Section 11
1.
The Missouri Learning Standards (MLS) is the curriculum used throughout the state of Missouri. Different kinds of proficiency tests that are all focused on the MLS are administered to different levels of students to help a teacher determine the level of abilities of their students in the different subject areas. For levels 1 and 2, a test called Terra Nova is administered while a MAP test is taken by students in level 3-5. Mechanized tests called SRI and NWEA for Math and English all also given to students in levels 2-5. To test the reading level of those in K-2, a Developmental Reading Assessment is administered to them.
The usual results of the exam shows only two or three in each class falls below the average, but, because of the declining population, it is expected that somehow, results may go down.
Reflection:
The presence of a standardized curriculum used by all schools in the state of Missouri is commendable since the learning objectives of each grade level across all schools in the level are the same. If a student wants to transfer to another school at any time of the school year, he can be sure of the continuity of the topics.
2. Two types of standardized test are given to high school students namely, the SAT and the ACT. SAT is generally taken by junior and senior students to check their possible performance in college. The ACT on the other hand is given to a student as a basis for giving financial assistance. 32 marks is the passing rate for this type of test.
Reflection:
The presence of these standardized test for high school students is a good measure to held the student determine or decide the course he is going to take in college as well as to help the school have an idea on how will the prospective student perform while in college. The ACT exam is also a nice way of determining students needing financial assistance during college as this can increase the retention rate of the students.
3. Tests are one of the main instruments to collect data on the performance of students. Different types of tests are given depending on the subject to assess the effectiveness of a curriculum. Readymade package tests are available to ensure that standardized tests are administered. For reading, the Development Reading Assessment (DRA) is available which when administered can help a teacher determine the instructional level of students based on the results acquired. The administration of this test is done by reading specialists. To test the writing skills of students, a rubric that is designed to test the spellings, organization of ideas and logical order of writing of a student is available. The MLS curriculum does not have software to automatically generate results of these tests. However, the NWEA to test the math competencies and ERB to test the writing skills of those in Grades 3 to 5 and the SOI for first grades are computer-based tests. The only problem with the package is the lack of teaching materials to go with it.
Taking computer-based tests are advantageous to the teacher since they will be free of the burden of manually checking the tests as the results are automatic. This would enable the teacher to instantly get the results of each students test and use the data to triangulate the result with the student’s actual performance in the class. In addition, one can ensure that the assessment has been fair as the assessment was not subjective.
Reflection:
Personally, I consider the presence of these standardized a requirement for the teacher to validate the performance of a specific student. The teacher might observe that in class, a student is not active and may conclude that the student does not understand the lesson but after the results of the exam, the student belongs to the upper 5%. The teacher then knew that actually the student understood the lessons but there might be problems with the personality of the student so proper adjustments on how to deal with the particular student has to be made.
4.
Several concerns on the existing curriculum were raised that needs to fixed. One of the concerns is the possibility of having a mismatched on the actual subjects or lessons taught and the content of standardized tests. Based on the results, possible problems exist on informal and persuasive writing area while there was no concern on the reading aspect. If the mismatch is corrected on time, this can improve the consistency of the performance of students in high school. Later on, the performance of these students can be compared to those from other schools or states to aid in national government decision making.
Reflection:
Standardized tests are useless when the topics covered on the tests are not the once taught inside the classrooms for it defeats the purpose of measuring the achievement of the student. How can one measure something that is not taught inside the classroom. The school management must make sure that the coverage of the exams matches the lessons taught in school.
Section 12
- Formative Assessment
Formative assessments would include graded recitations, in-class exercises such as experiments, and pop quiz. The goal of this assessment is to identify rooms for improvement, especially in consideration of teach and student performances. This assessment would transpire within the actual learning process.
Reflection:
I will use formative assessment in my Social Studies class every meeting we have throughout the class in the form of graded recitations, exercises and pop-up quizzes. For example, “how” and “why” questions will be used in questioning the students as much as possible to ensure that they have understood the lessons discussed. Discussion questions can also be used with the use of cards to be answered by the students. A card with a question will be given to a student to answer it and then the student passes this card to another student and writes his ideas on it and so on. Group discussions will also be done by forming groups and students and I will go around listening to the discussions being made. After that the group will report in class the result of their discussions
- Summative
Summative assessment would include weekly quizzes, tests, and end-of-term examinations. The goal of this assessment is to specifically gauge the progress, achievement of students during the entire course of the learning period. In other word, it would gauge what the student learned and how much he has learned.
Reflection
- Quantitative
The quantitative would follow standardizes testing instruments such as scoring criteria for graded recitation and template exam questionnaires. Quantitative assessment provides tests results in numbers that can be put in a graph
Reflection
For quantitative assessment of the performance of students, I will be making an analysis of the performance of students by applying simple statistics to the results of their exams and quizzes to check whether the class understood our lessons. Item analysis would also be done to check for specific topics that the students understood or not.
- Qualitative
The qualitative would include interviews and contextual analysis among others.
Reflection
For qualitative assessment, the students will be assessed based on the quality of work they submitted to me like the projects they do, the quality of the research they made their notes and the writing samples.
