Purposes of Assessment
As I was answering the guide before watching the webcast by Dr. Lorna Earl, I told myself that I was at the emergent level of the assessment continuum because of the fact that I don’t actually teach. I began to feel once again that I didn’t deserve to be called an educator in every sense of the word because of this. I could barely relate to the questions being asked in the guide, let alone answer them, so I was skeptical about watching the webcast. Thinking it was a required activity for the course, I watched it anyway and I’m glad I did!
I actually felt empowered after hearing Dr. Earl talk about the different purposes of assessment. I don’t actually perform the assessment myself but being on the receiving end of the assessment, knowing what I know now has helped me look at assessment in a whole new light. By knowing the purpose behind the assessments submitted for my consideration, I am better able to interpret, analyze, apply and evaluate them to help me decide whether to accept or reject a prospective student.
Our school’s admissions process involves the submission of many documents – report cards, official transcript of school records, teacher, principal and counselor recommendation and evaluation forms, student portfolios (sometimes), psych reports (sometimes). In addition, we also require students to take entrance exams (standardized tests) and go through three interviews - one with the Guidance Counselor, one with the Principal and the last one with the Director of Admissions. My job as Admissions Director requires me to screen applications, evaluate documents submitted, interpret exam results, consider the counselor and principal’s comments based on their interviews with the applicant, conduct my own interview and finally decide whether to accept or reject the applicant.
After watching the webcast and reading the assigned articles, I now feel that I can actually do a better job of weighing the odds of each and every applicant for admissions. Whereas before I relied mostly on report cards and test results (assessment of learning), I can now better appreciate the other documents submitted to me (other types of assessment) such as teacher, principal and counselor recommendations that not only rank students but also describe what type of learners they are and how they have succeeded or struggled in reaching the goals set out for them by themselves, their teachers and other members of their school community. The challenge for me now is to modify, create, add or delete questions asked in our application forms and admissions interviews to better reflect the different purposes of assessment in order to gain more insight into a student’s learning journey and whether that student will be a good fit for our school’s mission and vision.
References
Viewing and Discussion Guide (VDG) for the webcast on “Rethinking Classroom Assessment with Purpose in Mind”. Retrieved from http://resources.curriculum.org/secretariat/files/A pril27Guide.pdf.
Earl, L. (2006) Webcast on “Rethinking classroom assessment with purpose in mind.” Curriculum Services Canada. Retrieved from http://www.curriculum.org/secretariat/april27.sht ml
Earl, L. & Katz, S. (2006). Rethinking classroom assessment with purpose in mind. Western & Northern Canadian Protocol for Collaboration on Education. Retrieved from http://www.google.com/search?q=Rethinking+Cl assroom+Assessment+With+Purpose+in+Mind% 2C+Earl&ie=utf-8&oe=utf- 8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en- US:official&client=firefox-a
As I was answering the guide before watching the webcast by Dr. Lorna Earl, I told myself that I was at the emergent level of the assessment continuum because of the fact that I don’t actually teach. I began to feel once again that I didn’t deserve to be called an educator in every sense of the word because of this. I could barely relate to the questions being asked in the guide, let alone answer them, so I was skeptical about watching the webcast. Thinking it was a required activity for the course, I watched it anyway and I’m glad I did!
I actually felt empowered after hearing Dr. Earl talk about the different purposes of assessment. I don’t actually perform the assessment myself but being on the receiving end of the assessment, knowing what I know now has helped me look at assessment in a whole new light. By knowing the purpose behind the assessments submitted for my consideration, I am better able to interpret, analyze, apply and evaluate them to help me decide whether to accept or reject a prospective student.
Our school’s admissions process involves the submission of many documents – report cards, official transcript of school records, teacher, principal and counselor recommendation and evaluation forms, student portfolios (sometimes), psych reports (sometimes). In addition, we also require students to take entrance exams (standardized tests) and go through three interviews - one with the Guidance Counselor, one with the Principal and the last one with the Director of Admissions. My job as Admissions Director requires me to screen applications, evaluate documents submitted, interpret exam results, consider the counselor and principal’s comments based on their interviews with the applicant, conduct my own interview and finally decide whether to accept or reject the applicant.
After watching the webcast and reading the assigned articles, I now feel that I can actually do a better job of weighing the odds of each and every applicant for admissions. Whereas before I relied mostly on report cards and test results (assessment of learning), I can now better appreciate the other documents submitted to me (other types of assessment) such as teacher, principal and counselor recommendations that not only rank students but also describe what type of learners they are and how they have succeeded or struggled in reaching the goals set out for them by themselves, their teachers and other members of their school community. The challenge for me now is to modify, create, add or delete questions asked in our application forms and admissions interviews to better reflect the different purposes of assessment in order to gain more insight into a student’s learning journey and whether that student will be a good fit for our school’s mission and vision.
References
Viewing and Discussion Guide (VDG) for the webcast on “Rethinking Classroom Assessment with Purpose in Mind”. Retrieved from http://resources.curriculum.org/secretariat/files/A pril27Guide.pdf.
Earl, L. (2006) Webcast on “Rethinking classroom assessment with purpose in mind.” Curriculum Services Canada. Retrieved from http://www.curriculum.org/secretariat/april27.sht ml
Earl, L. & Katz, S. (2006). Rethinking classroom assessment with purpose in mind. Western & Northern Canadian Protocol for Collaboration on Education. Retrieved from http://www.google.com/search?q=Rethinking+Cl assroom+Assessment+With+Purpose+in+Mind% 2C+Earl&ie=utf-8&oe=utf- 8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en- US:official&client=firefox-a
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