| To improve student performance, the assessment cycle must be completed by implementing changes in instruction based on the conclusions from the evidence. Often teachers may have the evidence to identify weaknesses in students but may fail to follow through by providing the instructional support the student needs to improve. Sometimes the information collected is recorded as a grade and the teacher moves on to the next concept not knowing which students still need help. Pressures from high stakes testing and pacing guides often push teachers to go for coverage instead of teaching in depth concepts or teaching for understanding. This component of the Classroom Assessment Cycle is really about using assessment to discern what each student knows and can do before proceeding to new instruction. For example, when from an analysis of data, a teacher finds clues indicating that a reader may not have the strategies in reading to comprehend what is read, then to complete the cycle; the teacher must design instructional activities to address this student’s learning need. Examples of such instructional activities may include a goal setting session with the student to identify specific reading strategies to work on, student practice sessions in which he strives to use a particular reading strategy, and taping sessions in which the student tapes himself reading and then, with the teacher, analyzes his performance. These strategies suggest a very specific purpose for the assessment process – informing and improving student performance. Grant Wiggins emphasizes this purpose. “The aim of assessment is primarily to educate and improve student performance, not merely audit it” (Wiggins, 1998). Black and Wiliam define this purpose as ‘assessment for learning’ and cite extensive research evidence supporting the use of these assessment strategies. In their research summary, Assessment for Learning: Beyond the Black Box, Black and Wiliam list five key, research-based factors that promote improving learning through the use of classroom assessment including:
- the provision of effective feedback to pupils;
- the active involvement of pupils in their own learning;
- adjusting teaching to take account of the results of assessment;
- a recognition of the profound influence assessment has on the motivation and self-esteem of pupils; and
- the need for pupils to be able to assess themselves and understand how to improve (Black & Wiliam, 1999).
These key factors highlight the use of assessment evidence by both teachers and students to take action, modify instruction, and as a result improve student learning. |
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