Philosophy of Assessing Student Learning

In order to ensure that your students are learning and progressing, teachers need to have a

way of assessing their students learning. There are various ways to do so and there is no correct

way. It is important to assess learning because most things that students learn will become harder

and build on each other. It is essential to their learning later on that the students understand the

earlier material. Each year the students are different, which might require slight changes to the

grading and/or testing material that I use in my classroom.

I plan to assess student learning in a variety of ways. One way I plan to do so is through

projects. I believe that at the end of units students should be able to put together all the

knowledge they have learned through that unit to create something to show their understanding

and learning. I think this is important because it shows how well they understood each topic and

it helps them express what they learned, as well as learn more and review at the same time, rather

than just take a test and have that show their learning. I do think that tests are good ways of

assessing their knowledge for certain subjects, however, I know that not every student is a good

test taker and just because they don’t do well on a test does not mean they didn’t understand the

material. I think that projects and cumulative assignments are a good way to show this because

they can include many aspects that might not be included on tests and it can help them express

their understanding without being stressed for time or knowledge. I will uses tests when

appropriate, but more often I hope to use cumulative assignments and projects and teachings to

allow the students to show their learning rather than strictly tests.

I think that each assignment should have clear instructions as to what the student should

do and how they will be graded on it. I think that curves should be used when necessary and

extra credit should be offered to students who do all the work and have struggled and just need
an extra little boost to get a better grade. When they have shown that they are trying their best

and completing the work I think they should be allowed to have some help to get the grade that

reflects how hard they were trying and how they were improving. One way that I will use to help

my students show what they are learning is for them to use what we’ve been learning about in

class and to teach it to the class. This helps them show that they know what we are learning

about because one of the best ways to show that you know something is to teach it to others.

I plan to use several formative and summative assessments and informal and formal

assessments in my classroom. I think one great activity to use is a think-pair-share. This allows

students the time to think about it and share it with a partner. It is great for students who are too

shy to share their opinion with the entire class, unless they want to during the share part. It also

lets them hear someone else’s perspective on it and think and talk about it with someone else.

Another formative assessment I plan to use is exit tickets. This allows my students to share with

me what they have learned and it allows for personal reflection without the pressure of sharing it

out loud with another person. I will use end of unit tests, and final projects as a way for my

students to show their understanding of the entire chapter or unit for a summative assessment. I

will also use the standardized tests at the end of the school year so they can show their progress

from the entire year of learning. I want to use demonstration stations in my classroom as a way

to informally assess my students’ learning. I think these are a great way for them to demonstrate

their knowledge as well as for them to learn more from their peers in the process. I also want my

students to have a fun option of learning, so I want to use games like Kahoot! to still let them

review their knowledge in a fun and less stressful/pressured way. I think quizzes throughout the

units and lessons are good ways to formally assess how much they are learning in the chapter.

This will help me to know how each student is doing and it will let me know what topics they
might be collectively or individually struggling with. I think it is also a good way for them to

check in with themselves throughout the lessons so they know what they need to work more on

or see how they are doing.

It is important for teachers to know their philosophy of assessing their students’ learning

before they start teaching. Having this practice established will help them to know when the

students are struggling and what they can do to help them. This will also help the students to

solidify their understanding of the topics they are learning. Assessment is a necessary part of the

learning process and it is important that teachers know how they want to assess students and that

they be willing to be flexible when changes are needed.