Why It Is Important That Students Measure Their Academic Progress
Measuring Academic Progress Series, Part 1 of 3
This past spring, distance learning disrupted classroom learning for millions of students. As we think about how to improve their educational experience, we must consider how students can self-assess. There is a recognition that engaging students in assessment and having them become assessors of their own learning has significant benefits for academic growth. 
Research supporting this new focus in learning can be found at https://teachingcommons.stanford.edu/resources/teaching/evaluating-students/assessing-student-learning/student-self-assessment.
Alternative Assessments
Families who have sheltered in place and have become “COVID homeschool teachers” of their children generally rely on feedback from teachers regarding day to day assessments rather than large-scale tests to monitor progress. These large-scale tests may include performance assessments, authentic assessment, portfolio assessments, and assessments that allow students to display, demonstrate, and explain their learning. Samples of these alternative types of assessments can be reviewed at https://www.teach-nology.com/currenttrends/alternative_assessment/.
Student Portfolios
When students gather the evidence of their learning into a portfolio, they can:
- document progress
- uncover lingering challenges
- identify appropriate interventions and remediations
Here’s a resource to help you understand how your children can compile their learning portfolios at https://www.commonsense.org/education/articles/4-tips-for-meaningful-student-portfolios.
Distance Learning Assessments
As we enter the new school year, our children will need to consider what they have learned when relying on more distance learning assignments. For more information and guidance, stay tuned for Parts 2 and 3 of the “Measuring Academic Progress” series.
You can also order the newly released Student-Engaged Assessment book by Laura Greenstein and Mary Ann Burke with a 20% discount until 12/31/20 by using promo code RLEGEN20 from Roman and Littlefield at https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781475857825/Student-Engaged-Assessment-Strategies-to-Empower-All-Learners.
Much success as you support your children’s learning reflections for student portfolios.
Laura
Copyright © 2020 by GenParenting
Laura Greenstein has been an educator for over 30 years serving as a teacher, department chair, and school leader in multiple grades and subjects. She combines this background with her experience as a school board member and professional development specialist to bring fresh and original ideas to educators about teaching, learning, and assessing. She consults with schools and districts and presents at workshops and conferences locally and nationally. As an adjunct professor at the University of Connecticut and the University of New Haven, she teaches Human Development and Assessment to undergraduate and graduate students and more recently, Teaching, Learning, and Assessing with Technology in the 6th year Digital Literacy program. She has a B.S. from the University of Connecticut, an M.S. from the State University of New York at Oneonta in education, a 6th year from Sacred Heart University in administration, and an Ed.D. from Johnson and Wales University in Educational Leadership. Her website, http://www.assessmentnetwork.net, is a valuable source of information on issues and topics in assessment. She is the author of multiple books on assessment including What Teachers Really Need to Know About Formative Assessment, Assessing 21st Century Skills: A Guide to Evaluating Mastery and Authentic Learning, Restorative Assessment: Strength-Based Practices to Support all Learners, and Sticky Assessment: Classroom Strategies to Amplify Student Learning.