Assessment Blog: Christine Jordan

Assessment is constantly taking place in the classroom where I have my field placement.  The teacher is always assessing for understanding through verbal questions, comprehension by testing/quizzing the students and application through the various activities performed by the students.  This is a great way to document the students "adaptive behavior to situations one may face."  When it comes to grading and keeping track of the student’s progress, quizzes or questions with partners are administered daily for the teacher to calculate the areas that need to be touched up on and the areas the students surpassed academically.  My mentor teacher is good about thinking on the spot when necessary and always has a plan B and sometimes C.  Another way assessments are preformed in the class room are by weekly “test for comprehension” quizzes that the students take with their “blind folders” up so no one else can see their work.  Then after the quizzes, the teacher collects them and when she can, she grades them and marks the student’s scores next to their name on a roll-call sheet.  She is then able to assess who needs more one-on-one help from the teacher or a co-teacher.  I was able to help out by taking a few students who performed below par and worked with them on their corrections. I was able to see firsthand how assessments go hand in hand with the progress of the student and their academic growth.