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Bethany Wilson

Dr. McClary
EDUC 423: Teaching Science to Children
Field Experience 2015
Assessing Science Learning
Assessment for learning in elementary school allows students and teachers to improve in
a number of areas. Teachers should transform classroom-level achievement targets into studentfriendly settings, and into high quality classroom assessments that accurately reflect student
achievement. Teachers can use those assessments over time in collaboration with their students
to help motivate them to keep learning. Assessment for learning is assessment for the purpose of
telling teachers how to help students learn more in the future.
While in the classroom, I observed a number of ways my mentor teacher assessed the
students learning. Ms. Elliott, utilized formative and summative assessments to see how well
students were grasping content. Formative assessments are those that test the knowledge of
students during instruction. Ms. Elliott asked a number of questions during her instruction to
make sure her students were all on the same page. As I stated before, every morning, Ms. Elliott
would have questions on the board in which she referred to as a Do Now activity. These
questions were compiled of things the students learned prior to them coming to class that day.
An example of one of the questions she asked was, We discussed observations, inferences, and
predictions in class yesterday. How do we use these in science?. This not only gave the teacher
insight on whether or not students were understanding the material, but it also allowed them to
get their knowledge juices flowing as soon as they walked into the classroom. Another form of
formative assessment given to the students to see where they were, the students responded very

well too. Ms. Elliott, had the students complete a traditional quiz. Once they were done, the
grading method is what the students enjoyed the most. She pulled up a website and had the
students check and correct their answers using their ipads. This was effective in motivating
student to ace their quiz, and also effective in the use of technology.
Summative assessments are also very important in testing student knowledge. Some of
the summative assessments I observed while in the classroom include, multiple choice tests,
short answer tests, fill in the blank tests, and essay question tests. In my opinion, the essay
question tests, were most effective in really knowing whether or not students understood the
material. Essay test questions require in-depth answers. This type of assessment help students
know the material thoroughly as well as improve literacy skills.
Accurate assessments are necessary at every level of learning. They provide the necessary
raw data that every teacher needs. Quality assessment in elementary school makes the most of
the process, involving both student and teacher, evaluating learning and learning styles, and pinpointing problem areas for the teacher and the individual students, as well.

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