What is the Purpose of Assessment?

     Q:  What is the purpose of assessment?

     A:   Good assessment is multi-disciplinary and multi-faceted.  It should be designed to address four major concerns of every teacher.  One, it should provide meaningful feedback; that is to say, are students learning what I’m teaching?  Two, it should be used to effectively measure instruction; in other words, is the instruction tailored to the individual needs of students.  Three, assessment is used to assess and evaluate progress – are students progressing in a satisfactory manner.  And, four, assessment must inform instruction.  That is to say, it must be used to help develop appropriate activities that will ensure student success throughout a course or topic.  In adhering to these four basic concepts of assessment, I use tools such as projects, demonstrations, portfolios, rubrics, and writing samples to help me effectively gauge each student’s progress and performance in a lesson.

            Count on it!  You will be asked a question about assessment and its value in a lesson or unit.  Prepare yourself well for this query because it will come up in one form or another.  Review those notes you took a few semesters ago or get a copy of that old textbook on assessment and evaluation.  Know that this is a critical question and one that every good teacher – both elementary and secondary - should be prepared to answer.  Count on it!