Overall I agree with Grant Wiggins' interview responses. I agree that testing is just one part of the whole assessment picture. There are many ways to assess student learning, and we should make it a priority to create authentic and performance based assessments for students. A couple of Wiggins' responses resonated with me:
Why is it important that teachers consider assessment before they begin planning lessons or projects?
Wiggins notes that one of the challenges teachers face is being an effective designer. By this he's referring to the fact that good designers think about what they're trying to accomplish, then come up with a combination of the content, instructional methods and the assessment. Teachers need to essentially do the same thing, and it is called backward design. By using this method, it forces us to think about our end goal and what we want our students to learn or be able to demonstrate. By thinking about what evidence they will need in order to "prove" their learning to us, we can then design/create activities and determine which instructional methods will be most effective.
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 completely agree with Wiggins statement that these tests do not predict future performance or success. He notes that ETS and the College Board are quite clear about what the SAT does and does not predict, and it basically just predicts freshman grade point average in their first semester. He also mentioned that there's plenty of studies to show that grades in college don't correlate with later success. I also agree with this statement. I know many young adults who struggled with test taking and therefore didn't have a high GPA in high school or college, yet went on to be very successful in their jobs/careers and life in general. Also, I had not known that the SAT was invented as an aptitude test (general intelligence), rather than an achievement test linked to curricula.
4. Beyond the Article:
I would suggest to a new teacher to use a variety of assessment methods and tools on a regular basis, and avoid relying only on one method or summative assessments. Using formative assessments on a daily basis is not only necessary for IEP data collection, but also critical to identifying learning gaps and adjusting instruction accordingly.
Why is it important that teachers consider assessment before they begin planning lessons or projects?
Wiggins notes that one of the challenges teachers face is being an effective designer. By this he's referring to the fact that good designers think about what they're trying to accomplish, then come up with a combination of the content, instructional methods and the assessment. Teachers need to essentially do the same thing, and it is called backward design. By using this method, it forces us to think about our end goal and what we want our students to learn or be able to demonstrate. By thinking about what evidence they will need in order to "prove" their learning to us, we can then design/create activities and determine which instructional methods will be most effective.
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 completely agree with Wiggins statement that these tests do not predict future performance or success. He notes that ETS and the College Board are quite clear about what the SAT does and does not predict, and it basically just predicts freshman grade point average in their first semester. He also mentioned that there's plenty of studies to show that grades in college don't correlate with later success. I also agree with this statement. I know many young adults who struggled with test taking and therefore didn't have a high GPA in high school or college, yet went on to be very successful in their jobs/careers and life in general. Also, I had not known that the SAT was invented as an aptitude test (general intelligence), rather than an achievement test linked to curricula.
4. Beyond the Article:
I would suggest to a new teacher to use a variety of assessment methods and tools on a regular basis, and avoid relying only on one method or summative assessments. Using formative assessments on a daily basis is not only necessary for IEP data collection, but also critical to identifying learning gaps and adjusting instruction accordingly.