Assessment
When developing good instructional design, it is best practice to provide quality assessment. Often times, assessment is juxtaposed with traditional paper pencil testing. This misunderstanding is in much need of attention. Many policy makers view assessment as standardized tests that every child must exceed. If this is not achieved then the teachers are held accountable for such “failure”. However, to integrate a well-balanced curriculum one must make sure that alternative assessment tools are available. These alternative assessment methods are often backed by criterion-referenced standards (National Central Regional Educational Laboratory (NCREL), 1997). Such assessments help educators gain a deeper and better understanding of student learning.
In addition to this discovery educators need to be aware of the equity issues involved with assessment. It is important to recognize that equity will never be reached as long as everyone involved in educating children sees assessment tools as the only means to ensure fairness (Ferrara, personal communication, 1995). Ferrara (1995) further suggests that assessment should be a collective effort involving teachers, parents, policy makers, and community leaders with the end goal of becoming advocates for appropriate alternative assessment.
As well as alternative assessment is in need of reform, motivation also plays an important role in reaching the assessment equity proposed by Ferrara. African American, Hispanic and Native American students show differences from White middle-class students in motivation in academia (Valenzuela, 1999). To that end, many minority students are then placed into lower-track curriculum and viewed as low achievers. Such students will not get adequate access to challenging curricula (Kornhaber, 2004). The question still remains, how can assessment be improved in order promote equity? I would also add that if students’ cultural learnings and personal experiences are tied to their academic growth, then it is unfair to not incorporate them into their educational realm.
References
Critical issue: Ensuring equity with alternative assessments. (1997). Retrieved November 11, 2006, from http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/methods/assment/as800.htm
Kornhaber, M. L. (2004) Appropriate and inappropriate forms of testing, assessment, and accountability. Educational Policy. 18(1), 45-70.
Valenzuela, A. (1999). Subtractive schooling: US-Mexican youth and the politics of caring. Albany: State University of New York Press
When developing good instructional design, it is best practice to provide quality assessment. Often times, assessment is juxtaposed with traditional paper pencil testing. This misunderstanding is in much need of attention. Many policy makers view assessment as standardized tests that every child must exceed. If this is not achieved then the teachers are held accountable for such “failure”. However, to integrate a well-balanced curriculum one must make sure that alternative assessment tools are available. These alternative assessment methods are often backed by criterion-referenced standards (National Central Regional Educational Laboratory (NCREL), 1997). Such assessments help educators gain a deeper and better understanding of student learning.
In addition to this discovery educators need to be aware of the equity issues involved with assessment. It is important to recognize that equity will never be reached as long as everyone involved in educating children sees assessment tools as the only means to ensure fairness (Ferrara, personal communication, 1995). Ferrara (1995) further suggests that assessment should be a collective effort involving teachers, parents, policy makers, and community leaders with the end goal of becoming advocates for appropriate alternative assessment.
As well as alternative assessment is in need of reform, motivation also plays an important role in reaching the assessment equity proposed by Ferrara. African American, Hispanic and Native American students show differences from White middle-class students in motivation in academia (Valenzuela, 1999). To that end, many minority students are then placed into lower-track curriculum and viewed as low achievers. Such students will not get adequate access to challenging curricula (Kornhaber, 2004). The question still remains, how can assessment be improved in order promote equity? I would also add that if students’ cultural learnings and personal experiences are tied to their academic growth, then it is unfair to not incorporate them into their educational realm.
References
Critical issue: Ensuring equity with alternative assessments. (1997). Retrieved November 11, 2006, from http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/methods/assment/as800.htm
Kornhaber, M. L. (2004) Appropriate and inappropriate forms of testing, assessment, and accountability. Educational Policy. 18(1), 45-70.
Valenzuela, A. (1999). Subtractive schooling: US-Mexican youth and the politics of caring. Albany: State University of New York Press
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