Miss Voss’s 3-3 Class

February 20, 2011

Assessment in 3-3

Homework
Homework is one of the most
important aspects of our classroom.
Homework allows students to
practice what we have learned during
the school day at home, after it has
had time to sink in. Homework will
not be graded for accuracy but we
will go over it as a class. We will talk
about any questions that posed
problems for students,
Students are expected to do their
homework on a nightly basis.
Around 45 minutes of homework will
be assigned each night. If students
do not have their homework the day
it is due they will make a phone call
to their parents in the morning. The
student will then stay in during recess
and finish their homework during that
time.
Homework is a way for me to
regularly check and see if your child
understands the material we cover in
class.

Classroom Testing
Testing is an integral part of our tests will be held on Fridays.
classroom as well. Various
Unit tests for Math and Reading will
mandated tests will be administered
be held at the end of each unit.
throughout the year as well as Unit
These tests will cover everything that
tests for various subjects such as
has been in the units that has been
Reading and Math.
taught.
Weekly spelling tests will be given.
In addition to tests, students will have
On Mondays the students will take a
opportunities to show what they have
spelling pretest. If they get 3 or less
learned in other mediums, such as
wrong they will get a Challenge List
projects, movies, posters, etc.
and those will be their spelling words
for the week. Students are expected
to practice the words at home over
the course of the week. Spelling
 Page 2 of 6
Standardized Testing
ISAT testing will be done in late
February and early March. In third
grade, students are tested in reading
and math. For more information and
practice tests, go to
http://www.isbe.state.il.us/assessmen
t/isat.htm. Since this may be your
child’s first experience with
standardized testing, you can help
prepare him or her! All you have to
do is remind him/her that they just
need to do their best!
Checking In
I will send home your child’s work
every Friday in his or her yellow
folder. I will also include a note that
will update you on anything new that
is going on in the classroom.
Feel free to also email me with any
questions or concerns. I check my
email frequently throughout the day
Curriculum
Patton uses the Treasures
Reading/Language-Arts Curriculum.
Each student has a textbook and we
do worksheets that accompany each
unit as a class. Visit
http://activities.macmillanmh.com/rea
ding/treasures/ for resources and
more information.
For math, we use Everyday Math.
Students each have a Math Journal,
Skills Book and Resource book. Go
Questions? Concerns?
If you have any questions or
concerns feel free to email me or call
me at the school.
RTI testing is also done to
check student’s progress and
placement. We use AIMSweb testing
to check for reading fluency.
Students are given a reading sample
to read in two minutes. The amount
of errors and words read are
recorded. This test is administered
three times per year-in the fall, winter
and spring.
and will try to respond as quickly as
possible. Also, you can call the
school to reach me as well!
We will have 2 conferences during
the school year-one in winter and
one in the spring. During these we
can also talk about any concerns you
may have.
to
http://everydaymath.uchicago.edu/pa
rents/ for information and for
supplemental activities.
Finally, our writing curriculum is
called WEX, or Writers Express.
Students focus on certain skills to
improve their writing in each lesson.
For more information, go to
http://www.wex.org/curriculum/grade
s3-4/#.
I would be more than happy to talk
with you about any questions you may
have!
 Courtney Voss
Assessment Letter Rational
2.20.11

Keeping parents informed about what is going on in the classroom is a vital part

of communication between school and home. Having parent support will help students

do well on these assessments. When parents are aware of when assessments will be

occurring they can help students prepare and study.

Assessment allows teachers to check for comprehension. This is important to be

able to see if only certain students do not understand a concept or if it was not taught well

enough. By using norm-referenced tests, teachers can see how students are doing in

comparison to their classmates (Borich, 2010). If almost every student in the class got a

certain question wrong, it is clear that the teacher needs to go back and think of a new

way to teach the lesson. Reflection is a critical part of being a teacher and analyzing

assessment performance is a prime way to review teaching.

Assessment also allows teachers to see if students can apply what they have

learned in new situations. This works best when test questions require students to use

their knowledge and apply it in different ways. Do students just know the facts of the

unit or are they able to use it in new ways as well? This is a skill that will be beneficial

for students in today’s society as they grow.

Testing is not the only part of assessment that needs to be addressed in the

classroom. For many students, formal testing situations are so stressful that they may not

perform as well as they could. Because of these situations, it is important that teachers

often offer other modes of assessment to check understanding. These modes could
include projects, moviemaking, group presentations and more. These options allow

students to creatively demonstrate what they have learned.

Not only are other forms of assessments helpful for students, preparation for

testing is even more important. Teachers need to help students feel like they are ready to

take these tests. Borich mentions mnemonics that could easily be incorporated into

lessons and review, such as jingles, trigger sentences, number rhymes, or chunking

(Borich, 2010). From my own experiences, I still remember mnemonics that my teachers

taught me such as “eight times eight went to the store, to buy Nintendo 64” to memorize

the multiplication fact 8x8=64. Having students create their own and share with the class

could be a great strategy for review sessions.

After preparing for these tests, the test itself is something the teacher needs to

think about. What type of test will be given? Teachers need to include a variety of

question types on the test. These include objective test items such as true/false,

matching, multiple choice, and completion items (Borich, 2011). Also, essay test items

such as extended-response and restricted-response items are options to include on tests.

Offering different types of questions allows students to show what they know in various

means.

Preparing for state testing, such as ISAT, is even more important for students.

This preparation is important so that students know what to expect on these tests. For

some students (3rd graders), this may be their first encounter with standardized testing.

Doing practice tests in class can help students get familiarized with the format of the test.

Online tests are available at http://www.isbe.state.il.us/assessment/isat.htm where

students can become acquainted with the form of the test and the types of questions they
will see. This would also be a great website to send home to parents before the ISATS

start so they can get their children comfortable with the form of the test as well.

Letting students know that not everything they complete is a test or is being used

to monitor them is a good idea. Informal assessment is a way for teachers to check up on

students without a typical assessment being done. This can be checking work for

completion. It is important to include both formal and informal assessment in the

classroom.

Finally, giving parents the resources they need or want to link school with home

is key. Most parents want to be involved with their students’ learning. In my placement

now, I would give parents the links to

http://activities.macmillanmh.com/reading/treasures/ and

http://everydaymath.uchicago.edu/parents/ so that they could do activities with students

at home. Both of these websites have material to help students with topics that are being

taught in class. These sites are great resources for test prep as well.

Keeping parents and students in the loop about assessment will hopefully help

students feel comfortable with testing. Assessment can be a stressful time for students

but by preparing them, they can be successful!

Works Cited

Borich, G. (2010). Effective Teaching Methods: Research-Based Practice, 7/E.

Boston: Pearson Education.

Center for Elementary Mathematics and Science Education. (2007). Everyday

Mathematics for Parents. Retrieved from:

 http://everydaymath.uchicago.edu/parents/

Illinois State Board of Education. (2011). Student Assessment-ISAT. Retrieved from:

http://www.isbe.state.il.us/assessment/isat.htm

Macmillan McGraw-Hill. (2006). Treasures. Retrieved from

http://activities.macmillanmh.com/reading/treasures/