Measuring Student Learning Tips for Teachers

Providing students timely and accurate feedback on their learning is one of the most important parts of teaching. Learn more about assessment, evaluation and measuring student learning. In this #2ndaryELA Twitter chat recap, teachers share common assessments they use, explain their favourite assignment types and explain how they use assessment data.

Q1: What types of informal assessments do you use to measure learning in your classroom?

A1: I use formative assessments such as entrance/exit tickets, journal questions, and verbal “quizzes”.

A1: I do a lot of quick writes, journal writing and quizzes to check in with students about their learning.

A1: Responses to warm-ups, games like Kahoot, Quizlet, class discussions, rough drafts

A1: We start every class with choice reading or writing, so I confer with Ss during this time. Each Ss has a page in my notebook where I document our chats.

Q2: What is your favorite or most creative way of assessing students?

A2: Plickers! 🙂

A2: I love to assess students using creative projects such as creating a video or integrating art etc. I think a balance of assessment types projects, essays and tests are important.

A2: I tried out creating Hyperdocs in Google Slides as a way to teach grammar this year and love it! I found all kinds of online practice and used Google Forms for the final assessment.

A2: Love our FRIDAY open mic. I can assess writing, speaking, listening, and reading while Ss perform and host the event.

A2: I love quick writes! I just recently did one with my students.

A2: I love quizlet live for practice. I use Quizlet test feature for informal- I actually print mine out so I can run 2-3 different quizzes at the same time (reduce cheating) and I can change the quiz structure without losing the content for modified assignments

Q3: Are you required to use certain formal assessments or do you design your own?

A3: All assessments are made by the teacher where I teach. I create all my own assessments. We do have to administer a reading test twice each year to determine student reading levels.

A3: No required assessments in class. We do the MAP testing 3x a year plus state testing in the spring

A3: Summative assessments have to be the same across the grade level.

A3: We don’t have any official common assessments other than MAP tests.

A3: We can do whatever we want for formative assessments so I create my own.

A3: We MAP test 2x a yr, fall, and winter. County issued quarterly multiple-choice assessments- NOT text specific, designed like PARCC.

A3: continued- quarterly Performance-based assessments – designed by county – graded by the teacher, mostly essay/project design.

Q4: Are your assessments based on standards? Skills? Content? How does that affect the design?

A4: Assessments are a demonstration of skills and concepts taught in a unit. They align with our curriculum standards. I assess most things using a Level 1 – 4 Rubric.

A4: That affects the summative assessments for sure – we want to use the correct question stems that match the standards and the standardized tests.

A4: Some assessments based on standards, i.e. grammar quiz focused on a standard that has lots of practice of that standard leading up to it

A4: Other assessments require content knowledge but are still focused on standards, i.e. a quiz on the class novel would require students to have read, but questions would test standards rather than what happened

A4: Our assessments are based on accurate execution of the skills based on standards.

A4: Standards-based which I like b/c I can choose various resources.

A4: I try to balance standards and aesthetic response. I want to know what they know, how they know it, and why it matters or resonates.

Q5: How do you use data from assessments to plan future lessons?

A5: I use data to figure out what Ss know – and can, therefore, be enriched – and what students still need to know which may require re-teaching

A5: Data lets you know who needs more support, if a lesson needs to be taught again to everyone if students have mastered a skill and you can move on, and where you need to improve next year

A5: I use my data to see what worked and what needs to be retaught. I also know how to group my students for small group instruction based on my data.

A5: If I notice that a trend of missing info is present I work it in next unit. Make sure I note it for following year. If handful in same class miss it, I look outside factors like seating, absences etc. I also do a quarterly survey where I solicit feedback on the unit.