ARTIFACT EVIDENCE AND REFLECTION

WTS #8
ARTIFACT DESCRIPTION:
Economics Tests; Roll the Die; Woodcock-Johnson Evaluation Summary
The artifacts presented here include assessments I have administered to
Economics classes over the years and a summary sheet of a students
performance on the Woodcock-Johnson IV Assessment that I administered to
a student on my caseload recently. The first artifact consists of an
introductory chapter test in Economics. Included with that objective test is a
simply modified version of that test that has reduced possible answers to 2
multiple choice responses rather than 4 choices. This is a particularly easy
way to modify assessments for students with learning disabilities. The Roll
the Die artifact represents a different kind of assessment. This test was
administered as a summative assessment and required students to respond
with a narrative oral answer to a prompt that was the result of their roll of
the dice. Lastly, there is an artifact that represents the results of the
administration of a testing instrument called the Woodcock-Johnson IV Test of
Achievement. This formal assessment tool is used to determine eligibility for
Special Education placement and continued placement.
ALIGNMENTS:
WI DPI Teacher Standards
Standard Eight Assessment
Teachers know how to test for student progress.
The teacher understands and uses formal and informal assessment
strategies to evaluate and ensure the continuous intellectual, social, and
physical development of the pupil
These artifacts demonstrate my knowledge and ability to draft concise
measurements of progress for students, including modifications and
alternative methods of assessment. There is also the element of formal
standardized assessments that are designed to gauge a students
fundamental abilities and areas of academic delay. I have designed and
drafted countless examinations, both formative and summative, across a
variety of subjects in the social studies curriculum. I have also engaged in
informal assessment of student progress through quick-writes, bell quizzes
and through app-based quiz mechanisms that give instantaneous feedback
to students and classes as a whole about where they stand on understanding
and mastery.
UW Platteville School of Education Knowledge, Skill and Disposition
Statement

ARTIFACT EVIDENCE AND REFLECTION

WTS #8

KSD 1.f. ASSESSES STUDENT LEARNING

The candidate understands, is committed to, and can develop assessments
that are clearly stated and congruent with instructional goals. The students
are aware of how they are meeting the established standards and are
involved in the goal setting process.

KSD 3.d. PROVIDES FEEDBACK TO STUDENTS

The candidate can provide timely, high quality feedback to students that is
useful to the students in their learning.
The artifacts presented here illustrate my understanding and ability to create
meaningful and applicable assessments of my students learning and
progress. An important element of the process of measuring and assessing
progress is delivering feedback and remediative and corrective instruction
and input to students once the assessments are scored. I have demonstrated
that I can create and deliver well designed assessments and that I can
design unique and alternative ways of assessing student progress. My focus
over the years has been to offer results, scores and feedback/review sessions
for all of my students within a few days of assessment administration. With
the Woodcock-Johnson IV example highlighted as an artifact for the purposes
of this portfolio, I hold specific meetings with the student to review the
results and explain what the data set means for them in the real world and
what is indicated by the numbers.
REFLECTIONS AND IMPACT ON PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT:
What I learned about teaching I have learned that students regularly stress
over the prospect of tests impacting their ability to succeed in school.
Regular and numerous formative assessments allow for students and
teachers alike to gauge the level of understanding of the class as a whole.
Putting all the eggs in one basket is fair to no one in the classroom. Ensuring
benchmark progress along the way affords students an idea of their level of
mastery and assures the teacher that the class is on course to be where it
needs to be at the end, with the end in sight. I have learned that there
should not be a feeling of finality to a final and that the culmination of the
course should be an expression of what each individual has learned that is
worthy of taking away at the end of the course.

ARTIFACT EVIDENCE AND REFLECTION

WTS #8
What I learned about myself as an educator I have come to the realization
that in early in my career a part of me considered the final examination as a
sort of punishment. Typically, the response to a poor performance on the
final was that the student didnt put enough quality time in to the
preparation for the final assessment. I believe that the preparation for the
last word in a course should be a process that truly reflects a students
understanding in an overall sense. I have changed my focus away from
testing definitions, specific facts and true or false statements to being able to
measure an individuals understanding of topics and issues with some sense
of mental acuity and delineation of judgment. I have also come to the
realization that students appreciate a fresh approach to how they will be
measured at the final stanza.