Technology and Assessment

One of the classes we have to take within the teacher education program at MSU is all about assessment.  We learned what makes a good assessment and what doesn’t.  There are many different types of assessments.  With in my subject area we typically have scantron, open ended responses, as well as short answers. 

            When going over the materials, the scantron test came up.  In high school I took my fair share of scantron tests, either nationwide or just in a particular class.  I learned something new about the scantron.  This is more influential for teachers than students.  With a scantron test the teacher can find out what the range of scores are as well as what was the most popular answer for the students.  This is very helpful to the teacher.  The teacher can see what the students are struggling with.  The teacher can then look at their own teaching practices and review the lesson with the students.  The one issue that may come about is the amount of time between the test and the time the teacher has the results.  In order to help their students they need to go over the misunderstood material as soon as possible. 

            Another piece of technology that helps with calculating and recording grades would be Excel.  My brother is a math teacher in Clifton and he has used an excel spreadsheet as his grade book.  You can calculate weighted grades.  This is a very helpful tool since you can know the progress of each of your students as well as being able to see which students may need a little extra help.