Student Assessments for Kindergarten

Definition: Performance-based assessmentsmeasure a students ability to apply skillsand knowledge learned in a unit of study.

Purpose: Teachers use this method duringlessons to make sure their students arelearning the skills they need. It focuses onthe how of how students get to theiranswers or conclusions instead of justanswers to problems.

Advantages: Performance-based assessmentsfocus on a deep understanding of the skills. If astudent is struggling this kind of assessmentcan allow the teacher to see where the studentis having trouble understanding.

Disadvantages: Grading can be tricky forteachers with this type of assessment. Sinceyou are focusing on the "how" of studentswork, you need to set up a grading criteria forthe project.

Learning OF/FOR: It is designed for learning.These assessments are effective because as ateacher it helps you follow the students thoughtprocess of doing their work since you arefocusing on how they do their work to come upwith an answer or project.

Example: If the students are learning aboutletter sounds and words, the students cantake letter blocks and use them to soundout and create words. The blocks aredifferent colors where the consonants areone color and the vowels are another, thisway they can sound out each word. Theywill write down every word they make, andcircle the ones that are actual words.

Definition: A diagnostic assessment focuses inone area of content knowledge and helps ateacher know what the students priorknowledge of a topic is before going through alesson.

Purpose: It is used to give teachers anunderstanding of the students priorknowledge. It can help teachers shapetheir lesson plans based on what thestudent previously knows.

Advantages: Teachers can use the informationthey get from performance-based assessmentsto make differentiated lesson plans to help eachstudent.

Disadvantages: Through this kind ofassessment, teachers may get a wrong idea ofa students ability.

Learning OF/FOR: Diagnostic assessments arefor learning. The help teachers reallyunderstand what the child is coming to classalready understanding. Due to this the teacheris able to hone in on differentiated instructionthat will benefit each student.

Example: Having each child individually gothrough the alphabet and state the letter andthe sound that the letter makes.

Definition: Portfolio Assessments document aindividual students' work to show what they arecapable and keep track of their work.

Purpose: It keeps the students work togetherthat the teacher can use as evidence tosupport their conclusions of a students'strengths, capabilities, and skills.

Advantages: Everything is kept together in oneplace which makes for easy access andreferencing. It is also helpful for teachers tohave to show to parents and schooladministration when necessary to back upwhat they are thinking about a student andtheir progress.

Disadvantages: Portfolios can be a lot of workfor the teacher depending on how manystudents are in the class.

Learning OF/FOR: This is an example of forlearning. It is a continuous assessmentthrough the year that is updated withdifferent student work.

Example: Have the students write the samesentence at the beginning, middle, and end ofthe school year. Save all three in the studentsportfolio to see the progression of work.

Definition: Self assessments are onesevaluation of their own work by using a criteriaor rubric.

Purpose: Self assessments have the studentsevaluate their own work and see how they didbased on a criteria or rubric. They give thestudents a chance to deepen theirunderstanding of the topic.

Advantages: These assessments allowstudents to reflect on their learning and theirwork to see if they have made a good piece ofwork or one that needs to be improved. Thereare a lot of different types of self-assessmentsthat can be used in the classroom.

Disadvantages: Self assessments can takesome time for the students to get used to. Ifthey don't understand the criteria in which theyare to assess their own work, they will not beable to do self assessments.

Learning OF/FOR: Self assessments are forlearning. They can happen often and allowstudents to get a deeper understanding of theirlearning.

Example: Eachkindergarten studentcould have a selfassessment journal. Inthe journal a teachercould have a linedpaper and instruct themto write a sentence.The students could selfassess for spelling,punctuation, capitalletters, and fingersspaces.

Definition: Peer assessments are studentsassessing each others work using a criteria orrubric.

Purpose: There are a couple of purposes of peerassessments. It allows the students to create acommunity with one another and allowsstudents to learn how to give feedback. It alsoallows students to learn from each otherssuccesses and mistakes.

Advantages: The students create a communitywhere they feel comfortable encouraging eachother and discussing what can be improvedupon. Another advantage is that once thestudents are comfortable with the assessmentmethod it can help the teacher get feedback tothe students in a more timely manner.

