Chapter 4 - Ongoing Assessment

Conley suggests that assessments should be "happening all the time". There are several different ways we can assess our students from informal assessments to formal assessments. Formal assessments are the assessments of learning, and include tests, research papers, performance tasks, etc. These assessments are good for measuring our students understanding of content material in order to know if we can proceed to the next level of instruction. Informal assessments are the assessments for learning, and include rubrics, observations, class discussions, etc. We can use informal assessments to help us plan our instruction to the needs of our students.

Although these assessments seem self explanatory, Conley says the teacher should "look for patterns" in order to make meaning of the assessment information collected. We can find patterns in a way a student likes or dislikes certain content areas. From there we can ask for a deeper understanding of why they feel that way. We can find patterns for certain literacy skills such as comprehension and fluency, and we can make modifications for students as needed.

As we look for patterns in the students content knowledge, this will help us to measure our students understanding to see if we need to adjust and reteach certain material that they might not be grasping. Conley goes on to talk about more patterns, but the bottom line is these assessments will help us help our students become better learners.

Questions:
What all should we, as educators, take into consideration when developing assessments for our classroom.

What are your views about accommodations made for ESL learners in regards to formal assessments?