LogFAQs > #972922537

PowerfulSageIRL posted...

that depends on who the "you" is in this context, and on what the student was supposed to have learned. you have to interact with the student in the context of whatever it is that they're learning.

certainly tests are not useful for demonstrating that a student has actually "learned" something

I speak from the perspective of an educator. "You" is collective, representative of all stakeholders in that child's education, along with stakeholders in the success of a school.

Assessment, in whatever form it takes, is critical to educational goals, and comes in two varieties. Formative assessment is essentially asking the questions "What does this student know in this moment? What is their current progress towards the educational goals that were set? What evidence do I have of these things?" Formative assessment can be as simple as a participation grade, homework, exit tickets, or asking questions for the class to answer by raising their hands.

Summative assessment asks "To what degree has the student met the educational goals that were set now that we have reached the end of this block of learning?" Summative assessments include tests, quizzes, projects, essays, and presentations.

Now, tests are a perfectly valid assessment tool when correctly applied. From my perspective, there is a pushback against tests, especially high-stakes testing, because they are overrepresented in the kinds of assessments used by teachers and institutions, coupled with the misuse of their purpose and results. A good teacher uses a variety of both formative and summative assessments to measure student learning and, more importantly, to inform future planning and instruction.