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Alternative assessment reflection
Traditional assessments in education
Alternative assessment examples
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Yes, ma’am I agree with your assessment. Educators have so much to worry about throughout the school year to make sure students learn the assigned curriculum and pass the STAAR. No matter the subject or grade level one teaches, there is never enough time. As a special education teacher, I must ensure that my students have the appropriate accommodations in place for the STAAR-Alternate assessment as well as proper objectives that meet their individual needs. My paperwork must be as perfect as possible since it can be audited at any time and my certificate be on the line. Furthermore, I worked on my professional counseling practicum this semester. I was saddened to see that our three middle school counselors are stressed beyond words with
School leaders and faculty are responsible to ensure engaging, rigorous, and coherent curricula in all subjects, accessible for a variety of learners and aligned to Common Core Learning Standards and/or content standards. As a special education program for severely disabled students including all these requirements in curriculum that is differentiated for the array of needs in the school isn’t easy. In response to the suggestions made by Ms. Joseph the principal decided that the best way to address it while still attending to the needs of the school would be to created an inquiry team that will research the findings in order to help with the decision making.
In the 1990’s, I grew up taking the TAAS test or Texas Assessment of Academic Skills. I did not know why we had to take them but everyone had to and teachers tried to prepare us as much as they can. Then in the 2003, the state decided to change it to TAKS test or Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills. I knew that I had passed, but as a student we do not question why we have to take these tests. We are only told that they are important to our education and graduating to the next grade or from high school. A few years afterwards they had switched to a new standardized test form called STAAR which stands for State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness. It seems that a last few tests were not accurate in monitoring students’ progress and controversy surrounding incorrectly scored questions. The STAAR test which has been supported in legislative passage will now be the current standard method of assessing students and districts. The focus shifting mainly on standardized testing has left Dallas Independent School District with less than stellar performance compared to other districts.
The district is now making all teachers use an assessment tool called iReady. It is a website that assesses students in math and reading. They are first tested on a kindergarten through fifth grade range to find out what they know. Then the program takes that score and determines the right level for the child and they are tested again on the level. Once all students have been assessed the program orders the students from highest to lowest and by average grade level skill they are on: early second grade, middle second grade, late second grade or any other grade. The teacher uses those scores to create her reading groups, math groups and the students she will give extra assistance to. They haven’t officially established how many times and when they will do this iReady assessment but for now they are doing it once a week for forty five minutes. The test also flags if they spent too long or too little time on a question. The ones that spent less than 15 seconds per problem are to go back and do the assessment again.
Standardized testing in Texas public schools has parents and teachers furious. It is an argument of Texas Legislature versus those who oppose. Student will take about 17 of these tests before entering high school (Smith A17A). Texas schools are currently conflicted with taking the STAAR tests as it brings upon many arguments. The disadvantages seem to rule out the few advantages test makers tried to pass. Rather than helping students see where they stand, it makes students feel as if they do not stand a chance.
I believe that it’s a good decision to study and have knowledge about this Multi-Tier Support system. Any instructor who is really committed to the students should get a better understanding of it, to find out if his students are at risk or not of academic failure or falling behind. This system help him to rethink if he needs to modify the instruction activities in a way that facilitates the absorption of the core curriculum for students that are not succeeding. Appropriate and immediate feedback should be provided if the teacher is able to assess the areas that a child is having difficulties and respond with an specific strategy that leads him to progress. As an outcome of early intervention, ongoing support and efficient teaching all learners will benefit from MTSS.
In Ms. Hall’s seventh period ESL freshman biology class I chose to do a write around or pass a question formative assessment probe. I came up with three different questions and printed each one on an individual sheet of paper. The three questions were; 1. What is one thing you were surprised to learn about the past few weeks about genetics, what is one thing you wish you could learn more about related to genetics, what was the hardest topic for you to learn or that you are still confused about? I started the class by talking about what the purpose of the write around activity was. I informed them that this activity was an opportunity for them to reflect and talk about the lesson they were working on and also an opportunity for me to read about what students thought about their genetics unit. I placed students into groups of three and then asked them to read the first question and take 2 minutes to write as much as they could about the question at hand. If students were confused at the question at all I encouraged them to ask me about their confusion or ways in which to respond. After the 2 minute time slot students then passed that question to and the next person would spend 2 minutes to respond to the previous person’s comments or respond to that new question as well. This was repeated one more time so each student had an opportunity to respond to each question prompt. The classroom consist of 17 students whose first language is not English. Primary languages of the students in the class consist of Spanish, Arabic, Russian and Polish.
