Through this course, I have been exposed to several things I did not know about the education system and the changes and revamps circling about discussions of educators. There are many revolutionary minds currently proposing progressive upgrades to former assessment structures.
The first concept introduced to me that was intriguing, where the different branches of assessment opportunities accessible, offer varieties of performance assessment options, thing . That would be the different types of assessments that teachers have access to. For instance, there are performance assessments where students and teachers participate together and test through different methods, like group projects or any research project. Another one is the portfolio assessment where instead of testing the student on a multiple choice bubble sheet, the student is required to compile a portfolio, throughout the course, in which they have the option to use their creativity and unique mind. These two types of test assessments give me reassurance when I envision myself as a teacher. Struggling with time assessments, either multiple choice or fill in the blanks, as an adolescent, I would get very devastated and frustrated since time tests were my weakness. In fact, the majority of my implanted memories of being educated were by teachers who had other activities besides memorizing text and taking timed, rigid test assessments. The real treasures in education came from teachers who allowed me to access my individuality and with the two assessments aforementioned, I can allow the same opportunity for the next generation of students.
Early in the course, we learned about No Child Left Behind and the new and evolving Individuals With Disabilities Education Improvement Act. For my preferences of assessing points, the No Child Left Behind does not make sense when the expectation is that children of different origins, personalities and skill sets should all perform the same and are required to have close to identical scores. And when I learned about the IDEIA, I was fascinated to realize that changes are being proposed for the education system and the testing standards. Teachers, principals and school board members are working on revamping the programs so that students of all speeds have a slot to which they can fit into where they can score an average for the type of personality they are, but not expected to score the same as the smartest student in the class. Currently, they are working on integrating it into the education system, therefore, resolving No Child Left Behind to a test, not the answer, and giving categories to all the pieces of the pie chart of intelligence.
The next topic learned in this course was measurements on gauging learning outcomes that educators have produced for their students. With measurable learning outcomes, there are several different ways to weigh scores and give points for grades to individual students for diverse activities within groups, as opposed to just a bi-annual bubble sheet test. With learning outcomes, however, there are varieties of activities and multiple ways to create rubrics which can guide students through their courses clearly understanding what they need to do to earn the score. The expandable measures range from all sorts of different activities, indoors and outdoors, and they work on creating varieties of activities through these alternative assessments.
Some students have great strengths for situations like the No Child Left Behind and they excel at time tests, however, on the other side of the spectrum, there are many students that don’t necessarily feel as though they are in their element and can be very intimidated and frustrated by time assessments. The IDEIA is revolutionary for the education system, in that, it recognizes the issue of the diverse spectrum of students, with different backgrounds and different types of intelligences. We can only hope that, in the near future, the IDEIA is implemented into the school system even if No Child Left Behind must continue to exist.
The next concept I will take with me from this course is the idea of accuracy and error on assessments. For these cases, teachers are to test their own exams to make sure that they qualify for accuracy through a system of checking the errors. When the teacher examines their own exam, it can be a learning experience for them as well. Another thing teachers can do is look at average scores and realize if there was a certain question a majority of students missed, it could suggest the error is due to the test question, being either vague or too varied. When the teacher works with the student scores to better her test assessments to suit the frames of the students, both the teacher and the students can gain new understandings of more diversified methods. Educators must remember that tests are always subject to error, and the accuracy of the test is dependent upon the types of errors it contains. For this concept, there are several mathematical equations in which teachers can use to calculate error scores, true scores and obtained scores. There are standard deviation measurements they can use in weighing the quality of the scores and tests through the acknowledgement of the average score of the student body. Finally, the skeptical educator comes face-to-face with the paradox of testing and scores, and it can seem that no matter how creative or mathematical the equations, scores are still quite an elusive distinction of character and qualities and cannot necessarily capture all the different traits and strengths that students have.
The next concept that inspired me in our textbook was the chapter on summarizing data and measures of central tendency. This system uses inferential statistics. In the textbook it states, “Thus far we have been talking about statistics in general. In reality, there are two types of statistics: descriptive and inferential. For our purposes we will deal entirely with the “easy” side of statistics, descriptive statistics. Inferential statistics are more complicated and are best taught in more advanced courses.” (p 265) With measures of central tendency when summarizing data, there are several methods that can be used for distribution of points. Each of these methods have a road of their own and the teacher has more options to consider when distributing assessment scores. And although we may never break through the paradox of the score system, for now it possesses several options for averaging scores and weighing grading systems.
The next new topic that was introduced to me were different methods of creating graphing data and blue printing the creative assessments. The more clear and advanced the blue prints for the exam are, the more readable a graph is in seeing how scores exist and compare with one another. Using mathematics and equations, graphs can be an interesting work of art to hand to your students as a separate interpretation of requirements for the course. Graphs and blue prints can range from lengthy and complex to small and simple. Therefore, the teacher has to utilize her creativity with the methods of calculation to produce a valid and accurate scoring system. Ultimately, for these cases, educators are searching for the mean or average of a group of scores for a class of students. The wide variety of examples in a textbook of graphs and blue prints prove how infinite graphs can be when they fit in certain equations accurately.
With all these new concepts introduced, there are still a few I have yet to master. For instance, this concept has been the most difficult concept for me to master ultimately since it has to do with mathematical equations that I have not studied since high school. When I went to Iowa and enrolled in the liberal arts program, I had already earned my necessary college credits for math and science, and due to this, the last math and science course I took was my senior year in high school. Fourteen years later, I realize that although math is strength for me, I am entering the new age of technology and having to re-familiarize myself with the mathematical and scientific calculations for scoring systems that the Internet and information technology has opened gateways to. The cyber-space gateways are more natural for our younger generation than they were for my generation which takes some adjustment on the educator’s part to stay with the technology and times in which their students are experiencing. Ultimately, this will require more practice on my part and will eventually start to make better sense through trial and error.
For the course learning and assessments for the 21st century, I have been introduced to these and all sorts of other complex theories and I realize that only time, practice and patience will eventually lead me to the mastery of cyber-space technology. There are so many concepts to learn and so many categories to divide different types of test assessments that it is really up to the teacher to discover the best method for their course. As a future educator, I will endeavor the new path with an open mind and a PowerPoint board instead of a chalkboard.
References:
Kubiszyn, Tom & Borich, Gary (2010). Educational Testing & Measurement: Classroom Application and Practice (9th ed.). John Wiley & Sons, Inc, 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ. (Kubiszyn & Borich, 2010).
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