Philosophy of Assessment

Amber R. Myers

North Carolina State University

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Philosophy of Assessment
In high school, the first time I did poorly on an assessment was in eleventh grade

chemistry. I had done well throughout the rest of the class; my average before the final exam was

a 95. However, when the exam came, there was very little on it that my teacher had taught us.

Throughout the class, she focused on teaching to the exam from the last semester rather than

focusing on the standards for that class. I was not the only one that struggled on this exam, and

the test brought down the entire class average. The teacher was worried about bringing up test

scores and missed the mark on student learning. Assessment’s purpose is to help students learn

and grow. A friend of mine in college had a professor who only taught the test and criticized the

students for not studying hard enough if they did poorly on the exam rather than helping them do

better. Assessments are not always bad, however, and I have seen them used properly in many

other places, like in my high school American History class where the teacher used pre-tests to

gauge what her students already knew, then formed her lessons around that. Because of these,

and so many other experiences with assessment, I realized that assessments are not bad, but, like

any tool, simply need to be used correctly in order to achieve real results. From the experience

with my chemistry class in high school, I realized the importance of basing student learning on

standards rather than teaching to the test. From my friend’s experience, I realized that the teacher

plays a big role in student learning, beginning with helping the students to understand and

improve on their mistakes. From my history teacher, I realized the value of assessing throughout

the unit in a variety of ways to help students grow. My philosophy focuses on assessment as a

tool to guide student learning; this tool is based on the standards for the course, given throughout

the learning process in a multitude of ways, and changed for students who need modifications or

accommodations. It is a tool that can help students to succeed, but their results are not the only
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thing that defines them as a student. In my practice, my goal is to implement assessment as a tool

for student learning in all the ways mentioned above.

I believe that assessment is a tool that, when used properly, can help the teacher and

students thrive and flourish in the classroom and in their learning. Chappuis, Commodore, and

Stiggins (2016) call educators who use assessment effectively for the promotion and

measurement of learning “assessment literate” (p. 2). These teachers use the results from the

assessments they give their students to inform their instruction and improve learning for the

students involved, as well as use grading practices that help students understand their own levels

of progress (Chappius, Commodore & Stiggins, 2016, p. 2) As Stiggins (2014) states, the way to

fix assessment practices is to view assessment “as a teaching and learning tool—far more than a

tool for public accountability,” (p. 38) . In my classroom, this will look like students getting

involved in their own learning, especially through formative assessments that give them the

opportunity to reflect on their learning. Not only will my students reflect on their learning

through these assessments, but I will reflect on my teaching and, together with my students, work

towards reaching the standards they need to know.

I believe that using assessment results to guide further instruction is the most important

aspect of the cycle of assessment. In class, we discussed the assessment cycle in depth, and

everything always came back to assessment as a tool in the process to help the students and

teachers succeed. Teachers should use the results in order to see what else their students need to

reach the learning goals. Part of the reason that teachers assess, according to Stiggins (2014), is

to “gather information in the moment to decide how far an individual student has progressed in

his or her learning and what should come next or to find out whether their instructional strategy

is working… The practice of classroom assessment is the art of knowing what information is
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Philosophy of Assessment
needed for each decision, how to gather it, and how to use it effectively” (p. 12). In my

classroom practice, while I will work on completing every part of the assessment cycle, I will

especially focus on how to improve the instruction for all students by analyzing the results of the

assessments I do and encouraging my students to do the same.

I believe that assessments should occur throughout the learning process – before, during,

and after – in order to best help the students grow and achieve. Assessing before learning allows

you as a teacher to see what the students already know, what misconceptions they may have, and

what they do not know so that you can plan instruction that meets those needs. During

instruction is it important to continue to assess the students to make sure they are getting the

information, processing it, and are able to apply it to other things. If there is a disconnect from

what you are teaching and what they are getting from it, assessing them during the instruction

will help you locate that disconnect and push you to find a new way to help the students

understand the material. This includes several formative assessments throughout the process and

is called “assessment for learning” (Chappuis, et al., 2016, p. 6). Finally, a summative

assessment should occur after learning to make sure that all the learning goals and standards

were met (Chappuis, et al., 2016, p. 6). I will continuously use classroom assessments in order to

prepare my students, not only for their end-of-grade tests, but for their futures as well.

