Time Spent on Testing

"Yes, Mrs. R., I do see how you would think that I spend a lot of time on testing... sometimes it seems that EVERYTHING I do in the classroom has SOMETHING to do with an assessment of some sort.

"Let me explain my rationale... let's talk about state assessments first, because honestly, we don't have a choice in that matter. The federal government mandates through NCLB that students will be assessed at certain grade levels. The state has developed tests based on CCCS that we are obligated to utilize. The good news is that we can use scores to remediate weaknesses in the student's learning, as well as deficits in class curriculum. To make any student comfortable in the testing environment, we must practice... something we do quite often in the classroom as part of the regular lessons, through Study Island all year long, and during midterms, as we use Learnia for our mid-year assessments. All of these practice options will become 'second-nature' to the students and will assure better results.

"As far as my classroom tests, I use a variety of situations to assess students. As you know, I have weekly quizzes and/or tests to assess the success of my students in content/facts. I use observations during class discussions and independent and group work to assess how a student works in a classroom setting. Homework and classwork are important avenues to gather students work, and use repetition to hone in on skills. The gathering of work into portfolios is still another way of assessment.

"Why so much, you ask? Well, all these areas drive my daily classroom curriculum. When I have found that the students have learned/mastered an area of focus, we move on. If there is any area that needs work, this is the way I can find it. All in all, almost everything I do is related to assessment in one way or another. I don't want you to let that make you nervous for your student, but just please understand that assessment is the tool I use in my class to further instruction. I need for my students to learn, and this is how I can check that they have."