The Importance Of A Balancing Act In Education

Life is a balancing act. Whether I am juggling school, work, family, church activities, or friends, I am constantly striving to do my best in each area of my life without letting one of the other areas slip. This is a constant, uphill battle. In the end, I can only pick a direction and follow the path until it dead-ends and then pick a new direction. From what I have learned in Measurements and Evaluations, assessment is also a balancing act. Each type of assessment has its own pros and cons, but every type also has a purpose. As an educator, I believe that to truly test students fairly on their learning, the tests given must be as diverse and flexible as the students themselves. In education circles today, there is a running debate regarding …show more content…
Whatever my opinion of standardized testing, I must prepare for and do my best to teach the material needed to pass the test - otherwise I fail my students. Besides, state testing provides the needed summative assessment to double check student learning over a school year and ensure that students are ready to move on. However, in order to properly prep students for test-taking, I need to ensure that they have learned what was taught on a daily basis. This is where a blend of summative and formative assessment shines. For example, I like to use informal formative assessment such as group questioning or group discussion during a lesson. Such informal assessment, allows me to see if students are tracking with the topic while also keeping them focused. After a lesson, I employ a formal formative assessment like a quiz, writing assignment, or take-home project. That way, I can see what each individual student understood and what (if anything) might need to be reviewed or retaught. Taking this approach sets students up for success on state tests and later in life because I have ensured that students actually learned the …show more content…
So, in the end, everyone learns. But, learning is about more than merely increasing knowledge or mastering new skills. If students are truly learning, they are applying what they have learned to their lives and other areas of school. For instance, if I am studying the Bible, but all I am actually doing is reading the words without thinking about or conducting further research as to their meaning, context, etc., am I actually studying God 's word? Yet, if I am dwelling on the words, reading commentaries, finding the original meanings, asking questions, making observations, and applying the new information to my life, I am indeed studying God 's word. In doing so, I walk away from my study changed. If I am not changed by the power of the living word, something is