I believe that, in creating both formative and summative assessments, it is the teacher’s

job to make sure that the assessments are aligned with the standards taught throughout the unit

(Chappuis, et al., 2016, p. 1). Teachers should not assess students on things they did not teach

them. In other words, when creating any kind of assessment, the questions or prompts need to be

authentic to the instruction given (Wormeli, 2017, p. 137). In addition the questions should

avoid confusing negatives, the prompts should be clear, and there should be a variety of question
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Philosophy of Assessment
styles, especially on formative assessments (Wormeli, 2017, p. 130, 133). When creating

assessments, they should also measure what they are supposed to (valid), be the same every time

(reliable), and avoid biases that would unfairly disadvantage or advantage some students over

others (Witte, 2012, p. 85, 94, 105). When creating formative assessments, its important that the

purpose is always clear, including what learning targets are being assessed; it is also important

that both students and the teacher can use the results to track learning progress (Chappuis, 2016,

p. 7-8). I also believe that, when giving summative assessments, it is important to give a variety

of assessment types. For topics where it is more important for the students to master the

information, a traditional test is more appropriate. However, in a situation where students can

better show what they learned, a performance assessment is more appropriate (Lenz, Kingston &

Wells, 2015, p. 47). In my classroom, I want to have a variety of assessments to get a fuller

picture of what students are learning. In creating those assessments, I will work to make sure

they are reliable, valid, and unbiased, as well as true to the standards being assessed.

I believe that all students can succeed, regardless of their individual needs. While

assessing students with diverse needs, it is important to heed to whatever modifications or

accommodations they are provided, as well as documenting when you do something different for

those students. I also believe that, although not all students have specific learning needs, all

students learn differently and thus should be taught and assessed differently. I believe that

differentiation is an important part of assessing diverse learners because differentiation shows us

“how to teach the same standard to a range of learners by employing a variety of teaching and

learning modes” (Tomlinson, 2000, p. 9). In my classroom, this will look like challenging the

students who need more advanced learning, while modifying to make it more practical for

students at a lower learning level. For summative assessments, performance-based assessments

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are the most useful in this case because they allow students to show what they know at the levels

at which they can understand it.

I believe that final assessments are useful for determining student growth and learning

but should not be the end-all-be-all assessmnet for students, teachers, or the schools that risk

penalties from poor scores. I also believe that teachers should be taught how to interpret the

results of the final assessments in a way that helps them to decide what their next steps will be

for the following year. While it is definitely important to have some kind of test that displays

what students have learned over the course of the school year, I agree with Neill (2009) that

students are more than their score on a single, high-stakes test (p. 25). In my class, I will teach to

the standards that the state sets for my subject area and do my best to prepare my students for the

final exams, but I will make sure that they understand that a test score does not define them, no

matter what the rest of the school system tries to tell them.

Below, on page 6, is a sample of my syllabus that includes my grading policy.

My philosophy of assessment works towards my ultimate goal as an educator—to teach

students the standards and information they need to know to the best of my ability. In order to do

that, it is important that I use assessment as a tool to constantly improve my instruction. In this

way, not only will I be helping my students learn better, I will be fulfilling two of the North

Carolina Professional Teaching Standards by reflecting on my practice and facilitating learning

for my students. I will also work to make sure that the assessments given in my classroom are

fair for every student because every student can succeed, some just need more to get there. In

doing this along with maintaining a positive classroom environment, I aim to fulfil another

standard: establishing a respectful environment for the diverse population of students that I teach.

