Philosophy of Assessment Statement
Written June 2013
My philosophy to assessment is that all educators must understand errors in assessment. These errors include validity and reliability. Once educators understand these concepts it is important for them to consider them while creating and administering tests. Many educators rely on assessments given to them by the district or state. When doing that, you may not be asking your students questions that relate to the content that you have taught. The questions on those tests also may not be very reliable or valid.
This class has helped to shape my philosophy. I have learned that formative assessments help me to best determine how well my students are grasping the objective. Giving students test after test can cause them to have test anxiety as well as enforce the belief of teaching to the test. I believe that in my future classroom I will find alternative ways to assess if my students understand the skills and objectives. I am not fully sure how I will do this or what formats are best for me, but I will keep researching.
In my internship school, we are given unit, or summative, assessments and told to use them. The first grade team that I am on does use those assessments. I, on the other hand, know that I will not be that teacher. I will look at the unit tests given to me and decide for myself if the tests align with the target objectives as well as look to see if it is reliable and valid. I also want to make sure that my assessments are not just for visual learners, or auditory learners. I would like to get my kinesthetic learners involved and have them show me that they have learned the skills in alternative ways. This way, I am not just assessing if students can listen for a long period of time or sit for a long period of time reading.
I believe that getting to know my students and their learning styles will help me make accommodations or modifications. I want students to love school and learning and by not meeting their needs, I will be doing the opposite. Overall, I want to be different than the teachers I see now. I want to change the way assessment is viewed in the classroom in order to foster a love of learning in my students.
My philosophy to assessment is that all educators must understand errors in assessment. These errors include validity and reliability. Once educators understand these concepts it is important for them to consider them while creating and administering tests. Many educators rely on assessments given to them by the district or state. When doing that, you may not be asking your students questions that relate to the content that you have taught. The questions on those tests also may not be very reliable or valid.
This class has helped to shape my philosophy. I have learned that formative assessments help me to best determine how well my students are grasping the objective. Giving students test after test can cause them to have test anxiety as well as enforce the belief of teaching to the test. I believe that in my future classroom I will find alternative ways to assess if my students understand the skills and objectives. I am not fully sure how I will do this or what formats are best for me, but I will keep researching.
In my internship school, we are given unit, or summative, assessments and told to use them. The first grade team that I am on does use those assessments. I, on the other hand, know that I will not be that teacher. I will look at the unit tests given to me and decide for myself if the tests align with the target objectives as well as look to see if it is reliable and valid. I also want to make sure that my assessments are not just for visual learners, or auditory learners. I would like to get my kinesthetic learners involved and have them show me that they have learned the skills in alternative ways. This way, I am not just assessing if students can listen for a long period of time or sit for a long period of time reading.
I believe that getting to know my students and their learning styles will help me make accommodations or modifications. I want students to love school and learning and by not meeting their needs, I will be doing the opposite. Overall, I want to be different than the teachers I see now. I want to change the way assessment is viewed in the classroom in order to foster a love of learning in my students.