The Importance Of Summative Assessments

Register to read the introduction… This assessment demanded high level thinking skills from our students. We ensured that students were not just recalling facts by labeling the parts of a graph. On the contrary, we obligated them to use their knowledge about the skill to create the graph and show us where to put the different parts. Additionally, we held them accountable by having them justify their answers using evidence from the graph. This assessment promoted their thinking and posed a challenge. As we created the assessment, we also tried to make sure that all students were able to complete even if they had a limitation. To help our English Language Learners with made sure to highlight important terms within the questions and the …show more content…
We must use carefully review the data from the assessments to guide future lessons. The assessment made us aware of the thinking process of students. Most of our students are able to use details to support their answers. Ninety percent of the students can create a graph with all its parts. They compare the data, and some of them even used it to make assumptions. One student wrote that based on the information of the graph he could infer that many of the third graders would like to ride a train. He based his statement on the fact that most of them chose the field trip to Pikes Peak, which includes a train ride. We need to evaluate the way our students think and try to address any common misconceptions. After reviewing the assessments, we noticed that some of our students have difficulties creating the scale for the graph. The students used the numbers provided in the set of data to create the scale. They did not use the numbers as the base for the scale but instead the numbers were the scale. Based on these results, we can now adjust our lesson and correct this …show more content…
Some of our students failed to incorporate the target vocabulary on their explanation of their graph. Instead, they just wrote simple sentences to describe the information. We were looking for specific words like: has more than, has less than, greatest amount, and least amount. Students could have benefited from a rubric. The rubric would have guided the students by providing specific points to include in their writing. We are currently developing rubrics for future summative tasks. We realized that a summative assessment that involves a task must have clear expectations.
Assessments are an integral part of learning. The data gather from assessments gives us valuable information about student thinking and specific needs. We need to create an assessment that empower students to thinking, and encourages them to use their knowledge to solve and create. Creating this type of assessment requires planning and reflection from all teachers. If teachers collaborate, the assessment will be beneficial for all parties