asp?v=7&n=8

Finding ways to motivate students is a constant concern for me year in and year
out. I cannot say that teachers consider how different types of assessments
affect student effort. I think the emphasis right now is creating rigorous common
assessments. I agree with the research done by Black & Wiliam (1998) that shows
student self-assessment skills, learned and applied enhance student achievement.
Our math department developed a tool where the students can evaluate their
own progress throughout the year. As they compared their standardized test
scores and common assessments, they were able to identify their strengths and
weaknesses and focus on their areas of weakness.
Citation:
McMillan, J. (2000). Fundamental assessment principles for teachers and school administrators. practical assessment, research & evaluation, 7(8), Retrieved from http://pareonline.net/getwn.asp?v=7&n=8