Disadvantages: It can take a lot of practice forthe students to get used to assessing oneanother.

Learning OF/FOR: Peer assessments isdesigned for learning. It allows the students tolearn through one another and helps them tocommunicate.

Example: An example during a kindergartenpattern lesson would be to partner the studentsup and have them grade each others patternposters to check for correct answers ormistakes.

Definition: An authentic assessment is themeasurement of intellectual accomplishmentsthat are worthwhile, significant, and meaningful.

Purpose: These assessments are meant tohelp students learn to apply their skills andknowledge to real life experiences.

Advantages: There are different kinds ofauthentic assessments so each differentlearner has a chance to succeed. It alsomakes students use the knowledge theyhave learned instead of just showing thatthey know it.

Disadvantages: These assessments can bevery time consuming, especially for largerclasses. It can also be hard for a teacher toline these assessments up with traditionaleducation standards.

Learning OF/FOR: This is an example forlearning. They can be done often and help thestudent learn how to apply their skills andknowledge to real world experiences.

Example: The students could spend timelearning about plants and what plants needto live. Then they could each plant theirown seeds and be required to keep it nearsunlight, water it, and tend to their plant.

Definition: A high-stakes assessment is theteacher or schools way of making importantdecisions for a student, such as moving ontothe next grade.

Purpose: These are used to see how a studenttests after a long amount of time. The studentsare assessed and the results also factor intohow the teacher is evaluated.

Advantages: High-stakes assessments allowteachers to see how the student is learning andthey can tailor the students learning to theirspecific manner. These assessments also makesure that subjects like math and language arebeing taught well in schools so that the studentswill be able to do well on their assessments.

Disadvantages: Teachers may end up "teachingto the test" by focusing class time on onlysubjects that will be on the test. Also, somestudents do not do well with this kind ofassessment. They can easily develop anxietyfor test taking and others may not realize justhow important these assessments are.

Learning OF/FOR: This is an example oflearning. It is a one time assessment thatallows teachers and schools to see how astudent or a class has learned over a long time.

Example:Standardizedtesting is anexample ofhigh-stakesassessment.They are donea couple oftimes a yearand the resultsare given toteachers,schooladministrators,and parents.

Definition: Summative assessments are givenafter instruction to measure student growth.

Purpose: The purpose of summativeassessments are to measure what studentshave learned during a lesson or unit. Based onhow the students do the teacher can changetheir teaching practices for the next year ifnecessary.

Advantages: They intrinsically motivatestudents to do well with their learning so theywill get good grades or marks on theirassessments.

Disadvantages: Teachers can get caught up in"teaching to the test". Summativeassessments are not always the best measureof learning because each student is differentand has different learning styles, so where onestudent of high achievement do very well,another of high achievement can do poorlydepending on the test.

Learning OF/FOR: Summative assessmentsare an assessment of learning. They aredone at the end of a lesson to see how muchthe student has learned.

Example: If kindergarten students are learningabout patterns, a summative assessment couldbe having the students make a pattern posterwith stickers or stamps and having them labelthe type of pattern. Another example would beto give them a simple pattern test where theyneed to create, copy, and complete patterns.

Definition: Assessments where teachers makefrequent, interactive assessments of studentunderstanding.

Purpose: This assessment helps the teacher toconstantly see where the students are in theirlearning so they can adjust their teaching if theyneed to. It also allows students to be involved intheir own assessments so they can developskills to learn better.

Advantages: These assessments include thestudent and the teacher can provide immediatefeedback. This can help the student adjust theirlearning to focus on what they need to and canhelp the teacher to differentiate their instructionto help the student.

Disadvantages: They can be time consumingsince they are used often and continuously.There is a fear that teachers won't get thesame level of assessment as they would getfrom a summative assessment, such as anexam.

Learning OF/FOR: Formal assessments are forlearning. They are a continuous way for ateacher to see where the student standsacademically.

Example: Teachers can use popsicle sticks withstudents names on them to call on students.This keeps students actively engaged since theydon't know when their name will be called. Anexit ticket or entrance ticket are also goodformative assessments.