Running head: assessment philosophy

Assessment Philosophy Statement

Assessment and instruction are inseparable as effective assessment informs and guides
instruction for learning. Precise assessment is a collaborative and ongoing process that should
involve teachers, students and parents Throughout this paper, I will convey my views on retests,
late assignments, homework, formative assessments and the impact classroom environment and
attendance have on accurately assessing student learning.
Students should always feel that they can succeed; therefore I am in favor of allowing
students to do re-writes, edits and re-submissions of their work. As Wormeli (2011) states when
teachers do not offer students the opportunity to redo work, they are actually hindering student
achievement and maturity. However, I feel just offering a retest makes no sense; these
opportunities need to be dependent on student effort. The student first needs to take
responsibility to ensure they have been working to improve and have prepared for the retest.
They must first demonstrate that they have reasonably found their short falls and did something
to correct their understanding of what was to be learned. Then a retest or reassessment of
learning should be considered to support and encourage the student. By doing this I am giving
students the opportunity to take responsibility and own their learning. I would caution that
students might choose to think they dont need to study because retests will be offered. Retests
should be a tool used after reasonable preparedness has happened, not as a delay tactic or reason
to procrastinate. As Wormeli (2011) explains, the more we do something, the more competent we
become with that skill. If we do something poorly, often with feedback, practice and revision, we
will learn to succeed.
Teachers should accept late assignments without penalizing a students grade because the
purpose of the assignment is to assess what the student has learned. When assignments are
handed in late the teacher should accept them, but then address the students poor behavior of
being late as it is interfering with the progression of learning. Consequences to correct the
students poor choice could include having a discussion with the student, calling home to inform
the parent or issuing a detention. Simply giving the student a zero or reducing the grade does not
give the teacher an accurate assessment of what the student understands. This leads to false
grades, as the grade no longer reflects the students true ability to meet intended learning
outcomes.
I believe homework needs to be a part of a students school life. It develops good
practice and brings learning into the home environment. However, it should not be lengthy and it
should have a clear purpose and meaning to build skill or improve learning. Teachers should not
assign homework to punish the students as that will only create tension and dislike of learning.
Students need to see that practice leads to improvement. The teacher can facilitate this by
ensuring that they make reference to how doing the homework assisted in getting positive
results. For example, if a student completed homework and then did well on a quiz, the teacher
might review with the student that the good homework practice was worth their effort thereby
making the positive connection. As Vatterott (2011) states, parents being involved with the
completion of homework is important. With that being said, I feel a homework site is beneficial,
as parents can then see what is being practiced and will be more informed about their childs
learning. If the homework is not too time consuming and is meaningful enough, the student will
see its benefits.

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I do not believe student attendance should be part of course grades as it is simply a poor
behavior. It certainly has a negative effect on any assessment but is not a valid indicator of
knowledge. I favor reporting no assessment possible if absenteeism is hindering learning.
When a student misses too many days of class, it is hard for them to bridge the gaps and be
successful. The student can be assessed and if results are low, measures can be put in place to
assist in bridging the gaps. Assessing and giving a low grade will only discourage learning.
Unfortunately, schools have little power to improve poor attendance for some students and
ultimately, decisions need to be made regarding passing or failing. Ideally, this is when parents
need to be informed and take action to increase chances of success.
Formative assessments are very important in the classroom since they give the teacher an
opportunity to see if students are engaged and if the learning process you are offering is meeting
student needs. These assessments should be frequent and guide the instruction as it will allow the
teacher to make judgments on whether the student is heading in the right direction, grasping the
concept or having difficulty. Essentially, it will help the teacher guide their own teaching
practice. It is a primary source for giving teacher feedback and is a valuable tool for assessing
learning. In the classroom this can be done through discussions with students, assignments,
exiting quizzes and a variety of other activities. Taking pre learning snapshots will assist the
teacher in seeing if the student is bringing prior knowledge to learning. Again, this can be used to
guide instruction. Students will frequently be provided feedback to offer them a clear picture of
their progress and give them encouragement to improve in areas where they lack understanding.
As Marzano (2011) states, formative assessment is one of the most useful tools a teacher can use
in the classroom.
Creating a positive learning environment is essential to ensure all learners are provided
with the necessary opportunities for safe and peaceful learning. It also allows the teacher to
better accurately assess student progress without disruption or interference. The classroom
environment should never hinder learning, a student should always feel comfortable to ask
questions or communicate about their learning. The teacher needs to understand those in the
class and manage their resources to construct the best environment possible. When students
damage the classroom environment, those students need to be addressed, removed and retrained
to go back to classroom and act properly. It is the teachers responsibility to ensure that learning
can take place and that anything interfering with this be addressed immediately.
Accurately assessing student learning is very important, it needs to be used to modify the
teachers future lessons and guide students toward success. I believe students should be involved
in the assessment process as they can and should play key roles in their own learning. They
should understand how they are being assessed and graded so they can improve their own
chances of being successful. Precise assessment is a collaborative and ongoing process that
should involve teachers, students and parents. Overall, teachers need to work with each of their
students to identify what type of instruction is best for the childs learning and how assessment
can best indicate what has been learned and what needs to be learned. Teachers can then
accurately assess the child and provide for the outcomes that need to be reached.

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References
Marzano, R. (2006). Classroom Assessment and Grading that Works. Association for
Supervision and Curriculum Development
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Vatterott, C. (2011). Make Homework Central to Learning. Educational Leadership.

Wormeli, R. (2011) Redos and Retakes Done Right. Effective Grading Practises. Vol 69(3), pp
22-26