https://padlet.com/briancaldwell3/ktdq51czt005ycb2 en-us 2022-06-07 11:58:11 UTC 2022-06-08 04:12:39 UTC hello@padlet.com briancaldwell3 https://padlet.com/briancaldwell3/ktdq51czt005ycb2/wish/2213532933  A pre-assessment is to gather information on students’ prior knowledge, highlighting possible strengths, skills or knowledge gaps within your classroom. ]]> 2022-06-07 12:02:18 UTC https://padlet.com/briancaldwell3/ktdq51czt005ycb2/wish/2213532933 briancaldwell3 https://padlet.com/briancaldwell3/ktdq51czt005ycb2/wish/2213545251 The summative assessment is typically at the end of a unit or term. The summative assessment is the target learning outcomes-the end goal.
Effective pre-assessment will highlight how close or far away the students are from reaching these goals. Aligning your summative and pre-assessments can allow teachers to plan meaningful and efficient instruction to hit these targets and give teachers information on potential knowledge discrepancies in the class. This in turn will help the teacher to come up with differentiated strategies to ensure all students reach the desired learning outcomes.]]> 2022-06-07 12:13:51 UTC https://padlet.com/briancaldwell3/ktdq51czt005ycb2/wish/2213545251 briancaldwell3 https://padlet.com/briancaldwell3/ktdq51czt005ycb2/wish/2213554156 Backward Design is clearly defining the learning outcomes from the outset and working backwards from there. What do we want our students to be able to do or know at the end of a particular unit?
If our end goals are defined, then backward design allows teachers to come up with the right activities, strategies to ensure ALL students have the best possible chance of achieving this at the end of the unit when summative assessment takes place.

]]> 2022-06-07 12:21:41 UTC https://padlet.com/briancaldwell3/ktdq51czt005ycb2/wish/2213554156 briancaldwell3 https://padlet.com/briancaldwell3/ktdq51czt005ycb2/wish/2213566793 Teachers can use the information obtained to  highlight the range of knowledge that already exists within the classroom. This can help educators plan differentiated activities to meet the needs of students who may lack knowledge, students who may need some extra assistance, and also for students who may need to be challenged at a higher level. The target is  to give all the students an opportunity to reach the learning outcomes, conducting pre assessments will allow  you to plan more effectively to give the best chance to achieve this.
This information will be particularly important when it comes to grouping. How you use this information largely depends on the type of activity it is- would the students benefit more from homogenous or heterogeneous grouping?
In my class,  I used pre-assessments in reading levels to form both types of grouping.
I split my class into different groups for 'reading workshop time'. There was a very obvious group of higher level readers and a very obvious group of students who had almost no reading skills at all and still struggle with the alphabet.
Establishing two homogenous groups have allowed me to differentiate accordingly and give both groups different learning opportunities. It also allows me to give a mini- intervention in a small group to the low level readers. If I am busy with another group, my Chinese assistant teacher can sit with them and offer some guidance in their native language. I have also formed two heterogeneous groups with students with varying abilities who can help one another.   ]]> 2022-06-07 12:34:42 UTC https://padlet.com/briancaldwell3/ktdq51czt005ycb2/wish/2213566793 briancaldwell3 https://padlet.com/briancaldwell3/ktdq51czt005ycb2/wish/2213609446 I work in an IB Kindergarten at the moment which also uses the TCRWP program for reading, writing and phonics. There are no summative assessments for IB inquiry. Reading, writing and to some degree phonics have summative assessments at my school.
At the beginning, middle and end of each term, assessments are carried out to collect data on reading levels and writing levels. Running records, rubrics and visual identification assessments are used with to ensure objectivity.
I use pre-assessments at the beginning of the year to record reading levels, sight word knowledge, writing levels and phonetic ability to decode CVC words.  If a student can't perform these individual assessments, it highlights an issue, and I assess the students' alphabet knowledge and first letter sound knowledge.

This data or screening process gives me clear and objective information on the range of abilities in my class.  As is normally the case at my school, there are huge differences in level, so differentiation is essential.
Having this knowledge ensures during small group time, I can take student's out of the main classroom to get extra support either individually or in small groups of 3. We practice sounds, letter formation, identifying sight words amongst other activities. This helps them to a degree in the main classroom and because it is in small group time, the student's don't miss any full group instruction. Unfortunately, there is always something going on in our school, an event or other commitments, that I don't get the opportunity to do this as much as I would like.  On reflection, I should also be doing this for the higher level student's.
Having this pre-assessment at the beginning of the year before I get to know my students and conducting assessments twice after, including a final summative assessment, gives me clear data to monitor progress or any lingering struggles.


I explained in the last paragraph how I use this information when grouping my students, especially in reading classes, I am more flexible during writing groups where I use a mix of heterogeneous groups as the higher level students have the ability to help weaker students, and it increases peer interaction. Personalities, friendships are taken into account when grouping.
To conclude, pre-assessments are essential for me to differentiate effectively and highlight my students' abilities. When working in private schools with large fee's, huge differences in levels are unavoidable, so I have always valued the importance of pre-assessing my students and using this data to monitor progress and inform parents if there are issues.
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