Thing #5 - 9 Ways to Assess...

...WITHOUT standardized testing.


On the heels of our first year with the STAAR test, I found this article on Tech Learning to be quite interesting. While there are many arguments for and against standardized testing, I think it is still important to find new and creative ways to assess our student's understanding. I believe this goes hand in hand with technology. 


One of the 9 ways mentioned in this article is using a "Badges and Points" system similar to Foursquare. Points would be awarded when an activity is completed and badges awarded to students who excel in the activity. This reminded me of an article I recently read where a teacher turned his sixth grade classroom into a role-playing game, complete with experience points, achievements, and level-ups based on classroom assignments. He was amazed at the excitement it started with his kids. He had an overwhelming amount of students turning in OPTIONAL written essays for experience points and students who never spoke in class volunteering in order to gain achievements. It gave the teacher more opportunities to assess learning, and engaged his students in a way that he had never seen before!


While something like that may not be feasible for me with 147 students versus his 25, the idea of finding alternative ways to assess understanding and get kids excited about school through technology is important. I still think standardized testing has it's place in education, but that alone is not enough to engage and understand our current students today.