Module 2: Article: Making the Most of Assessments to Inform Instuction

As I read this article by Risko and Walker-Dalhouse I realized that this article is addressing differentiated instruction and RTI.  I really liked how the authors addressed pacing guides because what we, as teachers, should be doing is evaluating students and discovering what skills they need or don't need and then really focusing in on those skills that students need.

Students' skills, strengths, needs, and interests should be used when creating instruction and then assessments should be created and used that are tailored to those skills and instruction.  Since common core focuses a lot on deeper thinking, assessments should evaluate more than just the basic knowledge of a book.  Assessments should be used to test the deeper knowledge and multiple skill sets that have been taught and modeled.  Using open ended formats for assessment not only can evaluate that deeper understanding, but a teacher can also evaluate writing and vocabulary.

My district uses benchmark/interim testing each nine weeks in each subject area.  I really liked how this article addressed that type of testing as well.  These tests address every skill that is to be taught within the nine week period, however, may not assess the skills that were taught based on the needs of the students.  Using assessments to guide instruction is part of differentiation.

Allowing students to take what they have learned and evaluate themselves or allowing them to be apart of the process that creates the assessment will give students more understanding of how they will be assessed. Since students are in a very technological world, these technology modes should be incorporated into the instruction and assessment.  Technology should be incorporated into the regular classroom and used as part of instruction and assessment and not used sporadically.  These different technological modes can be beneficial to lower readers and writers and ELL students.

Classroom assessment should be based on frequent data collection, and instructional adjustment based on the data.  Teachers need to be pushing students to that deeper level of understanding and thinking but it needs to be done as each child needs it and not tailored to a "one size fits all" model.

Risko, V. J., & Walker-Dalhouse. (2010). Making the most of assessments to inform instruction.
The Reading Teacher, 63(5), 420-422. DOI:10.1598/RT.63.5.7