7. Assessment

Rationale, Standard Connection, Self-Evaluation

During the summer of 2018 I took AEDU 303 Educational Psychology online. While taking this class I completed a test on google forms and developed an analysis after the tests were graded. The Psychology test includes 8 multiple choice questions worth five points and 2 essay questions worth 10 points for a total of 60 points overall. After grading the tests, I analyzed the data and determined which next steps needed to be taken for two focus students. It is important for educators to gain knowledge and understand how to conduct assessment as well as collect data from the assessments. Data collection allows educators to determine student strengths, define learning goals, and focus in on feedback.

The Psychology test shows my competence in meeting the Illinois Professional Teaching Standards performance indicator 7K which states, the competent teacher “appropriately uses a variety of formal and informal assessments to evaluate the understanding, progress, and performance of an individual student and the class as a whole”. By creating this test, I have shown evidence that I can develop and provide a formative assessment to my students that produces results I can use to create improved lesson plans that will benefit my students. Tests and data collection are not the end result; completing assessments should be a continuous method of teaching which allow educators to develop more ideas and differentiated lessons to meet students' individual needs.

The test analysis shows my competence in meeting the Illinois Professional Teaching Standards performance indicator 7J which states, the competent teacher “uses assessment results to determine student performance levels, identify learning targets, select appropriate research-based instructional strategies, and implement instruction to enhance learning outcomes.” By collecting data, I have a clear idea of how well my students are understanding the material. By completing the test analysis, I have also met the Illinois Professional Teaching Standards performance indicators 7M which states, the competent teacher "maintains useful and accurate records of student work and performance, "To evaluate and keep record of my students work, I created a chart that includes individual students percentage, z-score and t-score. I also calculated data from the class as a whole to find the mean, median, mode, range, and the standard deviation (population). Using this data, I was able to create a plan to improve performance in my students for future lessons.

The development of the psychology test and the test analysis project allowed me to develop the skills to meet students' individual needs. This project helped me to understand the importance of collecting individual data as well as whole-class data. On google forms I was able to receive immediate results once my students were finished with their formative assessment. Creating online assessments offers teachers a quick turnaround time for student responses/grades. Overall, this assessment project taught me how to focus in on my student's needs, collect reliable data and develop individualized plans for the future.

Rationale, Standard Connection, Self-Evaluation

In Fall of 2020 I completed my student teaching at Elim Christian Services in the High School Bridges Program. I was placed in a tier 3 classroom with students who have a variety of abilities. To reach individual student's needs, I created two differentiated quizzes for our language arts lessons each day. Both quizzes are for the same lesson but have been differentiated to meet individual student needs. The seven students in my class are placed into two groups at the beginning of the school year based on their learning abilities. The quiz needs to be more differentiated for group 1 students as opposed to group 2 students. I have provided one example of each quiz that meets the individual group abilities.

These artifacts demonstrate my competence to meet the Illinois Professional Teaching Standards knowledge indicator 7F which states, the competent teacher "knows research-based assessment strategies appropriate for each student". To differentiate an assessment for various learning styles it is important to know how each student learns. Some of my students benefit from having multiple choice answers with picture icons and words. The other half of my students benefit most from short-answer questions. This shows my ability to know which research-based strategies work for my individual student's needs. In creating these differentiated quizzes I also show my competence in meeting the Illinois Professional Teaching Standards performance indicator 7Q that states, the competent teacher "uses various types of assessment procedures appropriately, including making accommodations for individual students in specific contexts". Many of my students are able to learn as a whole group across multiple disciplines however, two of my seven students fall into the group 2 accommodations for language arts. This shows my ability to differentiate my assessments in order to provide data that better displays individual student knowledge.

I focused on creating the language arts lessons for the longest duration of student teaching. I learned it is crucial to provide assessments that meet individual student needs in order to receive data that is appropriate and accurate. Learning how to differentiate assessments has benefitted me in a variety of ways that I will be able to enforce in future career opportunities.