Reflection 12

It seems using tools other than summative assessments and end of chapter or course test to assess student achievement is a valuable asset to any teacher. The ideas imposed by states which expect every student to perform and pass on levels and standards of equality are absurd.  Provisions to families are not distributed equally, time is not distributed equally, and disposable income is not distributed equally.  Depending on the socio economic status and class in which children are born ultimately has a significant impact on student performance.  Adding to the families focus for survival is the time involved to develop those pre literacy skills needed when entering kindergarten.  Speculating all children have equal cognitive abilities, parents and early childhood caregivers would need to teach all typically developing children at the same pace and level.  Sadly, most likely this will not happen and continues to put low income students at automatic disadvantages when compared to age equivalent peers.  Thus using alternative assessment tools such as formative assessments and portfolios give educators access to immediate feedback and knowledge of student understanding and performance hopefully helping to ensure improved outcomes for students with academic delays and or differences in learning styles.

Paul Black and Dylan Wilian discuss the negative impact current assessments have on students and the need to study more in depth the impact of these requirements on teachers and classrooms.  Systems need to take a chance on using different types of assessments for grading and comparing students to ascertain success or failure.  In a society which focuses so heavily on diversity and the individual uniqueness in personality, dress, and preferences there continues to be an unvarying idea of what is considered achievement and what is considered failure in education.  Since society allows for such diversity in individual style and choice, why does education continue to maintain a standardized formula for students?  Thus, using only summative assessments without assessing prior to and during instruction does not give teachers a good idea of individual student understanding of topics as various point during instruction. 

Furthermore, as imposed standards and achievement expectations increase with government driving reform and change, I ponder the initial intentions of those implementing state changes.  Do the intentions of lawmakers stem from wanting only to ensure all children have equal access to great teachers and great instruction?  Do, those who push the laws and rules consider or look into the micro, macro, and meso environments of those inside the classroom?  I worry lawmakers are too far removed from the group in which the standards are designed to supposedly benefit.  If you have never worried about where your child’s next meal is coming from or how the electric bill will get paid this month, the thought of families not being able to provide the early literacy skills and knowledge needed early in a child’s life would not occur thus putting additional responsibility on the classroom teacher for recognizing the home environments impact on students.  The academic burden of success is placed solely on classroom teachers.   Why not place more responsibility on student parents?  Placing some burden of success on the family for their children’s behavior, attendance, and performance in the classroom might improve our schools and overall outcomes.  It might bring awareness to government entities of the needs of families and cause some to consider how the child’s environment and socio economic status has significant impact on academic success alleviating some of the burden  and responsibility felt by teachers.

The use of portfolios is seen more often in classrooms with students receiving special education receiving special education services.   Vicki L. Maxwell and Marshall B. Lassak believe standard assessments are not the only way to assess student performance in classrooms.  I imagine portfolios being used across the curriculum in all classes with all students allowing teachers to see student weaknesses and strengths allowing for student differences.  Also, the authors shared the portfolios helped assess instruction allowing for changes and teacher improvement such as recognizing the need for more open ended questions used with activities in the portfolios giving students opportunities to think critically and involve the use of writing across the curriculum.  It is always beneficial to check instruction style and methods when it pertains to student learning.  It is essential to understand if the success or failure of an individual student is related to the way instruction is provided.  Not only is the use of portfolios beneficial for students and teachers but also for families. Portfolios give parents immediate, easily understood records of student performance.  For example, regarding norms imposed and levels of achievement given based on standardized test, families may or may not see an increase in their child’s academic understanding of specific concepts when reviewing summative test scores.  Portfolios seem to show where a student was at the beginning of the class and throughout the semester providing families a way to view growth in which summative test may not be able to show.