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There are a range of reasons for assessment. Among the most important of these is the ongoing assessment teachers carry out to find out what their students are able to do. Only if we know students’ current abilities can subsequent teaching be truly responsive, and only then can we plan how to take students further. We must know what the learner is able to do alone before we know what to scaffold next. This kind of assessment can occur during any normal classroom teaching. Creating a framework to focus in on certain aspects of writing helps the teacher to think in a systematic way about the student’s work, about what they know and can do, as well as to highlight future learning needs. A sample of a writing rubric that is useful to provide a pre-and-post writing assessment of the student is provided.
The “I Can” is a tool that helps students to set goals for their immediate learning goals. This framework needs first to be modeled by the teacher and possibilities brainstormed by the students. “I Can’s” may be customized to the group of learners or made specific to the individual. The listing of skills provides a framework for the learners and the teacher. At the on-set of a class session, once the goals are actualized and written down, students provide a pre-assessment of their abilities at that point in time. At the end of the ten-week class session students then are given an opportunity to reflect on their learning and accomplishments over time and take part in a post-assessment. This format provides a useful way to create and engage students in content curriculum specific to their needs and desires.
Students keep their works together in a binder. Students are routinely asked to find samples of their work that make them the proudest, that were the most difficult, and that show their growth in the class. Samples of “I Can’s”, certificates for successful completion of a course, also show up and displayed readily by participants. Students over-time have developed the language necessary to reflect upon and to discuss their learnings.
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Work Efforts: Assessement