Topic 6 - Testing Assessment

Learner performance is continuously being evaluated in the schools today.   It seems as if we evaluate everything from a simple spelling test to whether or not a student can overcome motor reflexes.  Does testing it always have to be the same boring, mundane procedure that we all know only too well?  The simple answer is no.  Testing can and has evolved as technology has evolved.  It seems as if the traditional classroom setting has been slow to change but change is definitely on the way.  There are several new programs that allow for group participation as well as individual participation that can easily test learner performance.   “Clickers are being used in elementary through college-level classes to support assessment and engage students” ( Jonassen, et al. 2008, p. 231).   A clicker is a small wireless device that has numbers/letters that the student can press to submit an answer.    Students want to utilize technology whenever possible.  They get excited about being able to doing something that allows them to feel as if they are doing something innovating.  Teachers would be foolish to not take advantage of the fact that students want and will improve their performance just be simply utilizing technology in the classroom. 

Another way that teachers can easily evaluate student performance is an eportfolio.  An e-portfolio is an online collection of the students work (writings, artwork, video clips, etc), reflecting growth over a period of time.    The eportfolio is an easy way for a teacher to look and see what the student has learned… not just tested on.   The knowledge that the student is presenting on their eportfolio is a direct reflection of what they have created, worked on and is a reflection of their ideas and thoughts.  “Electronic portfolios can be a very practical assessment tool depending on the knowledge level of the teacher and the amount of time they can or are willing to invest” (Abrenica).  Computer based tests are yet another way for teachers to assess student learning.  The computer can easily serve as a link between a test and students.  “…Well-structured forced-response item pared with well-crafted response choices can indeed assess complex learning outcomes, such as knowledge concepts, analysis, and application” (Jonasses, et al., 2008, p. 238).  However, one of the greatest dangers of computerized testing is if the tests are poorly constructed no meaningful learning will take place and student learning will remain complacent.   The validity and reliability of such testing depends on the teacher creating a atmosphere that is inter-woven with computerized testing that requires the student to think above using only their memorization skills. 

Teaching is an art.  As a painter has brushes, paints and canvases… teachers have computers, books, and students.  Each must utilize their tools to create a finished product.  Unfortunately, many students will enter into classrooms where they don’t know what the teacher expects from them and the teacher does not know how to convey exactly what they want.  Rubric’s are a way to achieve contentment from both the teacher and the student.  They create a checklist for the student and the teacher to make sure that all required expectations are present in the assignment.   Teachers have so many tools that they can utilize in the classroom today.  Unfortunately, far too many don’t take advantage of the new technology that can engage and entice students to want to learn.  Students will use their tools that are learned in the classroom and hopefully become life-long learners in what is sure to be a technologically driven society.

Abrenica, Yolanda.   Electronic Portfolios.  Retrieved February 26, 2011, from http://edweb.sdsu.edu/courses/edtec596r/students/Abrenica/Abrenica.html.

Jonassen, D., Howland, J., Marra, R., & Crismond, D. (2007). Meaningful learning With Technology(3rd Edition). Columbus, OH: Pearson/Prentice Hall.