MAKING ASSESSMENTS MATTER
Assessments allow Kayleigh Wettstein, a thirdgrade English Language Learner (ELL) teacher at
J.E. Moss Elementary in Metro Nashville Public
Schools, to evaluate her own instruction and
better understand her students’ needs. Data
from formative assessments give Ms. Wettstein a real-time view of how her instruction
supports student learning, helping her make
informed choices about concepts and topics needing to be retaught. She is also able to
identify students who would benefit from extra help in certain subjects. “Assessments are
really important to show where students are
and provide data that show us how students
are growing throughout the year,” Ms. Wettstein explains.46 Both formative and summative
assessments are important tools in Ms. Wettstein’s school and classroom.
Since the implementation of new standards in
math and English language arts, Ms. Wettstein
has changed the way she assesses students in
her classroom. She used to align her assessments with the TCAP, giving her students mostly multiple choice tests. Now, Ms. Wettstein’s
assessments only have one or two multiple
choice questions. The rest of the questions
require students to cite evidence from texts
and to explain their thinking in writing. Ms.
16
Wettstein thinks that state summative assessments need to make a similar shift in order for
teachers to have the information they need to
help students. Ms. Wettstein explains, “Assessments will help us make sure that we are giving
students the skills they need to succeed in college and in their careers. In order to make really
great instructional decisions, you need to know
how your students are performing.”47
While Ms. Wettstein has always used data from
statewide summative assessments to make instructional decisions, she notes the challenge
she is facing this year with the continued implementation of a TCAP assessment that isn’t
fully aligned to the standards she is teaching
in her classroom. Ms. Wettstein explains, “The
summative assessments need to be aligned to
our state standards and have questions and
tasks that are similar to what we’re doing in the
classroom every day. Otherwise, it’s not really measuring what students are learning.”48 As
Ms. Wettstein looks forward to the implementation of a high-quality, aligned assessment, she
hopes it will require students to think deeply about concepts, to analyze information, to
think critically, and to cite evidence from complex texts.49