In a Nutshell

In the end, quality assessment requires us to use multiple authentic strategies to assess a variety of skills over a period of time in a caring and safe risk-taking environment. As professionals our evaluation of student learning is supported by the knowledge and skills that our students present to us again and again. Our assessments are guided by the data that we collect which supports our professional judgement. We can stand behind our decisions with confidence knowing that the decisions we make are in the best interest of our students and their futures.

Home Connections

When a report card goes home there should be no surprises (at least, ideally). Regular contact between teacher and parents/guardians is crucial so that everyone is clear about where the class is at, what the learning goals are, and what the class is doing to meet them. I've found that parent newsletters are a great way to keep our students' families in the loop. During my last long term placement I sent one home every 1-2 weeks.

Below is a sample parent newsletter about assessment that I completed for a previous course.

Cool Assessment Activity: Portfolio

Good For: summative assessment

Portfolios of student work are a great way to show a students' progression over time. Portfolios may include samples of student stories, poems, letters, journal entries, lists, responses to literature, book reviews, drawing, mid maps/graphic organizers, worksheets, etc. You may also want to allow your students to select what they think is their "best work" to include.

Mirror Mirror

In one of my previous posts (Why Assess? Thursday, May 10)  I mentioned how quality assessment can guide our planning and instruction and ultimately make us better teachers.

Below is the link to a video from Teacher Tube that explains how this works:

Comprehension Assessment that Informs Instruction (Making Meaning®)


*www.teachertube.com is a great resource for planning, instruction, and assessment ideas for all teachers.

Are You Sure?

If you assign a student a mark you must be prepared to defend that mark. The best way to do this is to collect data, data, and more data. This data includes the information that you've collected on a student since the beginning of a learning unit (or year). Your anecdotal notes, checklists, samples of student work, exit card answers, photographs, test/quiz scores should help you make an informed decision about what a student knows and can do.

Still not sure what mark to give a student? Talk with someone. As a teacher in a school you are part of a education team. Discuss your thoughts with another teacher, the school's literacy support, or the principal.

I try to keep in mind that saying "It takes a village to raise a child."  It's so true.

Seeing the Humour In It

It seems that Google has a lighthearted approach to tests and assessments. Cartoons kept popping up  while I was searching for assessment information. Here are a few gems that I've come across.


"English - Who needs that? I'm never going to England!"
- Dan Castellaneta -

Cool Assessment Activity: Surveys

Good For: Diagnostic Assessment

At the start of the school year a great way to get to know your students is by using a survey. Survey questions may be asked during a student-teacher conference (especially for very young students) or may be filled out as a questionnaire by students at home.

Some good general questions for the start of the year might be:

• Do you usually like school? Why or why not?
• What is your favourite subject(s)?
• What makes a great teacher?
• Is there something that you'd like to do better with or work harder on this year?
• What's one more important thing I should know about you?

More specific questions may be asked during a survey at the beginning of a unit of study. At this time the teacher may want to ask questions directly related to the upcoming unit such as...What are two important things to remember about multiplication? Solve this equation (8x7)? Can you explain how you solved this?

This relates back to getting to know our students as individuals (see Who Are We Here For? - Thursday, May 10).