"Assessing and Evaluating Students' Learning"

         In the world of academia, there are a multitude of ways to teach a course and lead a class discussion over what they’ve learned.  However, an aspect of being an English Language Arts teacher is making sure students not only comprehend what they’ve read but are also able to apply it to the text.  In the chapter titled “Assessing and Evaluating Students’ Learning” in Teaching Literature to Adolescence, the authors have compiled various examples of evaluating a students’ progress in their course in order to see how much students have.  It was this chapter which helped me understand that there is more to viewing a student’s progress than just grades.

            In high school, I was conditioned by my Language Arts teachers to read a novel or short story, memorize as much content as possible (such as setting, characters, and plot), and be able to pass a test in order to obtain the highest grade possible.  Unfortunately, because of this method of teaching, my ability to dissect and analyze a piece of literature for its meaning was stunted.  After reading this chapter on assessing student learning, I am more comfortable now to teach literature.  By focusing their attention on learning critical conceptions and ideas about the text, the students become fluent with the “knowing-how” aspect of learning literature.  Nonetheless, this approach does not come without some short comings.

            One method of assessing student learning was introduced in this chapter as “Providing Students with Criteria in Writing Assignments.”  The gist of this method of evaluation was to provide a “template writing assignment” which is a “stylized writing task that dictates form” (Williams, 231).  While this template provides an outlet that William feels gives a student a form of free-writing, I cannot help but feel like this assignment presents a contradiction to its definition.  The template dictates the mode or vehicle in which the student may write about the intended subject; essentially, the student has no choice of free-writing, but is instead writing to the educator’s intended molding or outlining of the text.  The aforementioned example is just one of many ways that teachers may evaluate a students’ learning progress.

            While many of these methods do not require more than a student’s participation and paper and writing tool, another method mentioned did catch my eye that might have another shortcoming of its own.  E-Journals and blog responses can be seen as a helpful tool to both teachers and students.  With an increase in technology integrated into classrooms and students with proficient PC skills, it is hard to find a downside to this type of assessment.  However, what if students do not have outside access to a computer or laptop?  Some low income districts are restricted on the technology they receive in their schools; there are even some schools whose technology is too outdated and has not caught up with other schools in their district.  Simply for economic reasons, this method of assessment might seem a little out of reach for some classrooms.  It would make students without computers or internet access feel inadequate when compared to students who have computers and internet access.

            Developing learning criteria, rubrics, self-evaluations, and peer reading journals are other methods that teachers have devised in order to study how best to score and evaluate their classrooms.  Assessing and evaluating students’ progress in an ongoing battle and is constantly being developed and updated for the betterment for teachers.  Although there is no universal method that is perfect and will work for every classroom, as future educators, we have our own standards and our own philosophies to follow that will help us to assess our students.