Reflecting on all the changes that are being made to instruct students in a different way

and to do things differently impacts assessment greatly. Our school district as a whole wants us
to make changes and teach and assess differently. At every grade level meeting and district
professional development day our super intendent asks us to consider teaching differently, assess
differently and give us permission to do things in a different way. Specifically, in our grade level
meetings he tells us to put thoughts about Provincial Achievement Tests aside and not to worry
about them in terms of results. As a district we are moving forward and looking at the
individual child and the individual learners needs.
As a school district we have been working as a grade level team to create common grade level
math and ELA assessments to get a better understanding of where the students are sitting in
terms of levels district wide. This has been an interesting process as a group to establish
common questions and use them as a benchmarking tool. We will be using these common
assessments at the end of this year. After using them and studying the results as a district we will
have a more complete understanding of what we need to do to better prepare and support our
students.
In terms of daily assessment I am taking the time to assess formatively and summative
throughout the day. I will be looking specifically at the needs of the student and the growth that
needs to be achieved in order to meet the individual learning needs of each student. I review
each individual student to determine the most appropriate assessment for them to truly get a clear
picture of their understanding.
Assessment is beginning to moving past looking at one test given to the class in the same way.
Formative assessment is looking at the students understanding though differing methods such as
asking them verbally, scribing, having readers or assessing a small group of learners. By taking
the time to build on learning through ongoing check-ins we can determine the most appropriate
form of assessment to utilize. Another example would be having students color code their work
green indicating they are feeling good with their understanding, yellow indicating that they need
a little review and check in and red indicating they are not feeling confident with this concept.
This provides a visual understanding for each student which is a simple act that can help to open
up more dialogue and the opportunity to conference with students. This type of assessment can
truly impact and influence instruction.
Different types of technology have had an impact on student assessment in our changing
classrooms. Assessment tool such as Kahoot; where you can instantly have the feedback for the
students to find the answers and for you to get a report for your formative assessment. You can
look immediately to see what the students know and dont know, using this a chance to gage
where you should move on with new concepts or take time to review and re-look at some
concepts. Using Google Classroom changes summative assessment where you can create rubrics
for students using Joezoo or a number of other add-ons. Using this tool you can create your

own rubrics and mark directly while the students are working. The tool Google Classroom can
provide immediate feedback to the students while students are working.
By providing students with an opportunity for self-assessment and reflection on their learning
allows them to reflect on their own achievement. This can be an important element of the
assessment process. Through the use of technology you can provide the students reflection
questions on their work and the students can respond and take the time to make changes. The
use of Data Notebooks daily to help the students track their own individual learning data can
also be of benefit for reflection. This incorporated with goal setting can be an effective tool in
conjunction with assessment by having the students take time to rank themselves with their own
learning while not always comparing it to others. By providing the opportunity to look at
individual learning and what goals and changes the individual student wants to make towards
learning.