Chapter 4: Three Important Types of Assessment

Chapter four of Fair Isn’t Always Equal looked at three assessment types. I’ve been in classrooms that used all of these types. My high school English classes in particular used all three types of assessment at the same time. Portfolios are a good type of assessment to look at the span of an entire year – I remember choosing documents in different learning areas of my English class and explaining why I chose those items for my portfolio. I remember picking out well-done items for my portfolio and feeling really proud of myself when I was finished – that is a feeling I’d like to be present in my classroom.
Rubrics were the most common assessment style used in my schooling. They’re good for traditional school products like essays or projects because they lay out the guidelines clearly, and the student can see exactly what needs to be done to demonstrate knowledge, skill, and understanding. I liked examples 4.2 and 4.3 because they spent the most time discussing what the standard of excellence looks like, making it easier to aim for excellence instead of shooting for mediocrity.
I really like the student self-assessment type. It’s good to get students thinking about their own work. All of the techniques the book proposed sound good to use in my own classroom.