Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Heather Martinez
National University
Abstract
This paper contains a review of Assessment: The Bridge Between Teaching and Learning by
Dylan William and includes personal reflection on how the information contained within the
Learning.
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This article begins with the simple acknowledgement that students do not, in fact, learn
everything we teach. Despite careful planning and considerations, not every student will connect
with the material presented in class. Assessments are, then, the only way to truly measure the
learning progress of our students and our own efficacy as teachers. “Assessment really is the
bridge between teaching and learning.” (William, D., 2013, p. 15) As a new teacher, on-going
Assessments are one way I can gain feedback on the effectiveness of my instruction and my
curriculum creation.
The concept of formative assessments has gained traction in the field of education as they
provide a way to continually monitor student progress towards stated academic learning goals
and benchmarks. The article, however, asserts that “the term formative should apply not to the
assessment but to the function that the evidence generated by the assessment actually serves.”
(William, D., 2013, p. 15) This is to say that the format of an assessment does not automatically
designate it as a formative assessment. Instead, how the results of the assessment are utilized in
the classroom determine the designation. As such, the author creates a number of strategies
The first of these strategies is learning intentions. Clearly communicating learning goals
in advance of new lesson plans is one way that teachers can ensure students are aware of
intention behind upcoming activities. Additionally, teachers must clearly communicate their
required for success in each lesson. It is necessary for students to “hold a concept of quality
roughly similar to that held by the teacher [and be] able to monitor continuously the quality of
what is being produced during the act of production itself.” (William, D., 2013, p. 16) In my
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Kindergarten classroom, this is accomplished by large posters posted throughout the room
demonstrating five-star work, which serve as visual models of my expectations from which they
can model their own work. These posters are continually referenced in order to reinforce
The second strategy involves eliciting evidence of learning. While collecting evidence of
learning is an inherent aspect of assessment, the quality of this evidence and how the teacher
when the teacher includes “a plan of action about what to do with the evidence before it is
collected.” (William, D., 2013, p. 17) Formative assessments collect evidence of learning which
are immediately acted upon. Whether through re-teaching, clarifying, or simply confirming, the
teacher must act upon these results before moving forward with their instruction.
must be noted that there should never be one single format for feedback. Feedback must consider
the relationship between student and teacher, the emotional stability and maturity of the student,
and whether the feedback will motivate the student to either improve or give up. “Ultimately, the
only effective feedback is that which is acted upon.” (William, D., 2013, p. 17) Regardless of
how the feedback is presented to the student, the teacher’s incorporation of the evidence
Students can be effectively included in their own assessment process. Whether through
collaborative assignments or peer review, students often motivate each other to improve their
performance. Additionally, students must take responsibility for their learning, believe in their
ability to learn and conquer the academic challenges they face in the classroom. Overall, it is
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important to acknowledge that successful assessments do not attend to “what the teacher is
putting into the instruction but to what the students are getting out of it,” for this is what “has
increased both student engagement and achievement.” (William, D., 2013, p. 17)
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References
William, D. (2013) Assessment: The bridge between teaching and learning. Retrieved from:
http://cccc.ncte.org/library/NCTEFiles/Resources/Journals/VM/0212-
dec2013/VM0212Assessment.pdf