Many people use the terms “test” and “assessment” interchangeably, but this is a mistake. In education, a test usually refers to a multiple-choice standardized test, while an assessment reflects a different way to evaluate what students know and can do. The SAT, which once was officially the Scholastic Aptitude Test, changed its name to the Scholastic Assessment Test, when it was a test, not an assessment. Finally it renamed its tests the SAT, which stands for nothing.
In this article, Arthur Camins calls on policy makers to abandon their obsession with standardized tests, which are not useful, and turn instead to a variety of assessments that help teachers and students understand whether the student has learned what was taught.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
I like the test/assessment distinction. Thanks.
On Fri, Mar 12, 2021, 9:00 AM Diane Ravitch’s blog wrote:
> dianeravitch posted: ” Many people use the terms “test” and “assessment” > interchangeably, but this is a mistake. In education, a test usually refers > to a multiple-choice standardized test, while an assessment reflects a > different way to evaluate what students know and can do. ” >
Stands for Nothing
Stands As Trifle
SAT
Testing Bible
Take a knee
No one should return to school until everyone, including children are vaccinated. And bringing the kids back to take the Common Core Smarter Balanced Assessments is doing no one but the corporate education lobby a favor. The tests were traumatic and meaningless before the pandemic. To impose them now is cruel. Teachers in their classes used to assess their students using their amazing gifts of observation and empathy. Two decades of teaching to the test may have tamped down these abilities; but, now would be a great tome to re-empower them and public education.
Should we forbid the unvaccinated to return?
Think of the unvaccinated this way.
I read last week that even after we are vaccinated, we must wear a mask because the virus can still live in our sinuses and we can still infect others even though the vaccine protects us.
Therefore, in conclusion, let’s encourage Trump’s Qanan fundamentalist, evangelical white followers to continue to not wear masks and not to get vaccinated.
Oh, I had my first jab of the Moderna vaccine on 3-10. After 4-7, I will be willing to volunteer (go undercover as one of them) to go maskless and buy drinks for the unvaccinated QAnaon people that worship Donald Trump.
Does anyone know where they hang out?
I’m even willing to lie to them like Trump does and tell them whatever they want to hear and agree with all of their conspiracy theories … as I continue to breathe on them maskelss.
Richard,
If we hold to that standard there will certainly be no school next fall (there may be a pediatric covid vaccine by late summer) and it is possible that the spring term would be in trouble as well. Given that the risks for children from Covid are less than, say, the risk of children being in a car (See https://emilyoster.substack.com/p/but-what-about-the-kids-flying), this would be a costly way to go with very little gain.
It’s never been about the risks to children.
Standardized testing does nothing for equity. It merely ranks and sorts, and for many vulnerable students it is a demeaning process, particularly when high stakes are a consequence. Closing a community neighborhood school and sending students to separate and unequal private school does not provide equity. It is disruption and destabilization. There are many more user friendly ways for teachers to assess and get information that will inform instruction. Standardized tests have been misused by politicians in this country to promote privatization of public schools.
Camins rightly points out better assessments without copyrighted protection can be useful classroom instructional tools that offer “targeted feedback from peers and their teachers to improve their own learning.” This is known as the peer effect, and it is a powerful element of instruction. One of the reasons that in person learning is far superior to cyber learning is that students help each other achieve a deeper level of understanding through group interaction.
What you said
🙂
GENUINE Evaluation and AUTHENTIC Assessment was THE 3RD “Principle of LEARNING,” was the Harvard research that Pew financed across districts across the nation. I was the NYC cohort for this research. There wer 4 principles for teachers–and et this— there were *FOUR PRINCIPLES FOR THE ADMINISTRATION** (that must be met so that the school organization runs smoothly, and the classroom needs are met!)
In the seminars that the University of Pittsburgh conducted in ALL the participating school districts,(in order to establish for teachers — a grasp of the 4 Principles of LEARNING (which are always present in the practice of successful teachers) — the conversation always began with: “What LEARNING Looks Like (everywhere and anywhere) .
I draw your attention to the adjectiveS.,, Genuine and AUTHENTIC!
Unauthentic tests that enriched Pearson and others, were ‘sold’ in the media by the elites (who own this nation and ALL the media)!
Pushed on our citizens who are totally ignorant of what learning looks like, they talked about “teaching,’ — lying to the public by offering “choice” —” get rid of those bad teachers who are not ‘teaching’ your kids, and choose a charter school…etc etc etc.
Now, one of the things that confounded me for a very long time, was the disappearance of THIS authentic research, which cost millions, and which resulted in the expensive books, which in NYC were called “The Performance Standards.” Ther e was a book for Social studies, and one for science, and one for literacy , etc. You saw them Diane because I gave them to you… I still have ALL of them. Anyone who wants them, let m know and pay the postage,,,I will mail them
These expensive volume sat not he shelves behind where I sat in the rubber room, when they removed me from my practice, and then TRASHED all the expensive portfolios that District 2 had furnished for my genuine assessment of the SKILL of writing that my students had accomplished from September to June.
My students emailed me. to tell me that my room was being trashed. The hundreds of books I had purchased for my library so the students could read and then write about wonderful books (in their weekly letters). which was the tool that WAS the proof of the acquisition of writing skills — learning. No multiple choice test could replace the evidence of the ways in which my students writing had changed and progressed in 10 months.
