A reader asks the following questions.
SC,
I'm currently
a teacher working in an LYS school district. I have a question regarding Common
Assessments, specifically addressing questions on "reviewing for
common assessments". As an educator, I'm looking for my students to be
successful on their assessments, so I'm wondering if we should review the
covered content prior to the Common Assessments?
There seems
to be confusion with what the best practices are for this. I understand we must
keep from teaching or reviewing from the common assessment itself, in order to
maintain the fidelity of the test. However, the question still stands, are
we able to review for the common assessments, but doing so from the scope
and sequence? If so, are we able to review the day of the test or should
it be done a few days before the test?
Thank you for
your time.
SC Response
Great
questions. First, you have to
decide why you are administering the assessment. For grades or information? If it is just for grades,
honestly the common assessment process is too much of a hassle. So just stick
with using statistically invalid teacher made tests. But if you are administering the
assessment for information then an entirely new world opens up in front of you.
One where field practice can actually inform and improve the profession. It is in this world where I endeavor to
spend my time and energy. For me
there is nothing more exciting.
All of that
to say this, “I believe that reviewing
for a common assessment is a waste of instructional time and effectively
invalidates the assessment for data analysis, problem solving and system level
decision-making.”
What you want
to do is teach the curriculum to the best of your ability up to the assessment
administration. If you do this,
over time the data will reveal the following:
A. Am I (or, are
we) staying on pace with the scope and sequence
B. Am I (or, are
we) using more effective or less effective practices, in terms of student
retaining, processing and using the delivered content.
If I review
for the assessment, what the data primarily tells me is how effective my review
sessions are. Now some will
say, “If I don’t review, my students will get lower grades.”
To which I
respond, “The purpose of the assessment is not to collect grades but to
generate instructional data that informs our next instructional decisions.”
Others will
say, “If I don’t review, it will look like I’m less of a teacher than my peers
who are providing a review.”
To which I
respond, “The purpose of the assessment is not to collect grades but to
generate instructional data that informs our next instructional decisions. If
you can suffer through a couple of assessment cycles, you will soon leave the
reviewers in the dust. Because you
will soon be teaching better and those using the crutch of review won’t be able
to keep up with you and your class.”
Now, that
does mean that I never review for a common assessment. It is my hope that based on your
embedded formative assessment and how students respond to the closing question
in each lesson that there is a constant cycle of review of prior knowledge,
introduction of new material, practice, demonstrated understanding,
repeat. That is solid
instruction. And good assessment
data puts you in a position to get even better at it.
I hope this
helps and if you have any other questions, you know how to find me.
Think. Work. Achieve.
Your turn...
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