Digitial Portfolio by Rachel Kremer

My thoughts about student-centered classroom assessment have changed over this course, because I know understand how to actually create assessments that are student based and especially how to track these assessments. Previously, I thought that as a classroom teacher, I would just formatively assess students by checking in with them and having conversations throughout the day. I did not think about all of the strategies to formatively assess my students that can give me a more well-rounded view of their learning. More importantly, I learned how to actually track student progress in a way that I can follow their progress and what they are struggling with. This is something that I wasn’t quite sure how to do previously. I learned that I think I would like to keep a binder of messy sheets to track student progress and data I am observing. I hadn’t previously thought of adding a section on my messy sheet to jot down a “next step” for students which will keep me always in a growth mindset for my student’s learning. I also learned to note students who need enrichment and intervention. My mindset on small groups has changed, I used to think I should do ability groups, but now I believe I should do skill-based groups.

- How have you grown in the area of classroom assessment?
I had not previously thought that thinking routines could be so impactful as a form of assessment for students. Now I think this would be a great thing to do with elementary students so I can check their learning, and I believe these thinking routines are helpful for them as well to really reflect on what they have just learned and organize their thoughts because I think that can be hard to do for most elementary students.
I have grown a lot in my knowledge of how to track student progress. I learned how to track what their goals are, what they are struggling with, what their next step should be, by using things such as messy sheets, google sheets, or google forms. I learned that if you keep this information digitally it is instant and easily organized, and it already looks professional for when your need to show your assessment observations to parents in a conference. This is also helpful to keep track of which students you have and have not met with.

I learned a lot about how to create tests that apply to all the different levels of thinking. I now know the different types of questions I can create to get students to think differently and the importance of requiring students to use all levels of thinking, not just high levels, and not just low levels.
The concept of validity and reliability of assessments was brand new to me, and I think this was very valuable information for me to learn. I did not ever think much about how a test that I create needs to be valid, and also have reliable information, especially so that I can report student learning to administration and parents.
Before this class I had never had to create a rubric or a grading policy, and I think these are both skills that I will need to have and use often in my own classroom. I now understand what goes into a grading policy and how to best communicate it to parents. I now also understand how to create a rubric for a student project and what to look for in students’ work that should be worth more or less points.
Something else that I believe that was really valuable that I learned in this class was how to break down standards into more measurable learning goals. I will most likely use this skill daily in my classroom when planning lessons and assessments for my students. It is important to break down the standards so that my students can fully grasp the content instead of trying to teach the whole thing at once, which may overwhelm students and cause them to check out or shut down. I will always remember the metaphor for learning objectives and learning goals; learning objectives are like rungs of a ladder that help you reach the big learning goal (standard). This is necessary to break down learning for students.