Ponderings about assessments and conditions

Inspired by a #SatChat on assessment, a podcast by Another Mother Runner about Morning Routines (episode #399) and my newly reenergized running goals…

I have been known to army crawl out of my bedroom so that I could go, undisturbed, into the darkness of my house, like a ninja. I would swiftly change into my running gear in the laundry room and sneak out the door all in an effort to avoid waking my infant and getting my run in.  If these had been the conditions under which I was assessed on my parenting skills - conditions under which an exhausted 6 foot tall, typically clumsy woman who regularly likens her level of grace to that of Kramer on Seinfeld was army crawling in the 4am time period in the cover of night -  I would have most definitely failed infant sleep training.  These conditions are NOT the ones I would prefer to be in to demonstrate what I know about parenting; clearly I raised the white flag on sleep training long ago... 
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(Fortunately for my mom-self, I am apparently, not alone in these conditions.)

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In my newly reinvigorated effort to become a runner (again), I downloaded lots of podcasts to distract me from the regression I have inevitably experienced from NOT running regularly for quite some time.  I also downloaded Strava so that I could record my efforts and track my progress. After the #SatChat focused on assessment, I thought about the data I get from Strava and how useless it would be if that data was uploaded to, say, a running coach who would get back to me within the week with some feedback. 

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How productive would the next run before that week was up be if I am left wondering about how my last run went?  What might my coach's feedback be? Is the feedback in line with my own goals?  Are my goals within the realm of possibility?  Are these the conditions that set me up for success? Is the data for her to measure her own effectiveness or for me? 

Was my third run of the year in January against the wind, in the rain turned sleet the optimal time/condition for an assessment of my potential to make it through that half I am set on doing in May?  Maybe to measure my perseverance...but overall?  I’m thinking no.

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So in reflecting on assessment practices in our classrooms while all of this is swirling around in my head, I wonder:

• What good is assessment if the learner isn’t given feedback immediately?
  
• How do we know the conditions are optimal for every student to truly show us their understandings (or lack of?)
  
• How can we better involve the student in the assessment process so that they see it as a tool truly meant to support their growth and NOT to judge their performance on ONE assessment? (see army crawl above)
  

#SatChat about assessment (1/11/20) tweets/ponderings:
A2: Asmnt is the vehicle that frees us from delivering instruction our Ss just don’t need. If we truly evaluate all the info asmnt outcomes offer us, we can meet Ss at all levels of learning exactly where they are & maximize their potential. #satchat
A3: The most important stakeholder to communicate asmnt data w/ is the Ss! Through post-asmnt conferring, Ss get 1:1 coaching towards the class/unit goals & get opp. to own the goals more deeply in relationship to their own understandings/abilities. Set their own goals! #satchat
A5: Ss need to be the center of asmnt process! Ss should be armed w/ expectations & goals given & developed by themselves, clear about the path to understanding & hv ample ways to demo their learning. They shouldn’t be doing asmnts for us - for themselves! #satchat
@mssackstein
A5: Ss don’t need grades but some indication of progress (best done on coaching conferences!) . Shifting to prog. rep. w/ terms like not yet, approaching, meeting (standards) has positively impacted conversations w/ Ss & is promoting a stronger growth mindset. #satchat