Assessment
For a young child, going off to school can be an intimidating experience. Thoughts of whether the other children will like them, if they will have enough money to buy an ice cream at lunch, or if they will have homework that night overwhelms their minds. However, a major part of schooling is testing, and many children freeze when they hear that word. Think about yourself in a testing situation then imagine what it is like for a young child to feel this defeating anxiety. That is why I am informing you, as fellow committee members, teachers, and learners alike, of these ideas for assessing children in math and science. I hope you will all take the time to think about these different methods, and possibly agree on a way to assess our children in the classroom, and eventually present these ideas to the school board to be voted on.
Assessment
As teachers of math and science,
we need to stop and ask ourselves what it is we are hoping to accomplish
in our classroom. Is it most important for the child to get the right
answer, or are we more concerned with how he or she gets the answer?
Granted, we are striving for the correct answer, but sometimes numbers
are added incorrectly, data is written down wrong, or a child's handwriting
is misread. Personally, I feel it is the process the student uses
to get to the answer which is important, whether it is right or wrong.
"Because the intent [of a new model of assessment] is to assess the creation
of knowledge and the processes involved rather than to measure the extent
to which students have acquired a coverage of the field of mathematics,
a much wider variety of measures, many of them qualitative, are needed"
(Bright & Joyner,
1998, p. 7).
This sums up the theory of assessment. When assessing children, teachers need to think about the knowledge that the student uses to create such an answer. Solving a non routine math problem, "tends to be complex, often yields multiple solutions, involves naunced judgment and interpretation, involves application of multiple criteria, often involves uncertainty, involves self-regulation of the thinking process, involves imposing meaning, and is effortful" (Bright & Joyner, 1998, p. 7). The question that remains is how do we assess our children so they get the most out of their math and science lessons?
When you hear the word test, or assessment, what do you often think of? I know I think of a 50 question multiple-choice test with a certain amount of time to finish it. Does that sound familiar? Unfortunately, I am afraid that is what most people envision when they hear the word "test", even children. One way to assess our children in math and science is to keep testing the same way teachers have been for years. We, as teachers, can pass around a multiple choice test, give the children forty five minutes to complete the test, they can turn it into us, we will grade it, give it back, and the grade they get on their test is how we know what they know and what they don't. Fair? Well, if all you want to see is the student's capability of giving the right answer then yes, this is a good way to test. It shows students know how to memorize the facts they have been taught and apply them when asked by the teacher (Romberg, 1992). Isn't that what math and science mostly are, the memorization of facts? What is wrong with this method of testing our students?
This technique offers no creativity or understanding of the subject taught, nor does it increase the use of problem solving skills, or the imagination. Students are so concerned with getting the right answer, all they do is memorize class notes. The teacher has no way of observing the processes the student uses to get the answer he/she got, and chances are, if a student is asked to verbally explain how he/she got the answer, he or she would not be able to. The end result of this method of assessment is a grade. Students are always worried about the number grade or letter grade on their paper. How many times, as students, did you really look back at your tests to see where you went wrong? Okay, how many times did you look at your neighbor's tests to see his or her grade? Exactly. I remember always being concerned with what my friends got, as long as I beat them my grade was good, even if I failed, leading me to compete with others (Romberg, 1992). This perspective is not that of a positive one to be presented by children, therefore, I think we need to move away from this method of testing and look toward something new, exciting, and maybe even a little challenging.
With technological advancements being made nearly every day, one way to assess our children in the classroom is through the use of computers. Assessment through computers allows the child to be tested at his or her own pace, individually. If one student is more advanced than another, he or she will be tested at a level appropriate for him or her (Bright & Joyner, 1998). Testing through computers also allows for a quick response to a child on his or her strengths and weaknesses (Bright & Joyner, 1998), whereas a teacher has to grade everyone's papers, and possibly wait for other students to take the exam before he or she can give it back to the students. By the time this happens, the students are already into another topic, and the previously tested topic is not nearly as fresh in their minds.
