Why It Is Important That Students Measure Their Academic Progresss

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:

  1. document progress
  2. uncover lingering challenges
  3. 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

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