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Emily Veeser
University of La Verne
ASSESSMENT CRITICAL ANALYSIS 2
Abstract
Formal assessments are used widely in classrooms and are an effective way to gather information
about students academic progress. However, assessments do not need to always be formal tests.
Often times teachers can incorporate informal assessments into the classroom. Informal
assessments should be used in combination with formal assessments to see students skills.
Informal assessments allow students to express themselves without the stress and anxiety that
can come with formal tests. Valerie Hernholm uses many formal assessments which are
beneficial but there are many benefits of including more informal assessments.
ASSESSMENT CRITICAL ANALYSIS 3
all the way up to college. Many schools consider English to be the most important subject for
students to learn. Students need to learn how to spell, write, read and converse using appropriate
English. It is no surprise that English instruction starts immediately in kindergarten and students
are learning more English skills each year they are in school. In Valerie Hernholms second
grade class, they focus on reading comprehension, vocabulary development, spelling instruction
and other language arts concepts. These students are formally tested weekly each Friday. By
having weekly tests, teachers are able to understand how students are progressing. However,
administering these exams weekly can be time consuming and overwhelming at times for
students. A beneficial alternative is to incorporate informal assessments that still require the
student to show their skills, but lowers their affective filter and allows creative expression.
To begin with, spelling tests are used weekly to assess students ability to spell and sound
out words effectively. These spelling tests are formal assessments that occur each week on
Friday. Throughout the week, students practice their spelling words at home and in school.
Hernholm also uses their practice throughout the week as an informal assessment. While these
tests are beneficial, it can also vary on the class. Hernholm has several weekly tests on Friday
which can be overwhelming for a student. However, spelling tests are important for
understanding how a student is progressing. While formal spelling tests are beneficial, there are
other ways to assess students spelling skills. A modification a teacher can make is incorporating
ways for students to demonstrate their knowledge informally. These informal assessments can
lower a student's affective filter and will allow the student to show their knowledge in a less
ASSESSMENT CRITICAL ANALYSIS 4
formal way. It is important to have a combination of both informal and formal tests. The formal
tests provide physical evidence of students ability, while informal assessments allow students to
provide a rationale.
meeting. In an article written by Wright (2000), she suggests using weekly spelling meetings as
a new way of teaching spelling and assessing students spelling. The meetings involved finding
different words and strategies for spelling words. The weekly spelling meeting made the content
relevant and was a new approach to traditional spelling tests. This inquiry based approach aided
students understanding of the sounds of words, spelling strategies, collaboration, and so on,
allowing students to take risks with their spelling because the expectation was not to perform
100% on spelling tests (Wright, 2000, p. 223). Inquiry based learning leads to problem solving
and higher level thinking skills. In order to modify traditional spelling tests to inquiry based
tests, a teacher could incorporate spelling meetings every other week to provide an additional
way of assessing students. These weekly spelling meetings will help students gain a deeper
assessment. For those reading comprehension tests, Hernholm either reads a book of her choice
or chooses worksheets from the internet. Typically, she finds handouts online that have a reading
selection and test questions. She gives students the reading material and the reading
comprehension questions. Students have about 30 minutes to read the material and answer the
questions. If they finish early, they read a book at their desk quietly. The reading comprehension
questions are scored and provide Hernholm an understanding of how well students are reading
ASSESSMENT CRITICAL ANALYSIS 5
and comprehending the information. While these reading comprehension tests are valid, they are
exceedingly repetitive and limiting. Its crucial to incorporate different strategies to teach and
assess comprehension. In order to modify these reading comprehension tests, teachers can
incorporate class discussions about text. By having these discussions, it requires higher level
thinking skills and social skills. By having students discuss as a class and in small groups, they
will share their ideas, gain new perspective and deepen their understanding of the text.
Teachers will see the many benefits of incorporating more literature discussions. By
having whole class discussions, then small group discussions, students understanding will be
richer and the teacher can informally assess students by walking around and listening. According
general language abilities, vocabulary, and phonological awareness for children with literacy
difficulties (p. 629). By engaging students in discussion with their peers, their understanding
will be deeper and their comprehension skills will increase. A combination of both formal and
informal reading comprehension tests and discussions is ideal. These two tests can be used to
gauge students ability to read and comprehend the information. According to an article written
by Hall (2012), as students read texts and have the opportunity to apply comprehension
strategies, they can further develop their content knowledge and strengthen their reading abilities
the teacher can plan effective instruction. In Hernholms class she uses weekly assessments to
see how well her students are grasping information. While these tests are effective, for some
ASSESSMENT CRITICAL ANALYSIS 6
can incorporate more informal assessments. There are many informal assessments that can be
used in combination with formal assessments. Often times, informal assessments can be just as
effective as formal ones. For example, inquiry based learning involves discussions, verbal
answers, and observations which can be used to assess what a student is comprehending. While
Hernholm has an effective way of assessing her students in English language arts, if she
incorporated more informal assessments it would lower students affective filter. By limiting the
amount of formal assessments, students would feel less pressure and would have more
opportunities for discussions which can lead to a deeper understanding of the subject.
ASSESSMENT CRITICAL ANALYSIS 7
References
Hall, L. A. (2012). Moving out of silence: Helping struggling readers find their voices in
http://0-search.proquest.com.leopac.ulv.edu/docview/196854171?accountid=25355