Assessment: Connecting the Parent, Teacher, and Student

As a pre-service teacher my experience with on-going assessment in the classroom has been limited. Aside from formative questioning during a lesson or paper grading for a host teacher; I've never had to keep a formal document for on-going assessment. This week we talked about the importance of finding a best-fit assessment tool that works for the teacher in two of my classes.

In Catching Reader's Before They Fall, Johnson and Keier write, "Formative, on-going assessments-by teachers and students based on daily work- need to be mainstay." Though many schools focus on standardized tests, keeping a daily record of student progress, particularly for young readers, can help the teacher understand if the student is constructing a reading system that works for him or her.

In order for on-going assessment to be successful between the student and teacher, the teacher must determine a system that fits into the daily structure of the classroom. During reading workshop, a teacher should be able to meet with students through individual student conferences or student observation to complete assessment on a daily basis.

Once documentation has been taken over a period of time, it is important to analyze the information that has been collected and determine what goals need to be set for the student. If the child has been assessed by more than one teacher, it is helpful to have a conference with all teachers. Johnson and Keier write,"Together teachers can notice patterns in a child's strategy use and behavior. By examining running records over time, teachers can be monitoring changes in how the reader works on the text, what the reader is noticing, what is easy, what is confusing, and what needs the teacher's attention."

Though many on-going assessments in the classroom will be used solely for academic use, consistent and on-going assessment in the classroom can lead to better communication with parents. As parents seek reassurance about their young children a teacher can refer to reading assessment tools for specific examples to help guide conversation with parents. Having examples of student work to refer to can help the teacher provide advice on how the parent can better help the child at home or how the parent's can provide encouragement. As parent's approach the teacher with other questions, an assessment document can help the teacher recall goals and the goal timeline for the student.

Through the use of an on-going assessment tool in the classroom, teachers are able to assess students in an authentic environment to ensure the students are creating a reading process that works for them. The recording of on-going assessments by teachers helps ease communication between the teacher and parent to ensure parents are receiving current information regarding student progress and goals.