Introduction to Me and Assessment

Hi my name is Lisa and I'm a junior at Saint Peter's College. I'm double majoring in Elementary Education and Psychology. I work at a special education school as a substitute teacher/classroom aide and I absolutely love it. Since starting work there my freshman year I realized that I wanted to work as a teacher for emotionally and behaviorally disturbed children. Recently we started a Preschool Disabilities program which I've been involved with for kids from ages 3-5. I can tell you that I've never come home more drained then when I'm working in that classroom, but it is definitely my favorite class to be in. Anyways, this is my first online course and I'm pretty excited about it so let me get on with talking about assessment.

Assessment helps us make decisions by gathering information. Everyone uses assessment; we are constantly sorting through and evaluating information to make conclusions based on our knowledge. People assess weather, moods, and investments; as teachers assess their students. Assessment in education is a fundamental part in teaching and learning. Teachers may observe students coming into the class, or at their seat during independent work. They ask questions to assess students’ answers and also watch student behavior in and outside of the classroom setting.

Most of the time we hear assessment we think of a more structured kind. Teachers give tests and quizzes, which help them evaluate and be aware of how students are understanding (or not understanding) different subjects. There also are standardized tests that show how students are fairing with curriculum. Assessment is an important tool for teachers; it gives them access to strengths and weaknesses of the students and enables them to either help those students who are struggling or to challenge those who are more advanced.