State Tests vs. My Tests
In my first year at Greenville T.L. Weston, I taught Biology I, which is a state tested subject. The school was in danger of receiving an F grade and losing accreditation, so I was pressured to spend much of the year teaching with a prescribed method to the test. As a result, virtually all of the assessments I used were created to look just like Biology state test questions. However, I believe this is the most effective way to practice for the state tests. It was convenient to have practice state tests to model the test questions, but it was more enjoyable to design my own tests.
In my second year at North Panola, I designed the aerospace and geology tests. Aerospace assessments also included correctly constructing gliders, hot air balloons, and rockets. Below is an example of a biology test and a geology test.
In my second year at North Panola, I designed the aerospace and geology tests. Aerospace assessments also included correctly constructing gliders, hot air balloons, and rockets. Below is an example of a biology test and a geology test.
|
|
Informal Assessment
In my first year, the curriculum specialist and I were primarily focused with test data and using data to drive instruction, but I also relied heavily on informal assessment to guide my teaching. In my class, the students used clickers and individual white boards on a daily basis. These informal assessment techniques allowed me to quickly determine an approximate percentage of how many students were grasping the content. These forms of informal assessment also allowed me to see if a large percentage of students were making similar mistakes in their work and allowed me to adjust the way I was teaching.
Modified AssessmentsThroughout my two years of teaching, close to 15% of the students I taught had Individualized Education Plans. Despite the large number of students with IEPs, I never had a special education teacher in my classroom in the first year. In the second year, the students had the option of testing in isolation and having the questions read aloud. As a result, I always had to take the students with learning disabilities into consideration while designing assessments. It was my duty to shorten the questions and remove one answer choice for the students.
On the right, you can see an example of a modified test. |
|
Writing Assessments
When I switched to North Panola High School for my second year, I began teaching Aerospace, Geology, and Biology II, and Intro. to Biology, which are all non-tested subjects. At North Panola, many of the students read and write well below grade level. Consequently, all non-state tested teachers are encouraged to integrate reading and writing into their daily teaching. In addition to giving traditional tests, I try to give my students at least one writing assessment every nine weeks.