Classroom Assessments and other stuff

Well, with 2 hours and 40 minutes remaining in the month, there is time yet for one more post in the month of September. I'd feel worse about the dearth of writing on my blog if I weren't actually doing things, but I really am busy. I feel like I should go back into coaching high school soccer so I might have more free time.

The class I'm taking this quarter is on classroom assessment. It is highly useful, and this time I can actually understand what the textbook is trying to tell me! Long story short, it is all about techniques teachers can use to actually affect student performance positively through formal and informal assessments. We're not talking big ol' Princeton-style standardized tests here, though. We're talking one-sentence summaries, Preconception/Misconception Checks, and something called "The Muddiest Point", where students submit the parts of their learning about which they are most confused. Much of the time these assessments are administered anonymously, so what the teacher REALLY gets is how well the class is understanding the main ideas they are supposed to be getting.

What I like most is the idea that students aren't being measured against each other in some sort of competition. They are being measured by their own capabilities and understanding, and against some standards that have been identified as vital to their mastery of the subject matter. Grades are compiled as a guide to the students' paths to their education, rather than as a social norm that tells very little about what they can do or how well they can apply what they know.

Besides the class, I've been helping to coach my kids' soccer teams, developing an after school program through the River Valley Healthy Communities Coalition, becoming more involved in the Dirigo Educators Association, setting up a family night to view the Draconid meteor showers at school, and being a team leader for the seventh grade team. It's been kind of a crazy month.

So while I am busy, it is a good kind of busy. I'm just looking forward to a time when I can be lazy. A good kind of lazy.