https://padlet.com/lorilynn4132/5md1iyihjmyru959 Imagine that the parents in your district are not pleased with the authentic measures for assessment being used. They want to know if their children are doing as well as others. Based on standardized test scores, they want to know if their child is above, below, or at grade level. You are convinced that authentic assessment is the right way to evaluate children. What can you do to help parents understand and accept the authentic assessment strategies? Plan a parent workshop to inform them about standards and how you link your instruction and assessment to them. en-us 2021-01-29 00:35:25 UTC 2024-06-23 05:31:32 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet.com/lorilynn4132/5md1iyihjmyru959/wish/1139057418 A parent workshop could provide all the information a family needs to know about standardized tests, instruction, and assessment to them. Listen to parent questions and make sure everyones concerns are heard. Provide information and resources about the assessment. Give examples and how the test works. Use simple language so anyone can understand. Provide the families with activities to do at home with their children to help with assessments. Be authentic and show what the children are actually learning and what standards the teacher is following. ]]> 2021-01-29 00:41:25 UTC https://padlet.com/lorilynn4132/5md1iyihjmyru959/wish/1139057418 aikthedragon https://padlet.com/lorilynn4132/5md1iyihjmyru959/wish/1139058922 Show a holistic look at the child. If they did not reach benchmark on a standardized test show the parents an assignment or activity that the child did well on. Compare them not to their peers but how they have grown individually and show what standards they excel at and what they need work on. If in a larger workshop show the averages on assignments and what the standards for everything are. 
Many members of this group cannot add to the padlet so this is Andrew writing our collective thoughts.
This post approved by Andrea, Bronti, and Susana.]]> 2021-01-29 00:42:19 UTC https://padlet.com/lorilynn4132/5md1iyihjmyru959/wish/1139058922 milled71 https://padlet.com/lorilynn4132/5md1iyihjmyru959/wish/1139059998 To help parents understand why authentic assessment is the right way to assess children, it is always important to provide information and resources on the standards that are being taught, and examples of students work that fulfill them so they understand how the standards are applied. Let parents also know why standardized testing can be skewed and not show all of the things students learn, and therefore cannot always be an accurate assessment, but also let them know that they do provide value in assessing students in certain areas. It is important to be open and understanding when parents reach out to you with their concerns, so be a listening ear and provide the resources you have. ]]> 2021-01-29 00:42:55 UTC https://padlet.com/lorilynn4132/5md1iyihjmyru959/wish/1139059998 chloejspaulding https://padlet.com/lorilynn4132/5md1iyihjmyru959/wish/1139060143 Things to discuss at parent workshop-
1. Bring up cons of standardized testing and explain that it only measures one aspect and there are many other things that need to be looked at in order to get the full picture of where a child is at. 
2. Look at common core standards and teacher's forms of authentic assessment. Then you can compare this to the standardized testing standards that they test and how some of these aren't covered by teachers in the classroom so you can't fault kids for not knowing them. 
3. Explain how both can be used if parent's are very insistent about it and how to look at the results to be able to get the full understanding. ]]> 2021-01-29 00:43:00 UTC https://padlet.com/lorilynn4132/5md1iyihjmyru959/wish/1139060143 https://padlet.com/lorilynn4132/5md1iyihjmyru959/wish/1139060592 To help the parents understand I would provide them with resources providing information on the way I am assessing the students. I would also give them some information on how they can help their children at home so they can  improve since they are interested in where there student is at on the spectrum. I would also show them what we are doing in class and compare it to the standards, then connect it to how I am assessing so the parents will have a better understanding. ]]> 2021-01-29 00:43:16 UTC https://padlet.com/lorilynn4132/5md1iyihjmyru959/wish/1139060592 https://padlet.com/lorilynn4132/5md1iyihjmyru959/wish/1139060832 2021-01-29 00:43:24 UTC https://padlet.com/lorilynn4132/5md1iyihjmyru959/wish/1139060832 https://padlet.com/lorilynn4132/5md1iyihjmyru959/wish/1139060881 To help parents better understand authentic assessment is we need to be open to share with them why we do these assessments and how it benefits the child. There will be pros and cons to all standardized testing and each child will rank differently developmentally and academically. Not every child will be in the same place for their age group. Show the parents the different standardized testing and how each one is different in how we use them. Every school and program is different in how they use authentic assessment. ]]> 2021-01-29 00:43:25 UTC https://padlet.com/lorilynn4132/5md1iyihjmyru959/wish/1139060881 https://padlet.com/lorilynn4132/5md1iyihjmyru959/wish/1139061850 1. Use common core standards because it talks about authentic assessments "authentic assessments should be based on variety of measures". You could tell parents that based on the variety of measurements on a standardized test, authentic assessments can be used to help that specific child. 
