Assessment at Lancaster Catholic High

My cooperating teacher tends to give more of the traditional forms of assessment. In her 9th grade General English class she administers the typical vocabulary test that has multiple choice,
synonym/antonym, fill in the blank, and matching. Although not my favorite method of choice, this form of assessment can still be beneficial for a couple of reasons. Written tests, such as this vocabulary one, are easy and quick to grade. They also provide an objective and strict “correct” and “incorrect” account. Due to these reasons I think this type of assessment has its place in
the English classroom. However, by no means do I think this should be the only way to assess students for a grade.

In her Creative Writing course, my cooperating teacher has students create portfolios for each new writing project. They write three drafts and before the third one they peer review each other’s papers. At the end of the portfolio she has students perform a “self-assessment” in which they fill out a rubric that is identical to the one the teacher uses. She told me that she then averages her grade with the student’s grade. Surprisingly, she informed me that students are often more self-critical and thus give their papers a lower grade than she does. Another way she promotes her students to put their best effort into their writing is by having them submit their works to Scholastic Competitions. This makes the paper carry more weight and value than if it was just to be finished and turned in for a grade. This is a great way to push students to give their
best and appreciate their writing.

The types of assessment in my cooperating teacher’s sophomore honors class are quite similar to that of her 9th grade class. Recently they finished a unit on The Crucible in which they read the play and watched clips of the film. They also did group work and partner activities. The final test, which they took the Tuesday before Thanksgiving vacation, was structured in very traditionally, consisting of fill in the blank, quotation identification, multiple choice questions, and one essay prompt. Personally, I found this somewhat disappointing, for I think a final project or a more interacting assessment would have been more beneficial for identifying student’s comprehension and understanding of the play.

Some hope of 21st century assessment does shine through in my cooperating teacher’s AP Literature class. Consisting of 19 seniors, she gives them more autonomy and freedom in the classroom. Their final assessment for a unit on Greek tragedy was creating a PowerPoint presentation that was to contain facts, pictures, videos, and music. She also expected the students to go above and beyond by either dressing up or bringing in food/drink that related to their presentation. She also allowed them, like her Creative Writing class, to fill out a self-assessment rubric, showing the grade they thought they deserved. She averages her score with theirs. I envision my classroom to look and be structured more like this AP class, for why can’t we have the same, high expectations for honors and general academic classes as we do for AP ones? Why can’t we give them the same creative opportunities?