Assesments

My idea of assessment has evolved over the years to the point where I have one primary focus on assessment. That focus is to make sure the student (a human being) understands that an assessment does not define who they are. Too often a young impressionable teenager translates an assessment as a validation of being inadequate in some way. For that matter, adults are often hurt and discouraged over assessments of any kind.  Assessments should tell as where someone needs help and open a door for building them up rather than criticizing and rebuking them for being inadequate in some area. At some point everyone will fail in math, everyone will fail in science and PE and so on, but every child has a gift, every human being has a gift. Yes, assessments should point out a weakness, but it does not define us. One weakness is another’s strength. One child is an exceptional artist and another excels at math, but every child has a gift. Assessments should be tempered with kindness and encouragement. Only then can anyone rate their self as a 10. How a child feels after an assessment determines the worth of your assessment. Were they encouraged after they failed? Did they accept the results and look forward to learning more? A 1 is when a child walks away with a sheet of paper that says you failed, and they believe they are a failure. A 10 is when they are excited to try again. They know what they need to do, and they accept the fact that they may never be Mozart or Einstein