Assessment Practices

This school year, I am really focusing in on assessment practices and strategies to increase student engagement and self awareness. I want my students to internalize their own learning and achievement. I want them to articulate what essential learnings they know and what still challenges them. I want them to think about the learning outcomes and not a mark.

Some successes I have used this year-

- I continue to use learning passes, Do Now Activities and end of the lesson reflections. Here is the journal sheet my students use at the start and end of each class.

- I continue to use exit slips and learning passes to check their understanding. Here are a few. I cannot take credit for the ideas or sentence starters- I have come across good ideas from books, websites and colleagues.

summary triangle (format seems to be a bit asew when converted from word to google doc)  I borrowed an idea from a talented math colleague I have the pleasure to work with and have put bins at each of my class tables (we do not have desks at our school), with the necessary supplies I expect them to use regularly.  I will stop during class and ask them to draw on their mini white board, write on one of the stickies, calculate on the scrap paper and so on.  I can do quick assessments of their learning without losing time for them to get up and gathering materials or me passing out mateirals.

I like to call the exit slips "learning pass"  instead because it is another avenue to help my students focus on what is important and why they are there.  "Exit slip" has a more of a punative conotation to me.

exit slip cards  Here are a few prompts I have gathered from various sources or thought of to use with my students.  I have a bunch cut out and stored in labelled envelopes to pass out when needed. 

- As the research says, I am using comments only on all of my formative assessments and many of my summative assessments as well.  My students have responded well, even though it is different for them.
- As colour is so key to kids, I use green, yellow and pink highlighters when looking at their products. I have them use the colour codes to self assess their work. I put a traffic light on each assignment or assessment they do and either colour it myself or have them colour it to show where they are at on that learning outcome.  Recently, I have added blue to communicate that they are ready for some challenge work.
- I have created flip cards with these colour codes for them to communicate their learning during team and independent work. I have replaced the red/green cups from previous years with the 4 colour coded flip cards as the cards communicate much more than the cup. The added benefit is there are no more "cup song" renditions before and after class! (Some of my colleagues are using the Marzano work of green, yellow, red and platinum cups)
- I have co-constructed criteria with my students instead of giving out a pre-made rubric on many of my assignments and projects.  It does take time, so I cannot do this for every product. 
- I have been creating checklists and self assessments to focus on 21st century skills (competencies) and essential learnings.

Self assessment rubric

- Aside from the traditional paper copies, I have made checklists on google forms and use my ipad to record observations as students are working. No paper is needed and I can look back on the spreadsheet to see trends and transfer observations to my gradebook to provide feedback to students and parents.