2.7 Assessment
Candidates model and facilitate the effective use of diagnostic, formative, and summative assessments to measure student learning and technology literacy, including the use of digital assessment tools and resources.
Artifact:
Reflection:
The Data Inventory artifact was created by researching all the various kinds of data that are available to our school and how we access that data electronically. We were given the SLDS and the Governors’ Office of Accountability websites to access this data, as well as other sources readily available to us at our schools. This Data Inventory helped me to see what tools we have at our fingertips for assessing students’ abilities, learning about their academic histories, and adjusting instruction according to the findings. This activity made me realize just how much data we have at our fingertips. Technology plays a huge part in the amount of information we have so readily available to us, and those who embrace the technology, especially with data manipulation, will be the ones who take on a leadership role in the schools.
This artifact demonstrates mastery of Standard 2.7, because I am able to study diagnostic, formative, and summative assessments of students to help guide my instruction. Data authenticates learning by providing real information about how to improve student achievement. Being able to use higher level thinking skills, processes, and mental habits of mind is not possible without having data to support these endeavors. Furthermore, if I am a classroom teacher who is working on differentiating my classroom for various types of learning, how will I know how to differentiate or if my differentiation is effective if I have no data to support these efforts? Of course assessment is also vital to the data process. I have to have data to measure student learning. Without data analysis, I am shooting bullets in the dark blind-folded! With data, I can collect and analyze student achievement, interpret results, communicate findings, and implement appropriate interventions that are grounded in empirical data. Therefore, my efforts will be spent in the right places. This gives me a sense of confidence as a teacher and an Academic Coach, that what I am doing will be meaningful to others, and that what I am doing will make a difference in our school.
As I spoke with teachers and administrators about this activity, I realized that there is a great deal of room for growth in what we know about data, how we use data, and what data can do to increase student achievement for us. While our school has been doing a great deal around data for the past 8 years, we have gotten somewhat lax about drilling down and effectively using data. This class has been a wake-up call for me, and consequently, for my principal. We have placed data on next year’s agenda as a primary focus for our school. I am excited that I will get to take on a leadership role with the Data Initiative.
I think building an increasing awareness of what kinds of data we have at our disposal is good for school improvement, faculty development, and student learning. By assessing student data, teachers are going to work smarter and make better instructional decisions. This will impact our school with improved test scores and high-school ready students. It will impact student learning, because we will be teaching the right things, and it will impact our faculty by allowing them to grow in their knowledge of the kinds of data we have, what we can do with that data, how we can use data to inform our instruction, and how we can move forward in a meaningful, constructive way.
This artifact demonstrates mastery of Standard 2.7, because I am able to study diagnostic, formative, and summative assessments of students to help guide my instruction. Data authenticates learning by providing real information about how to improve student achievement. Being able to use higher level thinking skills, processes, and mental habits of mind is not possible without having data to support these endeavors. Furthermore, if I am a classroom teacher who is working on differentiating my classroom for various types of learning, how will I know how to differentiate or if my differentiation is effective if I have no data to support these efforts? Of course assessment is also vital to the data process. I have to have data to measure student learning. Without data analysis, I am shooting bullets in the dark blind-folded! With data, I can collect and analyze student achievement, interpret results, communicate findings, and implement appropriate interventions that are grounded in empirical data. Therefore, my efforts will be spent in the right places. This gives me a sense of confidence as a teacher and an Academic Coach, that what I am doing will be meaningful to others, and that what I am doing will make a difference in our school.
As I spoke with teachers and administrators about this activity, I realized that there is a great deal of room for growth in what we know about data, how we use data, and what data can do to increase student achievement for us. While our school has been doing a great deal around data for the past 8 years, we have gotten somewhat lax about drilling down and effectively using data. This class has been a wake-up call for me, and consequently, for my principal. We have placed data on next year’s agenda as a primary focus for our school. I am excited that I will get to take on a leadership role with the Data Initiative.
I think building an increasing awareness of what kinds of data we have at our disposal is good for school improvement, faculty development, and student learning. By assessing student data, teachers are going to work smarter and make better instructional decisions. This will impact our school with improved test scores and high-school ready students. It will impact student learning, because we will be teaching the right things, and it will impact our faculty by allowing them to grow in their knowledge of the kinds of data we have, what we can do with that data, how we can use data to inform our instruction, and how we can move forward in a meaningful, constructive way.