Assessment for Power 5

Assessment for Power A Philosophy of Empowering Learners in the Diverse, Urban Classroom through Explicit Assessment Strategies

Vance Holmes Metropolitan State University Urban Teacher Program EDU 602 – Assessing Learning in Urban Grades 5-12 Laurie Lamberty, ED.S. Ken Simon, M.A.

November 4, 2010

Contact: Vance Holmes 1500 LaSalle Av #320 Minneapolis, MN 55403 Email: [email protected]

Assessment for Power A Philosophy of Empowering Learners in the Diverse, Urban Classroom through Explicit Assessment Strategies A s s e s s m e n t f o r P o w e r 2

"Knowledge is like a garden; if it is not cultivated, it cannot be harvested."

– African proverb

This philosophy of assessment for powering performance in the multicultural, metropolitan classroom consists of my belief in assessment for knowledge, integrity and equity.

My philosophy is based on a fundamental view of assessment as a tool for activating metacognition. Assessment should cause thinking – and thinking about thinking (Leahy, Lyon,

Thompson, William, 2005, 21). Current research on culturally responsive teaching has determined that metacognition is activated when students are given learning targets and rubrics prior to teaching, and when they have been explicitly instructed on setting personal learning goals (Tileston, 2004, pp. 50-51, Davis, 2006, p. 98). This new pedagogical research points to a very old African Proverb:

"Before shooting, one must aim."

Assessment for Knowledge

By transforming abstract Core Standards into concrete demonstrations of knowledge, reasoning and skill, I can devise one sequence of specific goals for a large, diverse group of learners (Stiggins, Arter, Chappuis, Chappuis, 2006). Testing for targets is assessment for knowledge and takes place during the construction of knowledge. Research indicates that an instructional shift to strategies of assessment for learning – as opposed to traditional methods that function as assessment of learning – will improve student achievement. The shift has been described as one from quality control in learning to quality assurance (Leahy, et al., 2005, 19).

Assessment for Integrity

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A Cameroon proverb advises: "He who asks questions, cannot avoid the answers."

To be an effective urban educator my assessments must create a detailed, valid, reliable and transparent record of learning – and teaching – because assessments are a check on systemic integrity. Assessments must be appropriate to learning outcomes, tied to specific teaching, varied, culturally responsive, differentiated, non-bias and defensible (Stiggins, et al., 2006). I believe a quality assessment plan stimulates critical thinking about the integrity of the learning process itself, and empowers students, parents, care-givers and educational professionals to identify areas of success and act to overcome specific challenges.

Assessment for Equity

"Do not look where you fell, but where you slipped." – African proverb

No learner will be left behind. As researcher Rick Stiggins uncovered, “Students can hit any target they can see that holds still for them” (57). Included in the framework of my philosophy of Assessment for Power is the notion of gathering information only as it serves the purpose of encouraging and improving student achievement. A quality assessment is one that provides the urban learner access to individual learning opportunities. Access to individual learning opportunities is maximized through constructive critique and positive, future-directed feedback that lights pathways to further scholarship and higher achievement.

Assessment for Power

“Those who learn, teach; those who teach, learn.” – African proverb

Whether un-graded formative evaluation or recorded summative testing, all forms of assessment must ignite metacognition, inspire learning, and motivate urban students by being an explicit prescription for personal power.

References

Davis, B. M. (2006). How to teach students who don’t look like you. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

Leahy, S., Lyon, D., Thompson, M., & William, D. (2005). Classroom assessment: Minute by minute, Day by day. Educational Leadership, 63(3), 19-24.

Metcalf, D. (2002). African proverbs and their meanings. In Education world. Retrieved October 17, 2010, from

http://www.educationworld.com/a_tsl/TM/WS_african_proverbs.shtml.

Steen, F. F. (November, 2003). Proverb Resources. In CogWeb cognitive cultural studies. Retrieved October, 25, 2010, from http://cogweb.ucla.edu/Discourse/Proverbs/African.html.

Stiggins, R., Arter, J., Chappuis, J., Chappuis, S. (2006). Classroom assessment for student learning. Boston, MA: Pearson.

Teaching Quotes.(2010). In Famous quotes. Retrieved October, 25, 2010, from http://www.famousquotes.com/category/teach.

Tileston, D. W. (2004). What every teacher should know about diverse learners. Thousand Oaks,

CA: Corwin.

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