Our district is taking on a different approach to assessment. It's new for us, but not a new idea/concept. We are focusing on assessment of an for learning...some people consider this formative assessment. It is hard to transition out of the usual 100 point scale, but that's the direction we are heading. My grade adopted a 3-2-1 grading scale in 2008 and it was quite a shocker at first, but now that I've gotten used to it, I like it. There is not an emphasis on the grade, it's a focus on the learning...which is what I think is best for my students.
We don't do a lot of standard testing. We do lots of informal assessments. This might be through math/writing/reading journals, a quick five questions, or sometimes we use the Activevotes. I to usually give a test at the end of each math unit that comes from EnVision Math. I like informal assessment because the feedback is quick and meaningful to them. I feel like I can be more specific with the feedback especially if I'm working one-one-one. Our district gives one math benchmark in January and any other benchmark is up to the teacher/grade level to give. We usually do a reading and math on our own each semester. This test is usually an old TAKS test. The district math benchmark is graded electronically and we get the breakdowns of the test which is nice. We can then focus on the objectives that are weak as well as pinpoint students who need the extra help.
I do use portfolios in my classroom. We keep a writing and math portfolio and this past year I started an electronic portfolio which was really cool. We integrate technology in just about everything we do, so my kids had awesome portfolios at the end of the school year. The each get their own storage drive, but it's wiped at the end of each year. Most of my kids brought flash drives/discs to store their work....they certainly didn't want to lose it! I love portfolios because I think it helps you measure growth and it provides various samples of work instead of just one grade.
I do a lot of projects in my class. I think they are fun and engaging for the students and I think they can promote higher level thinking if done correctly. We usually do some sort of performance assessment in each math unit. Last year the favorite was the GeoNews movie that they created for the multi-media class....they were so proud! I also like to incorporate technology projects with novel studies. I like to get them thinking through the literature and then the technology makes it exciting!ki
As far as technology and assessment goes, I use Excel to keep my grade book. It's shocking that with all the advanced levels of technology my district has, we don't have an electronic grade book in the elementary schools. It's up to the teacher to determine how they want to keep grades...and yes, most use the old-school paper grade book. I mentioned earlier that we use the Activevotes quite frequently. Those are the electronic clickers that work with the Promethean (Smart) board. My kids love them! We also have Activeexpressions which allow you to write/text. I haven't used them yet, but I'm going to next year. Our school also purchased a class set of Nintendo DS's. THESE ARE AWESOME for quick checks. The kids basically use them as chatrooms to answer specific questions that I give them. You can have multiplication tests, spelling tests, the sky is the limit! We love the DS's!!!! I also use Moodle which is similar to Blackboard to give assessments. This also gives immediate feedback to the students. The quizzes are a bit of a trick to make, so I don't do it all that frequently.
I follow the technology TEKS and we dig pretty deep into them. I was amazed by everything they learned in the technology world last year!!!
Assessment goals that I have:
(1) I would like to continue to add more and more quick feedback
(2) I would like for my building to use more formative assessment
(3) I would like for my building to use more technology to assess
