As educators we often struggle with how to make assessments meaningful for our students. We hear statements like, "why do I have to learn this?", "I hate exams!", "it's so hard!" every day in class.
So the question becomes how do we change the stigma associated with exams? How do we create exams that encourages every student to feel they can succeed? And, how can we make them feel as though the exam is assessing what they have learned? Furthermore, is this issue the fault of the teacher? Students? Or, the exams themselves?
How Can We Make Assessments Meaningful? by Heather Wolpert-Gawron seeks to answer these questions in the article listed below on Edutopia. This article made me think about my own thoughts on this topic. How can I alter the way I give exams to assess student growth in more meaningful ways?
1. Abide by the four Cs of the new Common Core Standards: Creativity, Critical Thinking, Collaboration, Communication. These four words have become commonly used with preparing students to be 21st century learners and leaders. A teacher must utilize these tools to change they way you think about exams and how students may exemplify what they have learned.
2. Ask yourself these questions when coming up with exams for your students (borrowed from Heather Wolpert-Gawron's article):
3. Utilize rubrics to gauge student learning and assess growth. These detailed rubrics can be used by students as a mode of reflection. Or, by teachers to evaluate student strengths, weaknesses, and areas of improvement.
4. Be reflective, after each exam evaluate student growth and the effectiveness of the exam. This may be done through asking students, or, by evaluating student results/growth.
5. Constantly reflect upon whether you are preparing your students for the 21st Century. In other words, are you creating 21st Century learners who can be successful in the "future society"?
By utilizing these tools we can hopefully change this issue for students now and in the future.
So the question becomes how do we change the stigma associated with exams? How do we create exams that encourages every student to feel they can succeed? And, how can we make them feel as though the exam is assessing what they have learned? Furthermore, is this issue the fault of the teacher? Students? Or, the exams themselves?
How Can We Make Assessments Meaningful? by Heather Wolpert-Gawron seeks to answer these questions in the article listed below on Edutopia. This article made me think about my own thoughts on this topic. How can I alter the way I give exams to assess student growth in more meaningful ways?
1. Abide by the four Cs of the new Common Core Standards: Creativity, Critical Thinking, Collaboration, Communication. These four words have become commonly used with preparing students to be 21st century learners and leaders. A teacher must utilize these tools to change they way you think about exams and how students may exemplify what they have learned.
2. Ask yourself these questions when coming up with exams for your students (borrowed from Heather Wolpert-Gawron's article):
- Does the assessment involve project-based learning?
- Does it allow for student choice of topics?
- Is it inquiry based?
- Does it ask that students use some level of internet literacy to find their answers?
- Does it involve independent problem solving?
- Does it incorporate the 4Cs?
- Do the students need to communicate their knowledge via writing in some way?
- Does the final draft or project require other modalities in its presentation? (visual, oral, data, etc...)
3. Utilize rubrics to gauge student learning and assess growth. These detailed rubrics can be used by students as a mode of reflection. Or, by teachers to evaluate student strengths, weaknesses, and areas of improvement.
4. Be reflective, after each exam evaluate student growth and the effectiveness of the exam. This may be done through asking students, or, by evaluating student results/growth.
5. Constantly reflect upon whether you are preparing your students for the 21st Century. In other words, are you creating 21st Century learners who can be successful in the "future society"?
By utilizing these tools we can hopefully change this issue for students now and in the future.