The Importance of Educational Assessment

Parents often ask us how they can use assessment data to support their children’s learning. Think of assessment as a quilt whose pieces include standardized test results, classroom measures, report cards, and other information on your child’s learning. These quilt pieces should come together to support each student’s academic success.

There are a lot of state and federal rules about testing and measuring students’ academic performance. Regardless of these mandates, parents must receive ongoing updates on their children’s academic progress to provide added support at home. Parents should ask teachers how they gather information about learning and respond to lingering gaps. And, how can they help their children?

What Questions Should You Ask Your Child’s Teacher?

Assessment is less about standardized tests and more about strategies that teachers use every day to check on progress and make learning visible. Here are some questions to ask your child’s teacher and school:

What kind of tests do you give and how often do you test?
How do you use the test data?
In addition to tests, how else do you find out what students know and can do?
How do you use ongoing daily assessments to confirm what students know during various learning activities?
How do you involve students in their own assessment of learning?
How do you and they know what to do next if students are not making sufficient progress?

What Impact Can You Have On Your Child’s Learning?

Parents are the primary teachers of their children. Additionally, parents are the greatest influence on their children’s academic success. By monitoring and supporting their children’s achievement throughout the school year all children can achieve their best.

Laura Greenstein, Ed.D. Author, GenParenting.com Guest Blogger, and Founder of the Assessment Network www.assessmentnetwork.net

Edited by Mary Ann Burke, Ed.D.