Knowledge to Support the Teaching of Reading (#2)
““Another basic principle is that assessments vary widely in quality. Assessments themselves need to be evaluated for validity, reliability, appropriateness, freedom from bias, and utility””
One area of teaching that I seem to constantly question myself in is the assessing. More specifically, summative assessments. The reliability and validity of the assessments we use are often what I have questions about. I religiously use Essential Questions, which I do believe shows understanding over memorization of content. It allows the learner to apply an Enduring Understanding to multiple facets of their life and the world, showing me that I have successfully taught them how to fish. I would like to continue to learn more about how I can effectively evaluate my assessments so they are indeed reliable, valid, appropriate, unbiased, and of use.
Burns, M. S., Griffin, P., & Snow, C.E. (2005). Knowledge to support the teaching of reading. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.