Quote: "Giving a paper-and-pencil test to the entire class rarely provides much useful information; teachers learn much more as they listen to individual children read, watch individual children write, and talk with individual children about their reading and writing."
Comment: Assessment can get pretty complicated, and I think it's so easy for teachers to write a simple multiple choice test because they're easy to grade, but those really don't give you any information on what students actually know and how much they are progressing. I think it's so important to take the time to properly assess your students. Teaching is about helping children learn, and if teachers really believe that, we'll take the time to figure out our students knowledge base and help them progress as much as they can.
Question: With so much focus on assessments of individual students, how do you find enough time to pay attention to and teach the whole class while doing such individualized assessments?
I agree with you! I think a lot of teachers try to take the easy way out when assessing students. It isn't right! Teachers need to take the time to properly assess each student. If teachers understand what students know and where they are struggling then they will be able to better help students progress.
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