With all my beliefs and ideas moving forward, I will work to contribute to the academic success
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Philosophy of Assessment
of every student in my classroom. Knowing and articulating my beliefs before becoming a

teacher help me to acknowledge the importance of assessment for student learning and will help

me to remember to assess myself constantly in order to continuously grow to be the best educator

I can be for my students.

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Philosophy of Assessment

Grading Policy

Homework: 5%. Students are

expected to do homework that is
assigned, as it is beneficial to
their learning. It will be graded
based on completion.

Classwork: 10%. Students will be

given assignments to complete in
class, both individually and in
groups. This work is graded
based on completion and participation. Any work not finished in class may be sent
home as homework. If this occurs, it will still be graded as classwork.

Participation: 15%. Students are expected to participate in class discussions,

answer questions, and otherwise participate in class. For students who are not as
comfortable as others participating in class, there will be alternative opportunities
to earn the participation grade, including group work and in-class assignments.

Quizzes: 20%. Quizzes will primarily be vocabulary and checks for understanding
throughout the unit. The purpose of the quizzes is to show me where students are
in terms of the learning goals for the unit, as well as to show the students what
areas they understand or need more work on.

Tests/Projects: 50%. Tests and projects will occur at the end of every unit to
make sure that students have reached all the learning goals for the unit. The style
of this summative assessment will change depending on the unit, giving students
the opportunity to demonstrate their learning in a variety of ways. About three-
quarters of the assessments will be traditional tests that focus on student growth
and learning. These tests will consist of a variety of multiple-choice questions,
short answer questions, and an essay question. The remaining quarter of the
assessments will be projects, which allow students to create something in order to
apply and demonstrate their learning.
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Philosophy of Assessment

Grading scale: North Carolina operates on a 10-point grading scale statewide.

Thus, the grading scale is as follows:
A: 90-100
B: 80-90
C: 70-80
D: 60-70
F: 0-59

Point recovery: Students who receive less than a 70% on a test or project will be
given the opportunity to raise their grade through point recovery. The student will
be asked to attend a review session with me, then may retake the assessment in
order to gain back points. This will be allowed only once per unit and only on
projects or tests.

Late Work: Late work will be allowed, as long as it turned before the end of the
unit. However, it may be subject to point deductions, depending on the assignment.
However, I strongly suggest, for the student’s own benefit, that all work is turned
in on time in order to do well in the class and understand the concepts fully. Any
work assigned is to help reach the learning goals and objectives.

What a Grade Means in Ms. Myers’ Class: The most important thing that I want
students to know is that a grade does not define you. A grade is a way of telling me
how much you have grown and where else you need to grow in order to reach your
highest potential. However, just because you have a lower average does not mean
you are any less intelligent or any less worthy. It means that you can grow and that
is an important part of being human. If you are ever concerned about your grades,
please feel free to contact me and we can talk about it.

Ms. Myers’ Expectations of Students: My expectation for students is that they

come to class prepared. I expect them to be respectful of myself, their
classmates, and themselves. I expect students to come to class ready to learn and
eager to grow.
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Citations

Chappius, S., Commodore, C. & Stiggins, R. (2016). Balanced Assessment Systems: Leadership,

Quality, and the Role of Classroom Assessment. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

Lenz, B., Kingston, S. & Wells, J. (2015). Transforming Schools Using Project-Based Learning,

Performance Assessment, and Common Core Standards. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-

Bass.

Neill, M. (2009). A Child Is Not a Test Score: Assessment as a Civil Rights Issue. Root &

Branch, vol. 2, 28-35.

https://www.fairtest.org/sites/default/files/root%20&%20branch%20fall%20-

%20MN%20testing%20only.pdf.

Stiggins, R. (2014). Revolutionize Assessment: Empower Students, Inspire Learning. Thousand

Oaks, CA: Corwin.

Witte, R.H. (2012). Classroom Assessment for Teachers. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Wormeli, R. (2017). Fair Isn’t Always Equal: Assessment and Grading in the Differentiated

Classroom. Portland, ME: Stenhouse Publishers.