by Debra Jeffreys-Glass, Lower School–Elementary Director

At the beginning of each year, teachers work with children to understand and establish a child’s baseline in skills, understanding and attitude towards a subject as they enter the school year. From this foundation, teachers assess and plan what represents the next level for each student’s progress in that discipline. This goes beyond assessing their facility in a given subject –– teachers are assessing their affective engagement as well. Knowing if a student is eager, hesitant, or somewhere in between also offers useful data on how to support a child moving forward.

At the core, assessments are an integral aspect of the relationship-building that is such a large part of our work with children. Debra Jeffreys-Glass, Lower School–Elementary Director

Throughout the year, assessment is ongoing and constant, often guided by questions. Does a student gravitate towards a single strategy? If so, that might lead a teacher to encourage the child to use alternate strategies as a way to encourage more flexible thinking about a solution. Does a child speedily complete tasks without looking backward? A teacher might then focus instruction on ensuring that there is an added challenge for this child, or encourage the student to consistently review their work for accuracy and reasonableness. At the core, assessments are an integral aspect of the relationship-building that is such a large part of our work with children.

Assessment in the Lower School–Elementary division takes many forms and happens for a variety of reasons. In addition to the paper-and-pencil assessments asking students to “answer these questions” or “do this activity,” teachers often use a combination of methods to see where a student might be in their learning. Assessments vary from one-on-one conferences to close review of student work; observations to asking our learners to share their understanding with a peer or with the group. Teachers may use long-term projects and/or portfolios to give them a bigger picture of how a student has consolidated and retained information. 

Ultimately, the way we design assessments provides critical information to support every child in a holistic way and to meet them where they are.

For example, our science teacher, Muna, uses an online game called Plickers to conduct pre- and post- assessments in a way that allows her to see what a group of students knows as they anonymously answer quiz questions before, during and after units are introduced. Our media arts teacher, Rob, collects his students’ work in Vimeo folders to periodically review with students so that they can chart their progress in the use of particular tools. 

Teachers conduct assessments not only to develop an understanding of their students’ level of engagement with the learning, but also to offer a roadmap to guide instruction at the individual and group level. Using this roadmap, teachers then have data to be able to monitor and support student progress, as well as shape future instruction based on what they’ve learned from their students. Ultimately, the way we design assessments provides critical information to support every child in a holistic way and to meet them where they are –– from the beginning of the school year through the last day of classes.