However, there are some drawbacks when it comes to testing with computers. Some schools are unable to afford such new technology (Bright & Joyner, 1998). How would students in the lower economic schools be tested? It is not really fair if some schools can switch to this method of testing and other schools have to test differently. Another disadvantage to this method of testing is that the teacher is not able to fully observe the progress of the students, or the processes he or she uses (Bright & Joyner, 1998). The teacher is not fully aware of what the student is doing wrong or why. Even if the teacher sees the results, he or she would have to take time to go over the test with each student, seeing as they would all be taking different tests based on ability level.
A final drawback to testing with computers is the child is not tested on the process of getting the answer, he or she is tested on the answer. Even if the computer software allows for the child to show the process, there could be a different process that the child uses not in the computer software. Therefore, the student would be marked wrong. Personally, I do not think this method is a proper way to assess students, although, I do think it would work for review, practice, or bonus opportunities in the classroom.
A second way to assess students in math and science would be through observation of, for example, everyday class activities. A teacher is able to observe, first-hand, the processes in which a student reaches his or her conclusions (Bright & Joyner, 1998). The teacher would be able to write down general notes each day based on the students' work in class, and at various times throughout the year, the teacher can review those notes and see what progress the student has made, and in what areas he or she is lacking. This way of assessment is more personal for the student because the teacher knows each of his or her students (Bright & Joyner, 1998), and is able to see where extra time may need to be spent in lessons and such. There is also a lower level of pressure and anxiety amongst the students. There is no announcing of tests to get the nerves all worked up, there are just normal classroom activities going on, and the children are in their regular classroom setting.
In spite of all the positive aspects of this style of assessment, there are some negative aspects. It is impossible, even if the teacher continually walks around the room, for the teacher to be taking notes of all the children at once. In addition, some children may be absent for a certain activity, some children may have accomplished the task before the teacher was able to get to that side of the room, and if there is a substitute, he or she would not know what to take notes on for each child.
Another negative aspect to this way is children who go to a resource room or another room for certain subjects are unable to be assessed by their own teacher, the way he or she assesses everyone else. This is sort of a setback for that child because he or she is being assessed in a different way than the rest of the class. However, teachers should always be assessing their students through observation, whether other methods are used or not. It is an important way for teachers to really understand how and what their students are learning.
Yet another way to assess children in math and science is through a constructive approach (Romberg, 1992). Examples of this would be projects, models, charts, papers, and tables. Through the constructive approach, a child is able to relate the information taught to what they already know, based on their own understanding and interpretation (Romberg, 1992). A child has a more hands-on approach to learning, and is able to visualize what they are taught. "Levels of achievement might be better defined and measured not in terms of facts and procedures that a student can reproduce but in terms of best estimates of his or her levels of understanding of key concepts and principles underlying a learning area" (Romberg, 1992, p. 216). This approach allows for more than one answer, and more than one way of getting to the answer. The child is encouraged to use his or her imagination, and to think further than just the answer, but more so how the answer is found.
Unfortunately, this method of assessment is time consuming. A child is not able to just reach the answer, but he or she has to try through trial and error, or other strategies. Many times, a child may get frustrated in trying to solve the problem, or the child may just get bored working on the same thing for a period of time. Though spending time on problems is not necessarily a bad thing, many teachers have certain curriculum to get through before the end of the year, and it may not be possible for them to spend a long time on a certain objective.
Similar to the constructive approach is the "open sentence" (Romberg, 1992) way of assessment. Through this method of assessment, the child is able to spend time explaining the reasoning behind the problem, and how he or she got the answer (Romberg, 1992). A child can construct a chart or table to help in the explanation, and to also help visualize what the relationship is. Another positive aspect is that many children will approach the problem from a different way yet reach the same answer. This allows children to see that there are different ways of solving the same problem. Research has also proven that many other countries have different ways of reaching an answer to the same problem (Romberg, 1992). There are universal systems of working problems out that are shared with many other countries. Even if students have not learned the same way to do a problem, there are still standard ways of achieving it (Romberg, 1992). Therefore, this method would be known to children from other cultural backgrounds in the classroom.
