Field Experience Journal 2 In assessment, validity and reliability are two major factors. “Validity is the soundness of your interpretations and uses of students’ assessment results” (Brookhart & Nitko, 2015, p. 38). This basically means, does the assessment measure what it was intended to measure? Validity has four principles: interpretations, uses, values, and consequences. An example of a valid assessment is the SAT. The SAT is valid, because it provides the assessor evidence to make appropriate interpretations and uses. The assessor is able to make meaningful judgments and actions based on the scores of the SAT (Brookhart & Nitko, 2015, p. 38-40). The other important factor is reliability. “Reliability is the degree to which students’ results remain consistent over replications of assessment procedure” (Brookhart & Nitko, 2015, p.67). For example, if a test is valid, the student should score consistently with no intervention. However, if a treatment or invention occurs, the score should be altered. An …show more content…
Screeton was over how he tested his students. He informed me that all of his tests were cumulative. There are several reasons behind this: it allows him to reteach material that the students had a difficult that with, and prepare the students for the advance placement exam. These cumulative tests have test-retest reliability within them. The material is similar, however, they are administered at different times. This allows Mr. Screeton to make many valuable decisions (Brookhart & Nitko, 2015, p. 73). One way that this may impact learning in the classroom, is that it will promote mastery of the information. The students are aware that they will be held accountable for the information for the entire year; this will promote mastery learning rather than performance learning. Also, because the students are required to retrieve this information throughout the year, they are more likely to remember this information in the
Content validity is achieved when the content of the assessment matches the educational objectives. Criterion validity is demonstrated by the ability of the test to relate to external requirements. Construct validity takes into account the educational variables, such as the native language of the students, to predict the test outcomes. Reliable assessments have consistent results; Reliability refers to the consistency of a measure. A test is considered reliable if we get the same result repeatedly.
Reflecting back on my field experience, I was able to gain quality insight as well as a better understanding of the teaching and the learning process of ESOL in a mainstream classroom. My experience in Mrs. Little’s classroom has shown that the role of the ESOL teacher is to educate students in functional language skills, offer content that is academically challenging, and helps students acculturate to the new language and culture.
Although cumulative finals are a controversial topic on the basis of whether or not they are actually effective, it should be up to the teacher to decide what they want to test their students on. For some teachers, a cumulative final is a way to measure what their students have retained over the semester, or in other words, a way to tell how well they are teaching their students. Held Harmless has stopped all of that as it states that students must be held exempt if they miss less than two days, which is a sizable number of the student population. In addition to that, and again although controversial, it’s said that students who take comprehensive final exams will have a better long-term memory of what they learned because they will put forth the effort to study the material from the past (“Examining the Benefits of Cumulative Tests and Final,”
There is so much to consider when talking about assessments. There are all kinds of different types of assessments. There are assessments that happen on a daily basis in the classroom and then there are the tests that everyone knows about; the state mandated assessments, map test, and some know about DIBLES tests. These are the types of tests that parents, teachers, and administrators debate about. The debate is whether or not these test are doing students any good or harming them. It is good to have data on student and school’s progress, it keeps everyone accountable however, some believe that schools are testing too much. That all this time focused on testing is actually taking away from learning time. Each type of assessment has it’s own set of challenges.
Valid – The test must be shown to measure what it is intended to measure. Unbiased – The test should not place students at a disadvantage because of gender, ethnicity, language, or disability.” Yet, all three requirements for a test to be viable do not apply to standardized testing. Results produced are not consistent, as the day to day lives of students are constantly changing; Issues in the students’ lives may affect their thoughts, emotions, and health that would affect the results of their tests, providing a variety of test scores for one person alone. The validity of the test is also in question as it does not account for differences in students’ backgrounds and personal life so test scores do not accurately measure student’s abilities, but rather, it measures their ability to memorize information and test taking skills. Standardized testing holds a very large amount of bias, as the students of different ethnicities, cultures, and languages, have to confront many biased questions that are present in standardized tests. Therefore, standardized testing, according to Zucker’s analysis of an effective test, should not be used as an effective measure for testing students’ intelligence as it breaks the three requirements that make
The following category discusses the reliability and validity of the SAT. Firstly, the reliability measures the consistency and steadiness of the SAT scores and validity measures how the test is being consumed. The SAT is a reliable test for the reason that if an individual takes the SAT multiple times he or she would receive comparable or higher scores each time the test is given to the individual due to the culture of the test. The SAT is valid since the test is designed to measure an individual cognitive ability and the achievement of students. Research has proved that cognitive test validities are generalizable and predictive of academic performance (Shen, Sackett, Kuncel, Beatty, Rigdon & Kiger, 2012). The SAT shows that more selective
This field experience was a very interesting project for me. I received many opportunities for learning and to gain experience as an educator and for my future as an administrator. Activities that were included: interviewing administrators, interviewing teachers, researching and reviewing two comprehensive strategic plans, evaluating a comprehensive plan using the supplied rubric, researching past school board agendas and minutes and comparing them to the comprehensive strategic plan. Throughout this field experience I was able to develop a new understanding of the process involved in developing a comprehensive plan at both the principal and the teacher level. The field experience I feel was meaningful for an introductory
