What is assessment and why do we assess the students we teach?

Is it just for fun or does

it serve a purpose? Does every teacher believe in the same ways of assessing students? These are

things and more that you will learn about while reading this.

Assessing students is an essential part of teaching. You have to know what parts of the

lessons you taught they understand before you move on to something else. Not every teacher

believes in assessing the same way. It can also largely vary between grade levels.

There are many ways to assess learning. If it is a yes or no question you can use a thumbs

up or thumbs down game. White boards are another great tool. I loved this as a young student all

the way up through high school. A lot of assessments can be done in a game form and students

won’t necessarily view it the same way as a quiz.

I plan on using white boards to answer questions and then have students hold them up at

the same time. I also like the idea of using sticks for equitable distribution. Especially to give the

quieter, more shy students a chance to answer. Overall, I want to find ways to assess students

that they will see more as games, less intimidating. The words quiz or test often scare students

and I don’t want to do that unless absolutely necessary.

Assessment is a crucial part of teaching, and while it is a crucial part it doesn’t have to be

a scary thing. As you begin to have a relationship with students they will feel more comfortable

with assessments even being called quizzes or tests, even then they will enjoy the games more

than you using those specific words. You need to know whether you can move on and teach new

concepts but to do so first you need to know whether they understand the concepts that you have

already taught.