Blog Post #4: Assessment

Giving students solely "correct-answer" based tests and assessments creates a grossly misleading picture of how students are actually performing in their class in terms of meeting objectives and understanding class material. It's very easy for a student to receive a study guide from the teacher, their notes, or someone else who has taken the class and simply "cram" for the exam; shoving all the knowledge needed to pass the whole class into the space of a day. Sure, they may pass or do great, but they will retain nearly none of the knowledge and have very little idea of how to apply the knowledge they do retain. This is why assessments need to be presented in different format that require students to apply the knowledge they have learned. In regards to the article, these can take the form of journal or blog responses (much like this one) and formal essay writing, The strength of these assessments is that there is not one right answer, but rather the student is evaluated on their ability to display what the have learned. These responses take a student from simply recalling what happened and when to whom, to explaining the significance of an action, the importance of an event at a crucial moment and how that impacts dynamic characters. These evaluations require critical thinking and skill application. With what students develop in this argumentative and informative writings, they will better understand the components of stories and writing and will have the basis to even construct their own text worlds using what they know from the world around them instead of only operating as a reader and a student. The method of these evaluations does not have to be limited to only writing, however, as students can engage in discussions and in one-on-one peer and instructor feedback through conferencing. We need to teach students not to think in terms of what is right, but rather in terms of how to understand the world around them.