2. Important for teachers to meet where the parents concerns are. It is important to let the parents know that standardized tests only show one thing about a child. Using more authentic assessments can show how the child is doing as a whole. It is important for them not to stress about standardized testing along.
3. Authentic assessment activies represent and reflect the actual learning from inside and outside the classroom. 
4. Authentic assessment models allows educators to determine what a child knows and needs to learn.
5. Standardized testing provides just a sample of performance. Parents should know that there are many more samples of the childs performance. ]]> 2021-01-29 00:44:00 UTC https://padlet.com/lorilynn4132/5md1iyihjmyru959/wish/1139061850 https://padlet.com/lorilynn4132/5md1iyihjmyru959/wish/1139062033 Points I would bring up to parents would be the pros of authentic assessment and the cons of traditional assessment. In my workshop I would show them the two ways a child can be assessed (ie. traditionally or authentically). I would then show them how Student A might actually not pass with traditional assessment because it would not allow for Student A to express their answer in the best way possible for them. Whereas, authentic assessments allow them to give an answer in the way that they best can allowing for them to be assessed in the way that gives them the best chance. I think reaching out to parents to explain how every child is different ]]> 2021-01-29 00:44:06 UTC https://padlet.com/lorilynn4132/5md1iyihjmyru959/wish/1139062033 https://padlet.com/lorilynn4132/5md1iyihjmyru959/wish/1139062092 I would explain that I understand the parents concerns and frustrations about the authentic assessments and explain that just as other jobs learn new systems and programs, schools do as well. I would then show parents a previous  authentic assessment and show them what all goes into it. I would explain that standardized tests are important, but they don't include the whole child and to understand what a child needs more help with or is doing well in, we need to look at the whole child. ]]> 2021-01-29 00:44:07 UTC https://padlet.com/lorilynn4132/5md1iyihjmyru959/wish/1139062092 https://padlet.com/lorilynn4132/5md1iyihjmyru959/wish/1139062596 -Provide examples of different assessments
-Show how the authentic assessments align with the state/national standards
-Provide examples of how standardized tests can be biased 
- ]]> 2021-01-29 00:44:24 UTC https://padlet.com/lorilynn4132/5md1iyihjmyru959/wish/1139062596 https://padlet.com/lorilynn4132/5md1iyihjmyru959/wish/1139062737 Give examples and show parents that assessments are meant to gather information, and don't *always* reflect a student's progress or knowledge. Focus on the strengths of the child when speaking with parents, and genuinely listen to their concerns..]]> 2021-01-29 00:44:29 UTC https://padlet.com/lorilynn4132/5md1iyihjmyru959/wish/1139062737 https://padlet.com/lorilynn4132/5md1iyihjmyru959/wish/1139062879 I would have the standards available for parents to see, so that they can have a clearer understanding of what the objective behind the teaching and assessment is. 

I would show a variety of examples of lesson plans, outlining how the lesson is addressing the standard in question. ]]> 2021-01-29 00:44:33 UTC https://padlet.com/lorilynn4132/5md1iyihjmyru959/wish/1139062879 https://padlet.com/lorilynn4132/5md1iyihjmyru959/wish/1139063221 I would remind the parent that we do not compare children to other children but, we do compare the child to their past self.  Personally this year, I gave each parent a chart with goals. The goals are personalized and changed each semester. These goals correlate mostly with my assessments. (Highscope.) 
I currently already set up monthly, seemingly biweekly, workshops for parents and get a very low turn out. Myself and my resources will always be open for students and parents. ]]> 2021-01-29 00:44:45 UTC https://padlet.com/lorilynn4132/5md1iyihjmyru959/wish/1139063221 https://padlet.com/lorilynn4132/5md1iyihjmyru959/wish/1139063393 2021-01-29 00:44:50 UTC https://padlet.com/lorilynn4132/5md1iyihjmyru959/wish/1139063393 https://padlet.com/lorilynn4132/5md1iyihjmyru959/wish/1139064778 I would like to sit down with the parents if possible and let them know that standardized testing can only provide a small glimpse of what the student knows. It may not reflect what is going on in the classroom and with authentic assessments you can provide examples of student work. I would show them the learning standards that the student needs to know and try to let them know if they are meeting those goals, because ultimately that is most important in meeting grade level requirements for your state. I can link them to the common core state standards website if they are curious.]]> 2021-01-29 00:45:32 UTC https://padlet.com/lorilynn4132/5md1iyihjmyru959/wish/1139064778 https://padlet.com/lorilynn4132/5md1iyihjmyru959/wish/1139076810 I would explain why I use authentic measures and what those authentic measures are. I can see where the parents concerns come from, but I would reassure them that authentic measures show more of the whole picture, rather than what the children know in one sitting. In the workshop, I would bring examples of portfolios to let parents look through, so they have a better understanding of the true value of authentic measures in the classroom as they can see the progression of learning over time.

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