Assessment-RecordKeeping-Reporting

Assessment / Record Keeping / Reporting
 * Placement 1
 * Assessments = Assessments are something that the teacher gives the students (usually in the form of tests) to asses what they have learned and what they still have to learn.
 * For the first six weeks, my cooperating teacher is Mrs. Kratzer and I am in a special education resource classroom. So far, all Mrs. Kratzer's tests take place on Friday. She has a spelling and vocabulary test every Friday. She also has assessments throughout the week. She will take up workbook work, daily work, worksheets, and more to grade and assess what the students know.
 * When Mrs. Kratzer takes up something for a grade, (like a test, worksheet, bookwork, or something for a daily grade), she puts it in one of her two folders. If she hasn't graded it yet, she puts it in her "to be graded" folder. If she doesn't have time to grade it before she goes home, she'll take that folder home at night to keep up with her grading. Then, when it's graded, she puts it in her "graded" folder. On Friday's she takes her "graded" folder and enters those grades into her written grade book. She waits a couple of weeks until she puts it into her grade book on the computer. She does this so if she changes the grade at all then she won't have to change it in two different places. It's easier to just open her written grade book and erase the grade, then replace it with the correct grade.
 * I haven't seen my teacher, Mrs. Kratzer, have to report anything yet. Sometimes she talks with other teachers about the behaviors of some of the students they both have. I do know that there are certain things that as a teacher you are legally required to report. I have been fortunate enough to not have come across anything yet.
 * Assessment refers to the process of finding out, as objectively as possible, how well students are progressing.
 * Diagnostic or placement assessment considers "Where are the students now, and where do I begin with my instruction?" This form of assessment, including task analyzes and pretests, helps teachers determine what knowledge and skills the students already have.
 * Formative assessments are part of the instruction process. (norm-referenced assessments)
 * Summative assessment occurs at the end of the unit or lesson sequence and helps the teachers to determine whether students met the objectives or mastered the content. (criterion-referenced)
 * Placement 2
 * For my second placement I am in Mrs. Fair's first grade gifted class. She does not do many assessment. At the school where I am observing, Wauka Mountain, the whole first grade is using a different grading system this year. Instead of giving the students a letter grade, like an A, B, C, D, or F, they are giving the students a 1, 2, or 3. They are given a number for each standard that is required for that year. A 1 means that they have not yet met the standard. A 2 means that they have met the standard, and a 3 means that they have meet and gone above the standard. Therefore, my teacher just gives assessments with the standard it addresses at the top and assess how each student does. Their are "tests", but they don't weigh a lot like test usually do. I do not like this grading system. I feel like the students should be able to receive an A if they do a good job. They do not understand what a 1, 2, or 3 is in first grade.
 * For record keeping, my teacher keeps all of the student's papers in a folder after the student and parent have seen them. That way, when she does report cards, she has all of the assessments. She does not give the students a percentage on their work like a 90% or 85%. She gives them a number out of another number. For example, if there are 20 questions and the student got 18 correct, the student would receive a 18/20. When the student's are finished with their work, they turn it into the red "finish folder."