Ms. Snow's Social Studies

What is the goal of assessments for students? As a third-year teacher, this is something that I ask myself quite often. During my first year of teaching, I focused on designing lessons and tests that pushed my students to understand the material. After reflecting on these moments, I have made changes throughout this school year, but there are always ways to improve, especially when it comes to assessments, their use in the classroom, and how they impact the learning process. When I think of assessments, I believe they check students' understanding of the material and see their growth in a concept or idea (Shepard, 2000). Assessments are the tools teachers use to help gauge where their students are in reaching the learning objectives. This evaluation is vital in the learning process because learning sometimes builds on previous steps. Some may only understand the material with a check-in of the learning process, and their teachers might see. It demonstrates how the lessons work to b...

Over the last two years of teaching, the word data has been a non-stop push in my direction and school districts nationwide. I have worked with my colleagues to determine essential standards that will be taught, tested, and given to all students in that course, no matter the teacher. This fall, our new testing software will increase the conversation about data as it becomes more prominent for teachers and administration. Yet, why is there a continuous push for data? This question is one that I have been still trying to answer, and there is no correct answer. Over time, I have realized how I can use it to help improve my teaching and its purpose. So, how do I use assessment data in my teaching practice?

As a teacher, I have created countless assessments that have evaluated my students' understanding of the learning objectives. Throughout the design, I developed tests reflecting the lessons, activities, and curriculum. Yet, some assessments could have been better after reflecting on students' scores and the test makeup. So, what was my worst assessment ? After evaluating my assessments, the final exam I gave my students this semester for my United States History was my worst. My colleagues gave me this summative assessment to administer to my students. I looked over the test, and it fit the learning objective of the material I taught. For me, this was different because I had been working on updating the assessments, but as a team, time got the best of us toward the end of the school year. We used a past final exam written before I started working here. Why was this my worst assessment? A sample of my worst assessment Reflecting on this final exam, the questions' design an...

What is the role of Assessments? As a second-year teacher, this is something that I ask myself quite often. During my first year of teaching, I had to focus on designing lessons and tests that pushed my students to understand the mat erial. After reflecting on these moments, I have made changes throughout this school year, but there are always ways to improve, especially when it comes to assessments, their use in the classroom, and how they impact the learning process. Assessment Synonyms Image is free to use under Creative Common Licensing. When I think of assessments, I believe they check students’ understanding of the material and uncover their growth in a concept or idea (Shepard, 2000). Tests are the tools teachers use to help gauge where their students are in reaching the learning objectives. This evaluation is vital in the learning process because learning sometimes builds on previous steps. Without a check-in of the learning process, some may not understand the material, as wel...