Pondering Assessment

Williams, Connie. (2014). Pondering Assessment. Library Media Connection, 8-11.

Amy Woods

CA- Assessment Strategies

Summary

In her article, Connie Williams, a teacher librarian in Petaluma, California, suggests that it is time re-examine how student library research skills are assessed. It is easy to create and grade multiple choice, short answer, and true/false assessments; however, these types of tests only require students to recall facts and tell us little about student learning. Furthermore, assessments of final products don't reveal student understanding of the research process or other library skills, such as creating citations, evaluating websites, or searching effectively for information. If we really want to gauge student understanding of these skills, formative assessment is key. Williams points to the Common Core Standards for Literacy and suggests breaking the research into smaller steps, allowing the teacher and teacher librarian to check in with students throughout their process. She cites Kathy Schrock (www.schrockguide.net) and the Big 6 reflection questions as a means to help students assess their own learning. She concludes by stating our ultimate goal is to create “competent researchers” and our assessments should be “instruments that help guide students toward that goal.”

Evaluation

Williams definitely makes a solid argument for formative assessment. So often, educators get caught up in the end result and forget that the process is what is really important in student learning. The types of formative assessments that Williams points to, allow teachers to give students feedback and positive reinforcement for important life skills. This seems much more valuable than a letter grade on an end product.