Since math instruction is tied to student math achievement through a math assessment system, discuss what type of involvement math teachers should have in this assessment system and why.
Since math instruction is tied to student math achievement through a math assessment system, discuss what type of involvement math teachers should have in this assessment system and why.
We both work in smaller school districts and are very fortunate in that we get a large amount of input when it comes to our math assessment systems. Assignments and grading are completely up to individual teachers.
In Jenn’s school district teachers use common assessments and those assessments are administered on the same days; however, it is up to the individual teachers to decide how they get ready for those assessments and what grades are actually entered into the grade books. Point values given to homework, quizzes, tests, and any other assignments that may be given in classes are up to each teachers discretion. The common assessments that are used were developed by the teachers who teach those subject areas, and are always able to be altered if others agree with the changes made. The concept of common assessments was brought up by teachers as well; the district has never stepped in and questioned what the department is doing.
Katelyn’s school district is similar, but they don’t even have common assessments. It is completely up to them what they want to teach and at what pace they want to do it at. The only common assessment at this school is MAPS testing which is given twice a year.
We believe it is very important that teachers have a majority of the input regarding assessment for several reasons.
1. People will support that which they help to create: If you want buy-in from the teachers, they need to have input.
2. Teachers are professionals: You need to trust their input because teachers know their subject matter and their students better than anyone.
3. Every class is unique: Students have different strengths, different weaknesses, and different needs. A teacher is able to adjust to those on a daily basis. An exterior influence, such as the district, may not be able to seed those needs.
After discussing this question, Laura and I feel that it is in the best interest of the students to have their assessments developed by their teacher. We feel this way for several reasons, for example, the teachers know what the students need and what they have been taught. Also, they know the best ways to help their students be successful on assessments due to their relationships that have been built throughout the year. In addition, the teachers are the ones who are in direct contact with the students and the curriculum on a daily basis, not the district coaches. When we as teachers are not allowed in the assessment development process, the ones who are ultimately penalized are the students due to the lack of their teacher’s input.
During our discussion, we discovered that our districts differed in assessment development. For example, in Laura’s district (Toppenish), the district has no involvement on the assessments that are in the classroom, whereas, in my district (Yakima) they have nearly total control of the assessment development process. In Toppenish, the teachers get together and develop common assessments to use in their classrooms how and when they want. In Yakima, the district’s math coaches develop the main assessments that are to be used by the teachers at the end of each chapter. The problem with this is that the tests are too difficult for the students to pass and therefore causes a high failure rate unless the teachers teach strictly/directly to the tests.
In conclusion, although Laura and I come from different districts that differ not only in size but in assessment practices as well, we still feel teacher input is important for student success.
~Lisa & Laura~