Superintendent's Message: Assessments are critical to a good education

Two years ago I went to see my optometrist about a red spot on my eye.  He said, “It’s probably nothing, but let’s do some tests to make sure.”  He referred me to specialists for more tests, and it was determined the spot should be removed. Another test revealed the spot was melanoma.

Because my doctor is a thorough professional, he didn’t rely on his first instinct; he wanted to have all of the information before making a diagnosis.  A battery of tests allowed a team of doctors to make the correct diagnosis. After more tests, doctors prescribed specific treatment that left me cancer-free with no loss of vision. Doctors continue to use tests to monitor my progress.

Good doctors don’t rely on gut feelings when making decisions about our health. We would never expect a doctor to guess on a diagnosis, hand us a prescription and expect us to get well on our own. Science has given doctors tools to screen and assess our health, make diagnoses and prescribe a plan for improvement. The doctor and patient must work together to implement and monitor the plan. If the plan does not work, the doctor will conduct further tests and look for a new diagnosis.

The role of the teacher today is comparable that of a doctor.

During the past three decades, research has provided us with vast amounts of knowledge about how human beings learn. Educators are able to use this knowledge to teach more effectively. We’ve also seen a change in philosophy where our job is not just to teach, but for all students to learn. If our students are not learning, it is our responsibility to adjust our instruction in ways that learning can occur.

A critical component of our instruction today is regular assessments to screen and evaluate student knowledge and performance. That is the only way we can answer the critical question, “How do I know if my students have learned the material?” Instead of relying on a teacher’s gut feeling about a student’s knowledge, we have scientific data collected over time that shows a students learning pattern.

If a student is not proficient in a subject, we use formal and informal assessments to diagnose the problem and prescribe specific changes in instruction. We then monitor the student’s progress, and if we don’t see improvements, we do further assessment and diagnosis and try a different approach. It’s a team approach with the teacher, students and their parents.

We’ve reached the mid-point of the school year and the season of state assessments will begin in only six weeks. We spend a lot of time preparing for and scheduling state assessments because the state and federal governments use these tests to measure the performance of schools and districts.

The time spent on state assessments is important and we want students and parents to take them seriously. Yet, the truth is, the more important assessments – those that really have an impact on student learning – occur daily in our classrooms. Just as doctors rely on tests to do their job, teachers rely on regular assessments so they can use their professional skills to the greatest advantage for children.