Laura K Spencer, Ed.D.

Tag: assessment

  • Don’t Wait for the Postmortem to See if You’re Sick

    Don’t Wait for the Postmortem to See if You’re Sick

    “Educators have long complained that end-of-year, “summative” assessments are not useful because the results are not available until fall when their students have moved on to the next grade.”

    (Is this the end of end-of-year testing? Education Dive)

    Okay… I’m not a high stakes (I mean “end-of-year”) testing fan either, but …

    Summative assessments are like a postmortem. It gives you feedback after the fact. And although it can be disaggregated by student, the data isn’t really about each child. It’s about the system. Did the system educate this group, and these sub-groups, of students to the predetermined appropriate level dictated by some guy in a suit in an office building somewhere? If not, then the system needs to evaluate its methods and make adjustments. If it did, then other systems ask for the silver bullet solution to apply to their own system.

    It was never set up to be anything different or better than that. It’s not about Martin. It’s about 356 Martins in grade 6, 70 of which are “low-socioeconomic” Martins, 95 of which are “two or more races” Martins, and 64 of which are “English Learner” Martins.

    If you’re waiting for a postmortem to decide if you need to cut back on the greasy foods, you’re doing it wrong.

    Get Your Check-Ups

    If you want useful data to make instructional adjustments, you have to go to the doc for routine check-ups, aka formative assessments. You need blood work, your heart listened to, and maybe a good ol’ knock on the knees to check those reflexes!

    Relying on state accountability test data to make modifications is too late – you’re already in the morgue.

    In successful learning environments, whether they be a formal classroom or a behind-the-wheel driving lesson, learning is assessed multiple times a day, and adjustments made as needed by the teacher. Madeline Hunter included Checking for Understanding, Guided Practice, and Individual Practice as critical elements of good teaching because they inform the teacher as to appropriate next steps. Formative assessment is not about a multiple choice test given on Tuesdays, but rather an ongoing practice to determine if the instruction is having its intended outcome.

    (Hey, doctors say they “practice” medicine… coincidence?)

    State tests will never replace this teacher function. Nor should they try.

    Now, if only we could reduce the testing window and give teachers more TIME to analyze and discuss their formative and summative assessment data with peers throughout the year.

    Now THAT would make a difference!

  • Don’t Buy Me Flowers

    Don’t Buy Me Flowers

    My boyfriend and I have very different communication styles, especially when it comes to sharing our feelings. He’s just not the kind of guy who will bring me flowers, or leave me notes or proclaim his love for the world to hear.

    So when we decided to pull weeds at about 7pm last night, the last thing I expected was this:

    Him: “Hey Google, play ‘Tell Laura I Love Her.’”

    Me: 😍

    …And This Has to Do with Education How?

    So why tell you this story when this blog is about education?

    Because I know that, if relationship skills were to be assessed in school, my boyfriend probably wouldn’t get top scores. In fact, he may even be labeled as “at risk” or some other label equally obnoxious.

    We have this narrow view in education of what success is, and how we measure it, and honestly, our measures seem to lack correlation to what success means in life. Not sure what I mean by that? Check out The Valedictorians Project.

    Or read about Basil’s experiences in her piece, “Dear School, Eff Your F.”

    Your education factory assembles each student in the same order, first this piece then the next. Units are assessed as they move down the line; the standards are high with little room for deviation. Those who fail inspection are stalled in production, the ones who pass are given certificates and sent out to market.

    “Dear School, Eff Your ‘F’” by Anastasia Basil

    I’m hopeful that we’ll one day get to the place where people aren’t measured against some arbitrary “norm” but instead are celebrated for their own skills and talents. Because hey, he may not buy me flowers, but my boyfriend brings me joy, and that’s a true measure of success.

    P.S. If you don’t know the song, it’s a 1960 (somewhat tragic) love song by Ray Peterson.