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Reflection as a Component of
Authentic Assessment
Student assessment is in the news
-- from SATs to statewide tests, like the FCAT. This
collection of resources explores alternatives that focus attention on students'
own understanding of their growth and accomplishment. By asking students to
reflect on their own language arts and composition abilities in these ways,
teachers can foster more authentic assessment of student achievement and more
engagement in the classroom.
The School Talk article "Transforming Learning and Teaching
through Quality Classroom Assessment: What Does the Research Say?" (E)
presents research that shows the best way to improve student achievement is
to engage students
deeply in the classroom assessment process. Check out the section "Collect
Evidence of Learning" for suggestions on artifacts students can look
to as they reflect on their growth over the school year.
When students are challenged by systems and structures that say they cannot read
or write (such as the students mentioned in the FCAT articles in this week's
News), how
can
we
respond?
The Voices from the Middle article "Revaluing:
Coming to Know Who We Are and What We Can Do" (M) focuses on the role that
reflection can play in building students' knowledge and understanding of their
literacy skills. The article makes the case that
when students believe their thinking and ideas are valued beyond getting
a correct answer, their self-efficacy and engagement with reading are likely
to increase.
In the circumstances where we do examine the final products that students
compose -- whether
timed essays,
final
drafts,
or
other tests -- we have limited evidence of students' accomplishment. The English
Journal article "Portfolios -- The Story Behind the Story" (S) explains
that
"[s]olely evaluating the story, as a product, could provide only
limited evidence of progress, whereas, evaluating 'the story
behind the story,' could encourage more detailed, honest portrayal
of the students’ reading and writing progress." The article
provides concrete
examples
of student comments that show students are able to self-evaluate and improve
their efforts to
justify higher ratings.
By including reflection and self-evaluation in the assessment process,
teachers shift ownership of literacy growth to students. "From
the Writing Process to the Responding Sequence: Incorporating Self-Assessment
and Reflection
in
the
Classroom"
(C), from Teaching English in the Two-Year College, argues that
such reflection needs to be the central component of writing instruction.
The article presents nine specific classroom strategies that
put self-assessment and reflection at the center of the writing process.
To make reflection a core element in the literature classroom, take a look
at the NCTE book Teaching
Literature as Reflective Practice (S-C), which outlines
a course that invites students to theorize -- about their own reading
practices, about how literature is made, and about texts and their relationships
to
culture more generally. The book includes details on two kinds of literature
portfolio -- print and electronic. Chapter
One is available online.
NOTE: Free access to journal articles mentioned in this Inbox is provided
for 21 days. After this free access period expires, articles are available
to journal subscribers only. This Inbox Idea was published 05-10-05.
Initials in annotations indicate academic level of the resource (E=Elementary,
M=Middle, S=Secondary, C=College, G=General).
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