blog entry 4 |
Assessment Technology |
Introduction:
The use of technology-based assessments in the classroom is becoming more common as we see technology improving. Technology can be used for a myriad of different things in education, one of those being assessing student learning. Teachers can use software’s formative and summative assessments from software such as SuccessMaker, Istation, and Renaissance Learning to assess student learning and use data from the software to determine program placement of students and how they can adjust their teaching strategies. There are pros and cons of using technology for assessment, and teachers need to remember the importance of using the ITSE standards for technology when implementing assessments through technology. Technology can be used for a myriad of different things in education, one of those being assessing student learning with formative and summative assessments. Technology to Facilitate Ongoing Efforts to Assess Student Learning Teachers can utilize technology to facilitate efforts to assess student learning in the classroom by using different types of software such as SuccessMaker, Istation, and Renaissance Learning that are designed to provide screening, progress monitoring, and outcome assessments. These programs assess the students and provide immediate data based on student performance, which allows teachers to inform their teaching practices and accommodate students according to their educational needs. “Assessment data assist educators not only in planning instruction but in developing specific interventions for a student” (Bahr & Bahr, 1997). Many software programs offer a base-line assessment, which is the screening assessment that determines the level of students academically. Then progress monitoring occurs with continued practice of skills. Finally an outcome assessment is given which determines if the students are mastering the content material. The importance of software programs and facilitating assessments is that they promote student success by being individualized so that students move at their own pace and ability level. SuccessMaker: SuccessMaker is instructional software that assists students with personalized instruction in reading and math mastery. It provides teachers with data so they can make informed decisions for students in their classroom. Teachers use the individualized data on each student to gain knowledge on the students’ levels of learning. Teachers can see the gains of their students and see which students are struggling with specific material. Since SuccessMaker is for all student learners to help them achieve success, a teacher could use SuccessMaker in a half-hour time slot to re-teach or have students practice reading and math skills that may have not been mastered in the classroom (SuccessMaker, 2015). Istation: Istation is a software program that assists teachers in assessing students and gathering data immediately from the program to help with student program placement. Istation is used for screening, progress monitoring, and outcome testing. Teachers use Istation as a research and standards-based formative assessment in the areas of vocabulary, word analysis, comprehension, and math. With the use of Istation, students work on individual paths according to their level and teachers can view student progress immediately. Teachers can use Istation to help them determine the educational needs of their students and group them into groups for tiered instruction (Assessments, 2015). Renaissance Learning: Renaissance Learning is a software program that assesses student learning and is used to accelerate learning for all. The program has STAR Reading and STAR Math assessments where students are tested and the data from the assessments are used as a base line for placing students in reading and math programs based on ability level. The STAR Reading assessment produces an Accelerated Reading (AR) level, which the students use to find AR books to read and test comprehension on. The STAR Math test places students in levels for Accelerated Math (AM). The AM program allows for differentiated math practice and is based on the individual’s math skills. Teachers can use Renaissance Learning to add to their teaching. For instance, AM can be used to enhance or help build math skills that the teacher is currently teaching in math (Renaissance Learning, 2015). Formative and Summative Assessments Formative and summative assessments are both ways of monitoring and evaluating student performance in their education. The difference is formative assessment is evaluating and monitoring what the student is learning based on activities and assignments throughout the unit of study to make sure students are grasping the content and preparing for mastery, while summative assessment is evaluating students’ comprehension of content material by giving a quiz or exam at the end of instruction (Gunter & Gunter, 2014). Teachers can use technology for formative and summative assessment by using software like the ones mentioned earlier to assist students in their learning, and the student data from the software to inform their teaching practices. With SuccessMaker, Istation, and Renaissance Learning, the formative assessment is done by teacher observation of students performing the program material and the summative assessment is the data that the teacher collects on the students’ performance of the program. Pros and Cons of using Technology to Facilitate Assessment There are pros and cons that teachers might encounter when using technology to facilitate assessment of student learning. One pro is that most software is tailored for the individual and students work at their own pace to gain success in learning. Another pro is that by using technology, data can be easily collected and teachers can use that data to inform their teaching. State tests assess student achievement and data is collected. This data “reveals which of your students performed advanced, proficient, basic, and below basic. This could help inform how you choose student groups, create seating charts, and differentiate for individuals” (Alber, 2014). A con for using technology to facilitate assessment is that there can be glitches in the software or programs and they might not work appropriately. For example, in the state of Montana, “The new computer-based tests were delayed twice because of a problem with how test questions were loading into the online platform” (Brouwer, 2015). Another con for using technology to facilitate assessments is that teachers might start to rely only on technology to assess student learning. Though technology is a great way to engage students, there are other ways for teachers to assess student performance and teachers should not rely only on technology to assess student learning. Teachers need to rely on other ways to assess student learning in case there would be problems or glitches with technology or in case there are not enough devices to use in the classroom. Also there are creative ways such as exit slips to assess what students are learning in the classroom. What is the importance of assessment technology in connection with the ISTE standards? The importance of assessment technology in connection with the ISTE standards is that when teachers use assessment technology they can engage students in the learning process and help students learn in a creative, innovative way. By using assessment technology, teachers are also able to tailor to students specific needs and differentiate how students are learning and retaining information. The different types of software available for technology assessment allow for all students to participate in the education at their own level and they can monitor and assess their own progress, leading them to educational success. Also the data from assessment technology assists teachers in making informed decisions about their way of teaching which leads to student success as well (ISTE Standards Teachers, 2008). Concluding Paragraph for Software to Support Assessment Using software to facilitate assessments is an important part of technology. There are many forms of software available to teachers for assessment that enable students to be successful learners. The software also enables teachers to use data to inform decisions that will assist the teachers in adjusting their teaching style so that students can be successful learners. Technology assessment is becoming a more intriguing practice as technology continues to develop over time. With the assistance of the ITSE standards and technology assessments, teachers are able to engage students and help them achieve educational success. References Alber, R. (2014). Three ways student data can inform your teaching. Retrieved March 27, 2015, from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/using-student-data-inform-teaching-rebecca-alber Assessments. (2015). Retrieved March 27, 2015 from http://www.istation.com/assessment Bahr, M. W., & Bahr, C. M. (1997). Educational assessment in the next millennium: contributions of technology. Preventing School Failure, 41, 90-94. Brouwer, D. (2015, March 26). After two delays, SBAC exams get green light for next week. Billings Gazette. Retrieved March 29, 2015, from http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/montana/after-two-delays-sbac-exams-get-green-light-for-next/article_f7fc9cb7-e38f-5bc9-b157-0e008bc835a0.html Gunter, G. A. & Gunter, R. E. (2014). Teachers discovering computers integrating technology in a changing world. Retrieved from http://gcumedia.com/digital-resources/cengage/2014/teachers-discovering-computers_integrating-technology-in-a-changing-world_ebook_8e.php ISTE Standards Teachers. (2008). Retrieved March 29, 2015 from http://www.iste.org/docs/pdfs/20-14_ISTE_Standards-T_PDF.pdf Renaissance Learning. (2015). Retrieved March 28, 2015 from https://www.renaissance.com/about-us SuccessMaker. (2015). Retrieved March 28, 2015, from http://mytrainingconnection.com/products/successmaker
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AuthorJennifer Schaff ArchivesCategories |