1/28 - Week 2: What type of data do you use to make decisions in your classroom?

What type of data do you use to make decisions in your classroom?



Since in 2001 NCLB was introduced to the education world it appears that often standarized testing or summative assessment drives rather than facilitates instruction. Although the data offered by such testing is informative, standarized testing is only one type of data and can be somewhat limited. Other forms of data can be more relevant and informative to the classroom setting and for the individual student. Such data collection, although not numerical in nature, is just as effective, if not moreso. Science and math teachers generally and traditionally see only numerical data as valid and significant. "In teaching, relationships and perceptions matter as much as curriculum and practice (Morrison, J. (2008). Why Teachers Must Be Data Experts. Educational Leadership, 66(4), . My practice of formative assessment - an ongoing alternative, incorporates all three approaches namely; "on the fly" which I call teachable moments, planned for interaction, and formal or embedded in the curriculum, techniques. My assessment strategy then is to use assessment on a continual basis to allow it to become an integral part of the teaching-learning process.