RUNNING HEAD: PHILOSOPHY OF ASSESSMENT

Philosophy of Assessment
Helena Herndon
North Carolina State University
ED 312

PHILOSOPHY OF ASSESSMENT

Introduction
I believe assessment should be an intuitive cycle that is the underlying method in a
system of checks and balances in student learning. Therefore, my stance on assessment is defined
for my middle school science classroom by my five beliefs of assessment; assessments should be
as unbiased and fair as possible for all students, should not dominate the classroom and distract
students and their parents from true learning, be created before the curriculum so that formative
assessments are incorporated into lesson plans daily, and finally, should reflect all of (and only)
the learning objects for the corresponding unit.
My goal for my classroom assessment is that it stimulates the relationships between me
as a teacher, my students, and their parents/guardians in a positive, healthy way. I also want my
assessment to challenge students while simultaneously giving them an outlet to build self-esteem
and self-awareness about their own learning habits and patterns.
My overall classroom assessment plan is based off my fieldwork observations from my
last two semesters, the reading from our 311/312 course textbook, Fair isn't always equal:
Assessing & grading in the differentiated classroom (Wormeli, 2006), and the various academic
research that corresponds with the cultural and educational reform movement often coined The
Race to Nowhere of which I am extremely passionate about and inspired by.
5 Belief Statements
1) Assessments should be as unbiased and fair as possible for all students.
During our 311 lecture, I was surprised and very interested in the fact that there are so
many ways that an assessment can have bias for students. For example, topics and labels can be

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used in test questions (such as race, culture, gender, and age bias) that may bring up negative
emotions and cause a student to perform less than their best on an assessment. Assessment is
defined as qualities of any assessment instrument that offend or unfairly penalize a group of
students because of the students gender, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, religion or other
such group-defining characteristic according to Popham (Popham, 2012).
Therefore, in my classroom, I will do my best to prevent testing bias when I write my
assessments with this knowledge I have of such bias criteria and further research. I will
constantly be reviewing my materials for bias, and serving on/instigating bias review panels in
my PLT or department, while also creating the accommodations for students with IEPs or special
learning needs on a test.
I also am committed to creating a safe place for students in my class, where I teach
student not only the material in my class but how to respect themselves and each other, and my
tests and assignments will reflect this by using inclusive and worldly anecdotes and scenarios.
According to Popham, this would include avoiding the creation of subgroups in the classroom
and in testing questions (Popham, 2012).
2) Assessments should not dominate the classroom and distract students and their parents
from true learning.
Too often in our society do we find that a teacher and a curriculum is teaching to the
test where test performance outshines the love and exploration of learning in a classroom. This
trickle down culture that stems from administration often finds its way into student's homes,
where parents become helicopter parents and go online to find out a student's grade before the
students even knows their grades themselves.

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But in fact, we know from research studies that high-stakes testing environments has only
led to increased dropout rates long term (Jacob 2001), and the American Psychology Association
reports higher anxiety and depression levels in children from the last decade due to academics
(Whitman, 1985).
In my classroom it is important to me that a student's overall classroom performance,
grades, and self-esteem are not solely dependent on assessment grades. I do not want my
students to feel great test anxiety or comparison to their peers, and I will not condone parents that
do not align with my classroom environment and threaten the mental health and wellbeing of
their children.
Therefore there will be many ways that a students classroom performance will be judged
other than assessment grades. As a teacher, I will create a classroom culture where a student's
character, work effort, and intellect are all weighted more so than a test grade. I will have
incentives and praise for these factors, and subdue the feedback from assignments.
Grades, numbers, and tests will not be in public place so that students can compare, and I
will not allow students to discuss these things out loud in class. Parents will have access to their
childs grades but a student is allowed to tell me if their parents are putting too much pressure on
them and I will do the best I can to have a conversation with that parent and intervene.
Participation grades, labs, projects, and assignments requiring creativity and scientific inquiry
will all important contributing factors to a students grade, not just their assessments.
3) Summative assessments should be created before the curriculum.
When I completed my ED 312 fieldwork, I was struck with a quote my cooperating
teacher told me in her interview which was, begin with the end in mind. This means that for all
her units and lessons, she begins with creating the summative assessment, and knowing what the

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students will need to know to complete her lesson and take her assessment. This is the way I
intend to create my lessons and formats.
Later, I found out this was a key point in our textbook (Wormeli, 2006, pp. 21-22).
Wormeli claims that if you give students a clear vision of what the ending test will look like, they
will have greater motivation to learn and do assignments, because the final product seems
tangible and therefore attainable (Wormeli, 2006).
I believe this is an outstanding approach to creating your lessons and curriculum; outline
the lesson and the unit objectives, think about what you want the student to be able to do by the
end of your learning segment, and then create your formative assessments, and finally your daily
lesson plans.
When a student takes a test in my classroom, they should be able to identify the
objectives that are represented by the test questions, and recall that the information was taught
for each objective in class in preparation for the test and their corresponding lessons. Incentives
are apparent throughout the lesson, for example hearing the teacher say, this will be on the test,
and student's perking up (Wormeli, 2006, pp. 22).
4) Formative assessments should be incorporated into lesson plans daily.
Formative assessments are imperative to measure student learning, and also to self-assess
your methods as a teacher. To have a complete lesson in a classroom each day, teachers should
administer at least one formative assessment per lesson. Our text describes formative assessment
as wisdom (Wormeli, 2006, pp. 28). This critical feedback is the most powerful single
innovation in student learning, because it is the intermediate feedback in the progress of
learning that makes more of a difference than the end product (Wormeli, 2006, pp. 28).

