Grant Wiggins Interview
What distinctions do you make between "testing" and "assessment"? I appreciated that Wiggins starts by defining assessment as a much larger category that just tests and quizzes. Though it does not explicitly state is, the assessment being discussed in the interview seems to only be summative assessments. Wiggins did a nice job of explaining the usefulness of each of the types of assessments he listed and how each can provide a different glimpse into student knowledge and understanding.
Standardized tests, such as the SAT, are used by schools as a predictor of a student's future success. Is this a valid use of these tests? I am in agreement that standardized tests can be generalized to assume invalid conclusions. From a math perspective, most standardized tests do not measure the mathematical process standards in any way. Although the results of a standardized math test may start to explain student knowledge of the standards it is testing, results often do not look at the types of mistakes made or the strategies or representations used to show understanding of the math content. Knowing the mistakes being made could be useful to teachers to address them. A student using various strategies and mathematical representations, as well as higher level critical thinking skills on an assessment may actually be better predictors of student future success compared to their score on a standardized test.
Beyond the Article
Using formative assessment on a daily basis is crucial to keeping a pulse on where students are in their learning trajectories instead of waiting for summative assessment results. I would share with a new teacher methods of gathering formative assessment data that can be built into lessons including questioning techniques, gathering responses using technology such as Desmos in math class, and having students explain their processes both verbally and in writing on any physically produced evidence of learning. Further discussions could then focus on how to use the data gathered from formative assessments to either immediately inform teacher moves or to make adjustments to the next day's lesson.
What distinctions do you make between "testing" and "assessment"? I appreciated that Wiggins starts by defining assessment as a much larger category that just tests and quizzes. Though it does not explicitly state is, the assessment being discussed in the interview seems to only be summative assessments. Wiggins did a nice job of explaining the usefulness of each of the types of assessments he listed and how each can provide a different glimpse into student knowledge and understanding.
Standardized tests, such as the SAT, are used by schools as a predictor of a student's future success. Is this a valid use of these tests? I am in agreement that standardized tests can be generalized to assume invalid conclusions. From a math perspective, most standardized tests do not measure the mathematical process standards in any way. Although the results of a standardized math test may start to explain student knowledge of the standards it is testing, results often do not look at the types of mistakes made or the strategies or representations used to show understanding of the math content. Knowing the mistakes being made could be useful to teachers to address them. A student using various strategies and mathematical representations, as well as higher level critical thinking skills on an assessment may actually be better predictors of student future success compared to their score on a standardized test.
Beyond the Article
Using formative assessment on a daily basis is crucial to keeping a pulse on where students are in their learning trajectories instead of waiting for summative assessment results. I would share with a new teacher methods of gathering formative assessment data that can be built into lessons including questioning techniques, gathering responses using technology such as Desmos in math class, and having students explain their processes both verbally and in writing on any physically produced evidence of learning. Further discussions could then focus on how to use the data gathered from formative assessments to either immediately inform teacher moves or to make adjustments to the next day's lesson.