Technology Assessments

I believe that it is very important to have a thorough assessment of both educators' and students' technology skills and knowledge.  There are obviously pros and cons to the assessment process, but I feel the pros outweigh the cons.

Technology assessments enable you to identify strengths and weaknesses, and to show where to focus teaching and learning.  We all learn at different rates and are on different levels.  By using the assessment results, you are able to individualize your teaching, concentrate on needed areas and to refresh those skills that have been mastered. Using assessments in the classroom can quickly inform you of a student's mastery of the skill. The assessment also provides year to year comparisons and shows the areas where growth was accomplished. It shows areas of decline, and allows you to quickly narrow down areas where additional teaching and assistance is needed.  As a teacher, you are able to concentrate on professional development to build knowledge and skill in needed areas.

Technology assessments have many benefits, yet there are also cons to the assessment process.  Students tend to rush through testing, not realizing the importance of the results.  Although we stress that they take their time and encourage them to think through their answers, they still try to finish as quickly as possible.  I also feel that a majority of our assessments are given too early in the school year. Kids haven't quite adapted to the school schedule yet, and this can impact their testing results.  Educators often have the same problem, just wanting to finish so they can wrap up other projects. An example is the Star Chart assessment. We are told to finish the assessment by a certain date, so we rush to meet the deadline. Then, we are not officially presented with the results and what they mean for our campus.  Until this course, I hadn't read and/or examined our campus Star chart results.

Although we can see both pros and cons in using technology assessments, conducting assessments and using the results to increase knowledge is a benefit to any classroom or campus.

Melanie Starnes
EDLD 5306/ET8038