BL2 Chapter 5 Thoughts

Chapter five explains in detail things to consider when assessing, how to assess it, and we learn about the norms-referenced versus the criterion-referenced measurement interpretations. I do not use the norm-referenced measurement (partly due to me being a first year teacher) because I feel that each student is different, each group of students are different and what I care about is how every single one of my students did individually. I feel the criterion-referenced measurement gives me just that. It measures how the student mastered the curricular aim. The main idea of this chapter was to get teachers to think about "what to assess and how to assess it," and also to avoid relying heavily on last years assessment. Keeping current on one's assessments from year to year is important!

BL1 Chapter 4 Thoughts

Chapter four really made me think about how important eliminating bias in my assessments is to my student's success. Popham states that the best way to do this is to simply be aware of it and the need to eliminate it. This makes perfect sense because if we aren't aware of something in the first place it's very hard to eliminate. Also, assessment accommodations are the most practical and necessary procedures to minimize bias for students with disabilities. I completely believe these accommodations are necessary for the success of these students and I implement the Timing and Scheduling Accommodation regularly in my classroom.