User:JBusilac/sandbox

Assessment is an important part of instruction, as it determines whether or not the goals/objectives of education are being met. Assessment affects decisions about grades, placement, advancement, instructional needs, curriculum, and, in some cases, funding. Assessment inspire us to ask these hard questions: "Are the methods in teaching we are using are right?" "Are students learning what they are supposed to be learning?" "Is there a way to teach the subject better, thereby promoting better learning?"

Today's students need to know not only the basic reading and arithmetic skills, but also skills that will allow them to face a world that is continually changing. They must be able to think critically, to analyze, and to make inferences. Changes in the skills base and knowledge our students need require new learning goals; these new learning goals change the relationship between assessment and instruction. Teachers need to take an active role in making decisions about the purpose of assessment and the content that is being assessed.

Though students don’t always like them, assessments are important to ensure students learn everything they should in a manner that is appropriate. The importance of assessments in schools emerges primarily from the assessment’s role in helping teachers and administrators determine the type and manner in which material is covered in classes.In some areas -- most notably at the secondary level -- students’ achievement on state-issued standardized assessments have been linked with teacher effectiveness. According to Robert Marzano et. al, these assessments give lawmakers outside of the field of education a mechanism for rating teachers as effective or ineffective, thereby empowering those same lawmakers to pass widespread educational “reforms” and ouster so-called “ineffective” teachers.

When comparing two different versions of the same class in the same school, or even the same grade level at two different schools, assessments can provide valuable information on the appropriateness of the material covered and the time allowed for that coverage. Wolvoord and Banta suggest that some formative assessments can reveal student understanding of some material and their lack of understanding with other material. By using such assessments, school administrators and teachers can make adjustments to curriculum and coverage time to ensure that students in different sections of the same school district, or even district schools altogether, cover material at a similarly appropriate pace.

