Cassie Szmyd

CAM
The Comprehension Assessment Model is basically a data
notebook for all assessments in a classroom. The teacher plans CAM
along with all the different assessments to make sure they monitor
every student in the class throughout the whole year. Assessments are
an essential tool in the classroom to make sure every student is
learning and comprehending the information being taught to them.
The first two types of assessments are formative and summative.
Formative is ongoing and given during instruction. The assessment is
usually small, has a very small point value, and gives continuous
feedback to the teacher. Summative, on the other hand, is a form of
an assessment that is given at the end of a lesson. Summative
assessments don't always have to be test or quizzes, rather they can
be in the form of PBL (project based learning). These assessments
usually have a high point value, causing them to be extremely
important. Along these two types, there are informal and formal
assessments. Formative and summative fall into the informal and
formal categories, which allow assessments to be informal formative,
formal formative, etc. Informal assessments are not planned and have
little to no structure. They don't have a point value because they are
given to assess the students as the lesson is being taught to make sure
every student understands the information before moving on. Formal
assessments are structured and planned and points are awarded
during the assessments.
Diagnostic and benchmark assessments are other forms of
assessments are completely different than any other forms. Diagnostic
assessments are company made and measures the students
understanding in a certain subject area, measures if any extra help is
needed in certain areas, and measures if the student has any learning
disabilities. These assessments are given one on one to make sure the

teacher is evaluating the student properly. Benchmark assessments

measure a specific topic and not the student as a whole. Benchmarks
are either company or teacher made and show how/if students are
meeting their academic standard or goals.
Lastly, there is a final assessment called the RTII Process. This
assessment is teacher based and it is basically what the teacher does
for the student. The teacher will identify the students problem, modify
instruction for the student, and then give the benchmark assessment
to test if the student comprehends the information to a greater extent.
This is also where the teacher sections off the class into tiers 1, 2, and
3 to know the different learning styles of each and every student.
Overall, assessments are a big part of teaching and are
extremely important to help teachers know the students abilities and
academic level. One important aspect of assessments is that they
have to follow the standards. If the assessments don't follow or don't
abide by the standards, then they are not going to be useful in
measuring the students academically. Assessments are necessary in
all classrooms and allow for teachers to understand the way students
learn and what they learn.