However, these word problems demand time. The child has to think the problem through, try solving it several times, and then relate the problem to other information. If a child has trouble processing such problems, or even reading such problems, this could affect the way he or she understands the problem, and eventually the subject.
Another hands-on approach of assessment for math and science is that of the pragmatic approach, or experimentation (Christofi, 1998). The student is able to make a prediction, test the hypothesis, and draw conclusions from the data (Christofi, 1988). This allows the student to learn through process, incorporate other subjects in to the work, express creativity both as an individual and in a group, and it encourages interpersonal skills through group work (Christofi, 1988). With this process, the child is always learning, not just from the teacher, but each other as well. Many times a teacher will divide the class into groups, such as in science class, and the students will be asked to solve problems working together.
This is beneficial for some students who may not be as strong in some areas as others, but it is also hard for those who are more advanced because they may end up doing all the work. Also, children may engage in more social conversations than the teacher would like, therefore accomplishing less than hoped for. However, projects, such as experiments, tend to hold more interest, and enthusiasm for the students. They would become more motivated through the use of their imagination (Christofi, 1988), and they would learn how to accept other ideas through team work.
The final two assessment approaches I would like to bring to your attention are the use of a portfolio (Cutler & Monroe, 1999), and self-assessment (Kulm, 1994). The reason I am combining the two is because I feel they are equally important, and I also believe these two options are the best for the math and science program in our district. I feel the children would benefit most from these two ways because they incorporate a little bit of everything that has been discussed thus far. A portfolio created by each student represents his or her creativity, enthusiasm in a subject, and understanding of what is being taught (Cutler & Monroe, 1999). A child is able to decide what it is that makes up his or her portfolio, and therefore can have fun with it.
A major advantage of a portfolio is that it is portrayed as more of a project, something the child will be able to personally look at and notice the progress he or she has made over the year (Cutler & Monroe, 1999). A portfolio can be made up of writings, charts, experiments, journal entries of personal strengths and weaknesses, and other things the child may want to add (Cutler & Monroe, 1999). A student is able to view this as something time can be spent on and not something that has to be rushed through because of a time limit. The student is then able to decide individually, and on their own, their strengths and weaknesses of the assignment, topic, and course. The student does not just have to turn in something to get a grade, but he or she is able to grade it on their own, based on how he or she thinks they did, therefore, motivating a child to do his or her best work (Kulm, 1994).
Of course, this method is not
flawless. A student may not excel in writing or drawing, but that
is okay, because he or she is able to take their best work and put it in
the portfolio. Through all this, the teacher will be conducting observation
in the classroom, and he or she can add that to the portfolio, but most
importantly, the student can have a sense of pride and enjoyment looking
at the finished product. In order to self-assess the project, he
or she will be given a list of criteria to look at, and then grade themselves
based on how much effort they put into their work. Personally, I
feel this is the best solution because it allows for a number of different
approaches for a student to show a teacher what he or she understands.
It allows for more than just question and answer, but for creativity and
reasoning.
I want to take this time to thank you for
listening to the ideas I have suggested and hope that we are all in agreement
for using a portfolio to assess each of our students in math and science.
I feel very passionately for the use of a portfolio, because I feel the
students will feel they have more of a say in their education. After
all, we all need to work together, because we are all part of a team, the
same team.
References
Christofi, C. (1988). Assessment & profiling in science. London: Cassell.
Cutler, C.S. & Monroe, E.E. (1999, Summer). Contemporary education. What are you learning, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?–the diary of a teacher's incorporation of portfolios into mathematics instruction, 70, 52-55.
Kulm, G. (1994). Mathematics assessment. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Romberg, T.A. (1992). Mathematics assessment and evaluation. Albany: State University of New York Press.
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