The portfolios that were passed on (from my room) to their new, 8th grade teachers , were EMPTY!
So, they trashed it and trashed me.
BUT I COPIED MOST OF THE LETTERS in order to post them on the bulletin boards or include them in the loose-leaf volumes of EXAMPLES OF STUDENTS WORK, which HARVARD said was evidence of PRINCIPLE NUMBER 1: CLEAR EXPECTATIONS
Along with my weekly letters (“Dear Boys & Girls” and. also Dear Parents) which set the guidelines for my expectations for their critical thinking and writing skills in the weekly letter, the looseleaf continued the letters of students that met the criteria for excellence. I have those notebooks. They make me cry..
When and IF I ever ACTUALLY put up my blog “Speaking As A Teacher,” I will post many those letters to demonstrate what a 13 year old child can accomplish when the expectations are clear (principle one), ND the rewards are present (2nd principle is rewards for ACHIEVEMENT!)
THE REWARD, BTW, WAS NOT a GRADE. Harvard identified the reward for achievement in my class — it was the acknowledgment (of their excellence in meeting the goals). when I posted their work, or, (and this is on film) when they discovered that** I had written a lengthy response to their weekly reader’s letter TO ME! **
I disappeared.
The Performance Standards from Pew, disappeared.
“The Principles of Learning” — the thesis of Dr Lauren Resnick which became the research — were not ’’out there’ * for parents (and our citizens) to see.. In that way, the Educational Industrial Complex
https://greatschoolwars.files.wordpress.com/2015/10/eic-oct_11.pdf. could sell tests.
Along came Pearson and the standardized tests… talk about conspiracy theories.
THIS is the one that took out the PROFESSIONAL EDUCA.TOR because, you see –The fourth Principle of Learning (which is present in ALL successful classroom practices — is an educated, experienced, talented PROFESSIONAL teacher, who knows her students, and is ABLE TO MEET the *objectives for their success.
THAT, was me… and millions of other teachers who Pearson evaluated into the gutter, so TFA novices could teach to the test.
I hav said all this before.!
I have said it over and over.!
I will never address it again. NOW it is your turn to ask about the PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING (out of Harvard) AND The Pew Research DONE IN THE NINETIES by staff developers at The University of Pittsburgh., Vicki Bill RAN THE TEACHER seminars.
Why don’t you ask WHAT WAS DISCOVERED IN THIS 3rd level SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH DONE ON the practices of TENS OF THOUSANDS OF TEACHERS ACROSS THE NATION — in order to prove that 4 things must be present in the classroom..
It is time that YOU all stopped pointing to the mess out there, and started pointing to this:
WHAT LEARNING LOOKS LIKE… according to the science of learning!!
Geeze, if the hospitals replaced the doctors with the ‘traines’ ambulance EMPs. people would die!
Discard millions of professional teachers — and it is no surprise that failure of public schools is next!
.. but who cares about the kids, anyway.? Educated citizens are the last thing the oligarchs want.
They need serfs, who cannot accumulate wealth, and will work for next to nothing, and live in poverty.
and this is 2 decades old: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPKKQnijnsM
The only tests, quizzes, assessments, etc. . . whatever you want to call them should have one unifying principle in their design: That the activity/exercise/performance, etc. . . is designed so that the student can better learn the subject matter at hand and to better understand where they are in their own learning process. PERIOD! Any other purpose for the assessment must be a secondary consideration.
The question asked prior to developing an assessment should be: How is this activity going to help the student help themselves in the teaching and learning process.
Yes, it’s really that simple. Unfortunately we’ve clogged the teaching and learning process with far too many assessments that do not have that primary purpose in mind and that are made for secondary-teacher understanding where a student is and/or tertiary such comparing evaluating teachers/programs for effectiveness, etc. . . purposes.
To simplify the purposes:
#1 Primary–to enable the student to further their own knowledge, fulfill their educational aspirations.
#2 Secondary–for the teacher to understand where a student is or perhaps how well a particular lesson “worked” in regard to #1.
#3 Tertiary–any other purpose but especially the ones, teacher/program/school/district evaluations that have nothing to do with the students helping themselves to learn and fulfill their own sense of being.
Well said. There are many ways students can demonstrate understanding and/or mastery that are far better than bubble or pencil and paper tests. With elementary students I have used highly motivating games to quietly assess what was going on with learners. Students had fun while I observed and noted who needed help.
This is no time to judge children or teachers. Realize however, when students return their skill levels will be all over the board. Of course educators know the difference between testing and assessment. Assessments that go immediately and directly to teachers is essential as they must know what level students are for planning purposes.
When the students return, there will be a collective slap in the face to all who support the current system of education which forces kids out of school. Maybe know educators will understand why I write books that detail problems and solutions. Yes AND SOLUTIONS!
And maybe you’ll understand my passion to throw out the system that throw kids into the streets like rubbish simply because they learn at different rates or in different ways.
When the kids return, LOOK IN THE DAMN MIRROR and get on board the hope train. Give those small assessments, including hands on assessments like science fairs and use those as jumping off places for your lesson plans.
It is essential that educators put the focus on individual needs of students and show progress in YOUR assessments. That will show what your students really accomplish and thus what you accomplish
If you don’t make these changes, the information from that test will lack validity, not show real individual gains AND GURSS WHO THEY WILL BLAME!
caplee68@yahoo.com.