I believe that different types assessments should be happening in a classroom everyday. The first one, the one that is more common, is formative assessment. This kind of assessment is not only happening every day, but should be happening almost every period during every lesson. This is the type of assessment that drives instruction and paints a picture of where each child is and where the class is as a whole. Formative assessments can be done through class discussions, whiteboard work, "tickets out the door" and conferencing. Through these, a teacher can figure out what to be teaching next or what to teach more. In my classroom, after the teach/learn we have guided practice where we do formative assessments on whiteboards. By doing that, we can quickly see children’s understanding or lack thereof, and address it right then and there. Then, during independent practice I always conferring with students. That way, I can see who is struggling and succeeding. Why wait until the end of class for a child to tell you? Who knows if they even always would tell you if they were having trouble?
Another type of assessment that will be happening in my classroom that is not as common but still necessary is summative assessment. This type of assessment happens to place a value and judge student learning. These are assessments such as end of chapter/unit assessments. As teachers, we need to see if as a whole students do understand and can show their knowledge. This should not be scary for anyone because as long as formative assessments have been done along the way, teachers will know that students are understanding what is happening day by day and will be able to perform on a big chapter/unit test. If students are showing and providing the information that prove they are understanding steps along the way, then they should not be nervous about a bigger, more formal exams. Formal exams are needed to practice for standardized tests such as the PARCC.
Another type of assessment that will be happening in my classroom that is not as common but still necessary is summative assessment. This type of assessment happens to place a value and judge student learning. These are assessments such as end of chapter/unit assessments. As teachers, we need to see if as a whole students do understand and can show their knowledge. This should not be scary for anyone because as long as formative assessments have been done along the way, teachers will know that students are understanding what is happening day by day and will be able to perform on a big chapter/unit test. If students are showing and providing the information that prove they are understanding steps along the way, then they should not be nervous about a bigger, more formal exams. Formal exams are needed to practice for standardized tests such as the PARCC.