It is made up of four major parts: standards for particular applications, technical standards for test construction and evaluation, professional standards for test use, and standards for administrative procedures. A test that is technically adequate meets the criteria for validity, reliability, and norms. Validity is “the appropriateness, meaningfulness, and usefulness of the specific inferences” that can be made from the test results. (American Psychological Association 9) Validity is the degree to which a test measures what it is intended to measure. Reliability is the extent to which the test results are dependable and consistent. Unrelated to the purpose of the test, errors in measurement can be viewed through inconsistencies in the performance, motivation, or interests of students being tested. Norms can be shown in age or grade equivalence, standard scores, and percentiles. They are generally shown in charts showing the performance groups of students who have taken the test. Norms show the comparison of the performance of new groups of test takers with the samples of students on whom the test was standardized. Goodwin and Driscoll (59-60) note that standardized tests have the following qualities: They provide a “systematic procedure for describing behaviors, whether in terms of numbers or categories.” They have an established format and set materials. Also, they present the same tasks and
My field experience took place at School for All Seasons in Isanti, MN. I spent some time in both a kindergarten and first grade classroom. This was an exciting time as I got be part of the kindergarten class on the first two days of school and the second week with the first grade classroom. The kindergarten classroom had approximately 18 students and the first grade classroom had approximately 22 students.
My child 's name is Jude Alexander and he is a male. As a baby he is cautious around new people and situations, but warms up fairly quickly to friendly people. In kindergarten Jude Alexander seemed to have made one or two friends and usually played cooperatively and was sometimes reluctant to join in new activities with unfamiliar children. He performed below average on tests of vocabulary, and the ability to retell a story. He had a real knack for the art projects, and really got interested in the pre-math activities involving working with blocks and geometric shapes. In first through fifth grade he worked cooperatively in groups, usually respects the rights and property of others, and usually demonstrates appropriate peer social interaction. He demonstrates strength in art, all areas of reading, and in spelling and appropriate for the grade level in writing. He needs additional help in the areas of speaking and listening and in the content knowledge of social studies, science and music. He was average in mathematical problem solving, understanding of data, number concepts, graphical applications, and arithmetic computation. In the seventh grade, he consistently contributes to cooperative group activities and respects the rights and possessions of others, and shows age-appropriate social interaction with peers. He demonstrates strength in art, reading, spelling and writing. He was average in math and science, and needs additional
Looking back on the past few weeks of practicum, there have been many opportunities for personal reflection and connection between my placement and the course work. To describe my role, I am placed in the Outreach and Advocacy program at Chimo Community Services. From what I understand so far, I will have a few clients each day that come in with different issues. We assist them in navigating these issues an advocating for them when necessary. For example, some clients will come in with limited English proficiencies or disabilities and will need assistance filling out forms. Other times, clients need assistance navigating complicated government and structural applications like Canada Pension Plan, BC Housing, and Income Assistance.
I began my field experience on June 4, 2015 with no idea of what to expect. During the period however I was able to gain a first-hand experience of how different environments affect students. It is always easy for someone to feel at home and function effectively in a familiar environment, but what happens to a student when the environment is not their own, or not what they are used to? Do the same principles or measuring stick apply to these students that apply to those in a familiar environment? It was interesting to observe these students who were completely out of their comfort zone but were required to learn at the same level and have the same academic achievement as those who were completely at home.
During my field experience at Ridge Elementary school, I was placed in a 4th-grade classroom. While working on my field experience I had gotten the luxury to connect and bond with several types of student’s from various backgrounds and demographics. When I first stepped foot into the fourth-grade classroom it was very well decorated with quotes, educational tips, and motivational messages. There were three windows in which the students often gazed out while working. The walls were an eggshell color which was kind of depressing. Adding color to the walls would have made the environment feel a little more joyful yet the students still made that classroom their second home by decorating their desks.
Another key principle is Validity. This is just as important as reliability and the assessor needs to question if the assessed task actually showed what it was supposed to. It is also important that the tasks you are assessing are relevant. When devising an assessment task it is important that it addresses the skills you want the learner to develop but that it is also in a context with a sense of real purpose to the learner.
There are many aspects to teaching and as a teacher it is necessary to understand the most important aspects of teaching and how they should be incorporated into the classroom. A teacher’s most important job is not to teach specific material but to build relationships with the students and ensure they feel safe and cared for. Once the teacher is able to ensure this then they should focus on teaching, however teaching is more than listing off facts and sharing information with the students. As teachers it is essential we try to engage our students. There are many ways to engage students and each teacher as a specific way they get their classroom involved in learning. During my field experience I have learned the importance of being able to engage students and I have seen what a classroom looks like when students are not engaged. My field experience has helped to reflect on student engagement and how I would place the experience in my philosophy of education.