Oh assessment...
I'm a huge advocate of informal testing, with the occasional formal test to help students prepare for a world of rigorous formal testing. I honestly think students learn more from hands on, informal assessments then from cramming for a written test. Good assessment is time consuming, but it is totally the teacher's responsibility. Without planned, thought-out assessment, there really is not point to teaching. I think back on my educational experiences and how assessment worked. I learned much more from the small assessments along the way that I could later apply to the written assessment at the end of the unit. This type of teaching was always displayed by those whom I would classify as "fantastic teachers" not because I necessarily got easy A's in their class. In fact, I would say it was exactly the opposite. Good assessment doesn't mean easy assessment on either the teacher nor the students' part, but it does mean assessment that is valuable and engaging.
How do you want to get your kids excited about assessment?
I think the main way to get kids excited for assessments is to not make them scared of them. You do this by having the tests be an activity to show what the kids already know. They shouldn't be stressful or tricky. If they students feel confident that they can do well on their assessments then I think they will be more excited to prove through them what they know!
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