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This will be the case in my classroom, as I have formative assessments throughout my

daily lessons before the summative for a learning segment, because it is important to me that by
the end of the class period when the students walk out of the door, I can tell their standing on the
material. I will know if they have learned the material or if they are still struggling and where.
That way I can adapt the future lesson plans I have to meet their dynamic needs.
5) Assessments should reflect all of the learning objects for the corresponding unit, and
nothing that was not introduced or discussed in class.
I want my students to feel like there is no excuse for them to not do well or be prepared to
take my assessments. Therefore, all of the questions on the test should reflect purely the learning
objects from the class, and nothing new or any outside material. This viewpoint on test taking is
what Wormeli describes as making test questions authentic to instruction and simply
assessing what you want to assess in the most straightforward way possible (Wormeli, 2006,
pp. 82-83).
To do this, the study guide for my tests will always be the learning objectives, and
nothing else will be needed. I experienced this method for the first time in a college classroom,
where the professor gave out the learning objectives for the entire year and said, this is your
study guide for the final. This will create opportunity for students to feel prepared and
confident, and know exactly what they need to study based on what they may be struggling on.
Syllabus
Welcome to my middle school science classroom! Allow me to explain some of the
procedures in my classroom regarding testing and grading.

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My Grading Philosophy- I am not the biggest fan of grades. After all, your grades
do not define you! However, I am a big fan of making sure that each student in my class
is learning successfully. And reviewing student work, giving feedback on assignments,
and reviewing assessments during and at the end of each topic is one of the best ways I
can tell how you are doing in my class. Therefore, the final grade for my class will be a
compilation of 40% participation/informal labs, 30% assessments, and 30% formal
labs/project grades.
Expectations of my Students- My classroom is a two way street. I respect my each
of my students as an individual, and I expect that my students will do the same for me.
Learning is also a two way relationship in my class. I need my students to come to class
prepared and ready to learn with a good attitude, so that in return I can create the lessons
and environment that will help students succeed and shine to the best of their ability. I
also understand that life can be hard outside of my classroom, and there are a lot of things
we cannot control in our lives. However, our education, and what we do in the classroom,
is one of the things we can control. So in exchange for my students providing a great
attitude and work ethic, I will do whatever I can so that when a student walks through my
door, they are in a safe, positive, accepting, open, creative, and inspiring place to learn
with no judgment, no matter what is left on the other side of the classroom door. But that
means I expect all students to leave anything that doesn't align with those parameters
outside my classroom door.
Late Work Policy- Late work will always be accepted, but 10 points will be
deducted for each day the assignment is late until the threshold of a 60%. However, late
work is another circumstance where a student needs to take responsibility for their own

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learning and approach me or a peer to get he missed assignments; I will not remind or
keep track of a students late work.
Participation- You have to participate in your own life every day. That means you
have to show up for your own life. You have to show up for your friends and family, your
community, your world and your responsibilities. You cannot just exist as a warm body
either; to truly live you have to be present, active, and alive. And one day, you will have
to show up and participate in your job. The same goes for my classroom, and that is why
participation is a large factor in your grades.
Homework- You will not find a great amount of worksheets, papers, or busywork
being taken home each day from my class for homework. Life is short, and I want you to
enjoy your youth while you can outside of school. However, some of my creative projects
and assignments will have the option to be taken home and worked on. Also, I do expect
students to be studying from their given study guides before tests at home, so there is no
excuse for an unsuccessful test grade.
Grading Scale- The grading scale for Wake County was recently changed to a 10
point scale as follows, A: 90-100 = 4.0, B: 80-89 = 3.0, C: 70-79 = 2.0, D: 60-69 = 1.0, F:
< 59 = 0.0
Special Circumstances- If you are your family is experiencing some sort of
special circumstances that is affecting your schoolwork in anyway, please know that I
would like to hear about it and figure out a way that you can still succeed to the best of
your ability and are getting what you need from me as your teacher, so that you can get
what you need out of your education.
Conclusion
The benefits of my assessment philosophy mean that students in my classroom have a fair
chance of learning and performing to the best of their ability. This is due to the fact that through

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my assessment methods, I can conduct a clear cycle of assessment, feedback, and dynamic
lessons, in order to facilitate student learning, in line with standard IV of the North Carolina
Professional Teaching Standards. While conducting leadership in classroom through
administering my assessments and serving students various needs, my assessments will remain
respectful and fair to students, which covers standards I and II of the North Carolina
PRofessional Teaching Standards.

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10

References
Jacob, B. (2001). Getting tough? The impact of high school graduation exams. Educational
Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 23(2). In M. Neill (2003, February). The Dangers of
Testing. Educational Leadership, 60(5).
Popham, W. J. (2012). Assessment bias: How to banish it. Boston: Pearson.
Whitman, N.A., And Others. (1985). Student stress: Effects and solutions. ERIC Digest 85-1.
Association for the Study of Higher Education. ERIC Clearinghouse on Higher Education
Washington DC.
Wormeli, R. (2006). Fair isn't always equal: Assessing & grading in the differentiated classroom.
Portland, Me.: Stenhouse.