One of the beginning of the year things that teachers need to think of is assessment. At the beginning of the year, there are a few reasons why you need to assess your students. Let’s take a look at why you want to assess, What to assess, and why you should still do it even if you’ve been in school a few weeks!
Why assess?
There are a few reasons to assess at the beginning of the year if you aren’t required to.
1. You can get a good idea of what your students already know, if they know things they will be learning this coming year, and what needs work.
2. You likely need some data to start with to prove they learned something! Especially if you are required to provide pre- and post- test data.
3. Gives YOU information. What do you need to address from last year? What is missing in their knowledge library? What really stuck well from last year? Are they already well-versed in this year’s curriculum?
4. You likely have new students. Find out what they learned into their other schools.
What’s on my assessments?
- Something you want them to know at the end of the year that they likely won’t. To show growth.
- Something to assess what they learned near the end of the year (or when you will do your post assessment) to see if it needs review.
This SHOULD vary by grade! Design a different assessment for each grade level. Even if it is 3-5 questions for your younger grades. A couple tips: For younger grades, have them write less and circle more. For older grades, Google Forms may be a fast way for you to grade without having to spend lots of time on it!
I’ve been in school a few weeks. Should I still do it?
YES! Even if you aren’t required to, it’s great to keep data, prove that you are being effective, getting through the curriculum, and getting things done!
Not only is it information for you, but it is data to prove you’ve been teaching students!
Follow up….
Post-tests! So how do you prove students learned? Give them the SAME test after the instruction period. Then you have real data on how your students learned this year!
I hope this gives you a few ideas on beginning of the year assessment!
