How do you know if they know?
I was asked to present at a professional development day for several school districts in Eastern Iowa. My presentation is entitled, "How do you know if they know? Re-examining assessment through the lens of learning" and will describe the theory behind my current grading and assessment practices. The theme of the day is the Iowa Core Curriculum and I believe my assessment practices mirror at least some of what is being framed as a movement here in Iowa towards "assessment for learning."
Regular readers of this blog know that I no longer report a single score for a test, but instead report students' understanding through multiple learning targets. Homework and quizzes are viewed as feedback opportunities rather than summative assessments. Students may re-take parts of the "test" and their newest level of understanding will always replace the old.
The slides below will be used at the session and make the most sense if you view it full-screen along with the speaker notes.
In addition, the packet with an outline of the presentation and a few selected Educational Leadership articles that all session attendees will receive is available here.
Finally, I created a small website with links to additional commentary on standards-based grading and suggested further reading.