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K-12 teachers' assessment of student learning.

Article Excerpt
Abstract

This article analyses the factors affecting how K-12 teachers assess student learning. To probe how they assess student learning, I present them with a transcript of a classroom interaction and ask them to analyze it to determine and explain whether learning has taken place. I find that student learning is assessed largely on the basis of how teachers teach rather than by whether students learn.

Introduction

Developing K-12 teachers' abilities to assess student learning has always been assumed to be part of teacher preparation programs. In fact, recent legislations such as the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act have increased attention to assessment. Professional organizations such as the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS, 2005, p. 16) and the Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (INTASC, 1992, p. 31) have called for a renewed emphasis on assessment. NBPTS's five core propositions focus on assessment by stressing that "Teachers are responsible for managing and monitoring student learning". One of INTASC's ten principles requires teachers to understand and use "formal and informal assessment strategies to evaluate and ensure the continuous intellectual, social, and physical development of the learner". This attention to assessment has generated at least two strands of research. One strand concerns standardized testing and examines its consequences for schools, curriculum, teacher behaviors and student learning (Sacks, 1999; McCracken & McCracken, 2001). The second investigates professional development that engages K-I 2 teachers in analyses of student work (Little, Gearhart, Curry & Karma, 2003; Kazemi & Franke, 2004). This research demonstrates that teachers, even those with experience, may have difficulties in interpreting student work and targeted professional development can expand their understanding of learner strategies and strengthen their assessment capabilities. To the best of our knowledge, not much attention has focused on how K-12 teachers assess student learning, in particular, what factors influence their assessment.

This article is concerned with the factors impacting teachers' assessment of learning. To probe how teachers assess student learning, I present pre-service and in-service teachers with a transcript of a classroom interaction and ask them to analyze it to determine and explain whether learning has taken place. Their group discussions and reports are analyzed. My findings reveal that student learning is assessed largely on the basis of how teachers teach rather than by whether students learn.

Design

To examine teachers' assessment of student learning, I presented both groups with an analytic task. The analytic task revolves round a dialogue regarding tariff in Borich (2003, pp. 152-153), part of which is shown here.

* Carlos: I don't understand why anybody would want to tax themselves.

* Mr. Marks: Give us the answer to my question.

* Carlos: Well, what I meant is, it would seem people would complain if...

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