ASSESSMENTASSESSMENT

Assessing, or measuring, students’ content knowledge and skills is one of the most complex and controversial topics of discussion in education. For more than 10 years, the word assessment has been synonymous with high stakes standardized tests, used to compare schools and states against one another, to allocate federal funding and increasingly to evaluate teachers. Many have argued that in their current state, assessments have become accountability tools that end up hurting teachers, rather than helpful tools for teachers. But the movement against standardized testing grows, as parents are choosing to opt their children out, even if it means there may be repercussions. Amidst this backlash against standardized tests, many schools and teachers are finding ways to give students meaningful feedback on their work before testing them, so they have time to improve or shift course. These formative assessments -- check-ins on how well students are learning stage by stage -- help teachers recalibrate and meet students they are. To that end, educators will find a slew of tech products that promise to make these formative assessments easier. Take a look at the posts below, which provide examples of how teachers are using technology to help assess student learning moment by moment, including one effort to use video games for assessment. DIG INTO ASSESSMENT 1. The Importance of Low-Stakes Student Feedback 2. Rethinking Assessment: Trusting Teachers to Evaluate Student Learning 3. Beyond the Bubble Test: How Will We Measure Learning in the Future? 4. In an Era of Global Competition, What Exactly Are We Testing For? 5. How Do You Measure Learning? 6. SimCityEDU: Using Games for Formative Assessment 7. Is Kindergarten Too Young to Test? 8. More Progressive Ways to Measure Deeper Level of Learning