An assessment that I always use is Ages & Stages Questionnaires (ASQ). Each child receives this assessment. Working in the W. Children’s Learning and Development Center for the past thirteen years allowed me to use them numerous times and have a complete understanding of each child’s developmental based on the information provided when the assessment is resumed. Starting working there with the three years old for two years, I remember vaguely when we applied the Ages & Stages to them. I am not aware of the questions being asked for that age group anymore. Working for the infants and toddlers for eleven years now, allow me to be knowledgeable about where is supposed to be. I usually use the questionnaire when they are 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, and 14
Standardized testing is an unreliable measure of schools and should not be used to measure student learning, achievement gaps,and/or teacher student quality. They are unfair and discriminatory towards students from low income and minoritygroup backrounds; english language learners and students with disabilities. According to W. James Popham, an expert on educational assessment, “if children come from advantaged families and stimulus rich environments, then they are more apt to succeed on items in standardized achievement tests than other children whose environments don't mesh as well with what the tests measure” (W. James Popham). Lowscoring students are not given the attention they need and they are not challenged or supported. Instead they are given “dumbeddown” curriculum which only causes the students to fall further behind. Meanwhile children with average scores
Counselors have large shoes to fill. They not only administer assessments, but are also involved in group counseling, individual counseling, and have to plan and implement comprehensive school guidance programs. A counselor must know and be competent in all realms of their position. School counselors work with all children, including children with disabilities in various settings within the school (Villalba, Latus, Hamilton, & Kendrick (2005 p 449). As stated by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), school counseling services must be made available to all students in special education programs as part of their right to a Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) (Bowen & Glenn, 1998; Clark, 1998). School counselors are to take on this role in the educational and personal-social well being of students in special education programs. Federal law does require that children, who receive special education services, and do not display appropriate behavior have a Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA) team (Villalba, Latus, Hamilton, & Kendrick (2005) p 449). This team constructs a BIP. Since counselors should be active on the FBA team, there is a need here that must be addressed because this article defines a lack of knowledge present with practicing counselors. With that, counselors do receive relevant training throughout their program. There are only so many classes and hours of instruction that the pre-counselors receive. The curriculum that is generated encompasses what counselors need, but could their be a few gaps and missing pieces? This study was conducted to determine counselors awareness, knowledge, and role in the Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA) process (Villalba, Latus, Hamilton, & Ken...
The special education programs in the United States have been designed to help children with special needs learn easier and fit in better with the education program. Unfortunately, many minority students get caught up in the mix and don’t get the proper attention they deserve. Furthermore, minority students are seriously over-represented in the educational programs. Many minority students are misdiagnosed and put into special education programs when in fact; they do not have a learning disability. This has become a growing problem in this country because it is seen as the easy way out. Schools all over the U.S. are doing this in order to not have to properly test and evaluate students for learning problems.
The topic of assessment alone raises many debated discussions, among teachers, and to add Special Education students into the polemical dialogue intensifies the debate. As a result, there are several alternative methods in assessing Special Education students within the learning environment. Professionals have created specifically designated techniques in helping these and all students achieve academic success.
I think in order to improve our kid’s exam scores we need to start with the administrators. They are the ones who are in charge of hiring teachers and evaluating them. They need to make more time to go by classrooms and make sure that work is getting done in the classrooms. I think that principals should enjoin more test in the format as the State test are given. They should also provide students with ample time learn the information that need to be learned. When I was in high school we were on block schedule, which only gave us four classes every day. So we had eight classes total. We spent almost two hours in each class. So that gave teachers more time to cover material and they were able to make the test longer since we had a longer period of time to take them. However, we only saw them ever other day.
Standardized testing is biased against students who lack the skills needed to effectively manage their behavior disorders, and/or the background knowledge to understand the test’s vocabulary. Students who are given classroom accommodations routinely will score much lower on an achievement test than their actual level when those accommodations are not available. In order to get a clear picture of a student’s cognitive ability he/she needs to given more than one ability test. Educators who are not holding students to a high standard are behaving unethically and denying those students the opportunity for academic success and a quality education. When looking at diversity needs in the classroom, the definition of diversity should encompass all types of student differences, not just racial and cultural, but also include the needs of students with different behavioral deficiencies, backgrounds, and coping
Authentic assessment, though sometimes referred to as performance-based assessment is not a new idea, in fact its history dates back to the 1950’s. With more than half a century of debate on the subject in varying branches of thought, this paper will focus on a few of the key concepts of authentic assessment as seen through the lens of an artist. An investigation of the literature begins with a brief look at the historical concept of mastery as was practiced through the ancient system of patronage, workshops, and guilds. The discussion that follows will examine the theoretical thought on authentic assessment and the implications for practice.
As with any program within the school system, these assessment and intervention services are used for the purpose of being improved. One of the strongest strengths is that they are tailored to the needs of the children. Children with developmental delays learn at a slower and uneven rate and there are certain skills that must be taught by direct instruction. There is no skill that can be taken for granted by parents and teachers. These programs help the students learn and be in the right developmental stages. Additionally, students have Individualized Educational Plan, commonly referred to as an IEP. IEPs have their special needs, along with recommendations, concerns, and goals for their future. As good as IEPS are, there are some major weaknesses with it. Primarily the stigma it brings students being labeled by their disability as if it is one size fits all. Because of this many feels like the IEPS are outdated and don't work towards inclusion. There has to be a way around these feelings for students which can label their strengths and weaknesses within the school without labeling the students by a condition. It is necessary to have a clear understanding of all parties so that the child can have adequate services and support. But it should not leave a stigma on their for their entire educational