Most of her questions come from old TCAP tests that she had me organize by topic. We use the universe questions to determine what to ask on this test. There was one topic we covered that was not a standard, but was included on the test. This was the question that gave the students the most trouble. She explained to me that since it was not a standard, we should prompt students if they are struggling or incorrect on the question. I would ask for more detail, I would remind students to look over their work, and I would ask them to explain their thinking to me if their writing wasn't clear.
It was also interesting to see how answering questions became a form of differentiation for students. Some students we would give more direct feedback like, "right now you would loose two points for spelling. Why don't you look over this and see if you can figure out where the error is so you don't lose the points?" Some students I would say something more like, "would you like to reread and check for spelling words before I collect this?" I followed the model she created as she walked around and I was able to catch on to what feedback different students needed. I really wasn't sure what to expect going into the test, but it seemed like a fair assessment and the students did well overall.
What grade do you all think it is appropriate to begin formal summative assessments like unit tests? Do your classrooms use tests, or other assessments? How can we know how much is appropriate for a given class?
I think testing is such a hard thing in elementary schools! I have been struggling with the idea of summative assessments as well. I have second graders, so I've been giving some alternative type summative assessments, that test students total knowledge but aren't in the traditional format. For example, in science I've had students keep a science journal and then on the last day, I had them explain a discrepant event using their knowledge from the previous days. This assessment was summative and combined all student knowledge from the unit, but it was not in the typical format of 'What is magnetism?' etc. When I was talking to my teacher about the tests I've given, she mentioned that I hadn't given any summative assessments. In her brain, if it wasn't a traditional test, it wasn't summative.
ReplyDeleteMy teacher really is into un-aided summative assessments for students, which is an interesting choice for second graders. This is positive in some ways, because it keeps grades generally low and makes it easy for us to S-Team students when necessary. When students grades show that they have all Ds and Fs on their tests, it makes it easy to do an S-Team. I'm not saying that my assessments wouldn't show the same thing, but I think students will definitely do poorly on traditionally formatted tests, regardless of subject.
However, I don't always love the traditional assessment because unlike Missy's teacher, my mentor doesn't give any differentiation or aid during tests. We were taking a test on money the other day, and she required that you put the cents sign after the amount of money. She counted the answer half wrong if you forgot the cents sign. She didn't provide any reminders to put the cents signs when they were turning in the tests, so many of the students didn't put the signs on and it lowered their grades by multiple letters. I don't really think this was an accurate reflection of their knowledge.
I think the most accurate reflection of their knowledge would come from a combination of traditional summative and alternate summative assessments. However, I like the idea that accommodations and reminders can be given on assessments. How do you balance this with giving to much help and inflating grades, though, so that data isn't accurate when you are actually concerned about a student and going into an S-Team meeting?