Jocelyn Leger Response to Reading Number 2 January 29th, 2018

Text: Making Classroom Assessment Work

Chapters 4,5,6,7

Quotes that spoke to me in a positive way:

1. “If teachers are not clear what reaching success looks like for their students, they
will not know when their students have reached it” (p.33).
2. “Students learn in different ways and at different rates; there will never be a class
where all the students are the same” (p.33).
3. “When students are able to select different ways to show what they’ve learned,
more students are likely to be able to show their learning and the form of
representation is less likely to be a barrier to their success” (p.37)
4. “Our job is to be thoughtful and as curious as possible about how our students
learn and how to use assessment to support their learning” (p.43).
5. “Teachers need to make sure they plan to gather evidence from a variety of
sources, and that they gather evidence over time” (p.45).
6. “The key is that observations need to be focused to ensure that the information
you are recording is related to the description of what students are to learn”
(p.48).
7. “Students learn more when we take the time to involve them in self-assessment”
(p.50).
8. “When students are involved in the classroom assessment process, they become
more engaged in learning” (p.55).
9. “Self-assessment provides time for students to process and learn” (p.57).
10. “It is important to co-construct criteria with students so they have a shared
understanding as well as a feeling of ownership” (p.57).
11. “Goals help bring focus and energy to bear in the service of learning” (p.59).
12. “Students are responsible for collecting and organizing evidence of their learning
in relation to the course goals, and for finalizing the collection at the end of the
course” (p.70).
13. “By engaging students in the process of linking to prior knowledge, describing
success, setting criteria, self-assessing, giving feedback, setting goals, and
collecting and presenting evidence of their own learning, educators are teaching
students how to learn as well as teaching them what they need to know and be
able to do” (p.71).

Quotes that I disagree with:

1. “Teachers need to decide when it is appropriate to use samples in order to support

student learning, since they could be a hindrance if used at the wrong time or in
the wrong way” (p.35).
 Quotes that confuse me:

1. “When evidence is collected from three different sources over time, trends and
patterns become apparent, and the reliability and validity of our classroom
assessment is increased” (p.46).
2. “Students who learn to present themselves as learner are more prepared to keep
families and community informed and involved” (p.60).

Text: A Fresh Look at Grading and Reporting in High Schools

Chapter 2

Quotes that spoke to me in a positive way:

1. “The primary purpose of assessment and evaluation is to support learning” (p.27).

2. “Give feedback that enables pupils to know the next steps and how to succeed in
taking them” (p.29).
3. “When teachers and students know where they are going, they are more likely to
achieve success” (p.30).
4. “We do know that there are habits of mind or learning skills that support students
in their progress and growth” (p.32).
5. “When teachers deliberately share the purpose of self-assessment with their
students, the students learn more” (p.35).
6. “We give students time to learn and time to “get it right” by helping them
understand the learning destination, by co-constructing criteria around process or
products, and by involving them in analyzing samples of student work” (p.38).
7. “Students, with their teachers’ support, learn to adjust and refine in order for their
work to become more closely aligned with what is expected of them” (p.39).
8. “Because the teacher has planned for a variety of triangulated evidence, this
process helps students come to understand that success has many different looks”
(p.50).

Quotes that I disagree with:

1. “Only test scores and marks motivate students” (p. 28).

Quotes that confuse me:

1. “Students know what needs to be learned and who understand quality can self-
monitor their way to success, collect evidence of learning, and explain to others
why the evidence is proof of learning can be partners in the classroom assessment
process” (p.27).
Quote that resonates with me:
1. “Give feedback that enables pupils to know the next steps and how to succeed in
taking them” (p.29).

Response:
I complete agree with this statement. I believe that feedback serves two important

functions: first, to inform students of where they are with regards to reaching their goal,

and second, to provide suggestions and steps for students to improve their work. The

feedback has to be continuous, timely, user-friendly, and provide concrete examples,

suggestions, and steps on how students can improve their work. Ideally, students should

receive constant feedback and be able to fully understand what they should focus on and

what their next steps should look like.

While in my first practicum, I worked extremely hard to provide timely and

user-friendly feedback for my students. Whenever there was a formative assessment,

whether it was a journal entry or class discussion, I tried my very best to provide

feedback to each student. I wrote a paragraph for each student, which contained praise for

their effort and for work well done, and suggestions/ideas they may want to explore in

order to improve. However, I am now aware that I infrequently provided such feedback

for their summative assessments. Looking back, I now realize that I should have been

providing extensive feedback for both types of assessment. Students should constantly

receive praise and support for their efforts and suggestions and steps on how to improve.

I am eager to begin my next practicum, as I am eager to work on providing

continuous feedback for all of my students. I will continue to write paragraphs for each

formative assessment, and practice writing paragraphs for their summative assessments

as well. I want to create an environment where my students are always aware of where

they are in relation to reaching their goal and what steps they can take in order to reach it.