The competent teacher understands and uses appropriate formative and summative assessments for determining student needs, monitoring student progress, measuring student 6 growth, and evaluating student outcomes. The teacher makes decisions driven by data about curricular and instructional effectiveness and adjusts practices to meet the needs of each student.
This artifact is a test that I created within my domain of Physical Education.
This artifact relates to the standard because it is an amazing way to monitor student progress as well as being able to do a check in on overall understanding of the material. A test gives the teacher a way to check in with evaluating students outcomes and also allows for the teacher to do a self relfection on instructional effectiveness.
Overall, this artifact was amazing becuase this is the first test that I have ever written. It allowed me to go through the process of writing a test and being able to see what it is like to write questions that check student understanding.
Test Analysis
What I have completed:
I have completed a test that served to test how well my students understood a book that we are currently reading for my class. I feel that this assessment directly relates to this standard because it is using a formative assessment to determine what it is our students need. I feel that it is very important as a teacher to gauge your students to the best of your ability on how well they are doing in the class, as well as what specific areas they are either falling behind in, or doing very well at so that we are better able to assist them. I feel that the test I have created falls under this standard because the test does a great job at using Bloom's Taxonomy to from the questions, meaning the quality of questions my "students" were seeing was high, and something they may see in their own classes.
Importance of this Test:
The importance of this test under this standard is that it teaches the person how to formulate a test. As in what kind of questions they should be aiming to ask, or maybe even as simple as how many points to make each question worth. Outside of that, the main reason I feel that this test I have created is related to this standard is because it shows how your students are performing as well as how to assist them. Standard 7J says "uses assessment results to determine student performance levels, identify learning targets, select appropriate research-based instructional strategies, and implement instruction to enhance learning outcomes; ". After my students took the test, I was able to see their results, and based on the results I was being showed, I am now able to adjust the way I am going to teach my class so I can better assist them on the areas they were struggling with. As it says in standard 7J "identify learning targets", based on the results I am being shown, I can adjust my learning targets to have my students work on the areas they are struggling with. Which means this test I have created directly falls under this standard, given that it is meeting the criteria. Beyond this, within standard 7k it says " 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;". I am able to see both all of the class averages and how well each individual student is doing on each question. Based upon the information the test gives me, I am able to better understand what the students are not understanding, or what they were understanding well. After I see the test results, I am able to understand what information needs to be gone over and what does not, and that is because I am able to view the "understanding, progress, and performance of an individual student and the class as a whole." Lastly, standard 7m says "maintains useful and accurate records of student work and performance; ". This is an easy one, after the tests have been submitted, I am able to go through each students individual tests and keep track of their scores. That way, I can monitor each students progress from test to test, ensuring that the students who are not struggling do not fall off, and doing my best to assist the students that are struggling to catch up. With these records of the tests they are taking, I am better able to assist each and everyone of my students. Now while I feel that this Assessment that I have created does a fantastic job of meeting the criteria of this standard for the reasons I have provided above, I know that as my education continues, there will always be room for improvement.
What I have Learned:
Over the course of me creating this assessment to meet the requirements of this standard, I felt myself coming across more information about Bloom's Taxonomy than I ever thought I would have. This assessment has taught me how to create an effective test that is challenging yet fair. I was reading about all of the different levels of questions that fall under this criteria and what aspect to each level a question needs to meet so that it falls at a more challenging level. While I am still new to this way of creating tests, I hope that I am able to become more comfortable with it as time goes on, and that I am able to create tests that challenge my students mind, but allow them to feel accomplished when they do well.