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June 10, 2020 · Leave a Comment

Redesigning Testing with Students in Mind

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If we can redesign testing for the future of our students, what would it look like?

As an educator, I have always questioned the emotional impact that testing and assessment has had on my young students. While monitoring student progress is essential in creating a personalized plan for each child’s academic growth, can too much testing be detrimental to the very students who we are trying to help?

This is a question that I often ask myself as I have noticed that education has relied on more assessments throughout the years, especially in reading in the primary grades.

When I was in first grade, I remember having to read the names of the primary colors and a handful of sight words at the end of the year with my teacher. That, I assume, was my end-of-the-year assessment to go onto second grade.

First grade students nowadays not only have to read a 50+ sight words, they are also expected to read a story that they have not read before with fluency, accuracy, and answer comprehension questions correctly to meet their end-of-the-year target. This is a huge change in expectations that has undoubtedly added pressure on us teachers, students, and their parents.

Recently, #RemakeTomorrow shared the article “More Meaningful Assessments, with the Student ‘Front and Center'” by Melissa Rayworth with me. Reading this article pushed me to think deeply and reexamine the origins of testing in American public schools, its role in perpetuating erroneous beliefs about marginalized groups in our society, and how we can redesign assessments to highlight our students’ strengths rather than their weaknesses.

One of the things that I was glad to see highlighted in the article is student-led conferences, which I have done in my classroom.

Often during parent-teacher conferences, students are not involved in sharing their own learning. Student-led conferences allow students to do just that. With artifacts of learning readily available for students on their desks, students then take the lead to share their work and growth after months of instruction. Parents also have the opportunity to ask their child questions and gain a more personalized perspective of their child’s needs.

Student exhibitions and portfolios are also great alternatives to assessments mentioned in the article. During student exhibitions, students are able to showcase what they have learned, a product created from their learning, and a collection to show their growth, which is their portfolio.

As COVID-19 has shifted learning into more digital platforms, assessing and testing our students must also shift to adapt to our unknown changing times.

If we are to redesign testing and academic expectations for our students, we must also keep in mind the ability levels of ALL of our students, background, experiences, and what is truly developmentally appropriate for all of them.

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My name is Ha. I am a Primary STEM teacher from Texas, a passionate educator of little ones, a teacher-author of interactive educational resources, a lover of Makerspace and STEM, a mother to two, a wife to my high school sweetheart and a forever learner. Welcome to my site!

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Ha ~ Happy Days in First Grade
Where are all of my Rainbow Bright teachers at?!!! Where are all of my Rainbow Bright teachers at?!!! 🌈🎉

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Are you planning on doing a photo op for your stud Are you planning on doing a photo op for your students on Meet-the-Teacher Night?! 🌟

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Turn your anchor chart rack to a cute and easy photo op for your students using a glue stick and streamers! 🍎🎉

Pair with these FREE Speech Bubble Props for PreK-5th Grade! Link in bio! https://bit.ly/3jNdpMl
May we always carry the ideals of what make Americ May we always carry the ideals of what make America loving, kind, generous, and inclusive with us wherever we go and pass it onto our future generations. 🇺🇸

For a more perfect union, we will continue to put in the work, stay informed, and vote for the future that ALL of our children deserve. ❤️🤍💙
I believe in a loving and generous America- the Am I believe in a loving and generous America- the America that opened her arms and provided refuge to my family and allowed us to start anew and build our own American dreams.

I believe in the freedom that is the cornerstone of our democracy and the belief that we are all born FREE to make our own choices, walk our own path, and choose our own destiny wherever it may lead us.

I believe we are better when we are together, UNITED, and accepting of all Americans. 

I believe in these ideals that built our great country and the belief that ALL are welcome.

May all of our students always feel this way in our classroom and and in our schools. 

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This activity right here is one of my favorite act This activity right here is one of my favorite activities for the beginning of the year! 🌟

I make a BIG speech bubble out of black butcher paper and cut out yellow circles for Emojis. ☺️😀😍🥳🤩😟😫

As one of the things on our class Scavenger Hunt during Meet-the-Teacher Night, the kids are asked to take one of the yellow circles and draw the face of an emoji that best describes how they feel about being a first grader. 

This activity is so simple and fun but gives me such information on how the kids are all feeling even before the first day of school!

Using this simple tool, I am able to address any anxiety or stress that they may have during our FIRST Morning Meeting! It’s so powerful to know even before school begins what I need to do to help ease them into first grade! 💕 

We also use the data collected for a graphing activity and then discuss what we can do to help make everyone feel happy and better. 

I love this activity and will definitely be doing this again this year! Swipe to see the before picture.

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