Maranda Paola

SED 335
Dr. Monsour
November 27, 2015
Assessment Observation
Over the course of this semester, I have had the privilege to observe a variety of
different teachers and discuss with them the way they assess their students. Although it
was my initial goal to observe one teacher for 10 hours, she went into labor early
resulting in me observing two different teachers. My first experience with assessment
took place on October 14th, 2015. I went to the CDC at Seton Hill University to
administer the Dibels test. Myself and another education major took turns testing a three
and a four year old. The skill difference between the two students was mind blowing. The
four year old was excellent at naming sounds and letters whereas the 3 year old couldnt
name more than one. Having the chance to administer the test provided me with the
opportunity to see the difference in ability levels of two different students. It made me
realize that although I may have a variety of different students in my classroom, they will
all have different ability levels, and I will need to adapt my teaching and assessments to
best suit them as individuals.
My next observation took place on October 14th at the Ligonier Valley R.K.
Mellon in Ligonier, Pennsylvania. I went to observe Mrs. Storeys first grade classroom.
A lot of what I observed was guided reading. The way guided reading worked, was a
rotation during centers. The entire 1st grade uses a benchmark test called Fountas and
Pinnell. The way it works, is that the teacher tests the students at the beginning of the
year. Then once the results are in the teachers separate the children into different reading
groups. Every day during centers a new group rotates through. They first read a leveled
reading book alone, and then they take turns reading it as a group. After they read the
book, the teacher gives them an activity to do. Some of the worksheets I observed them
do were to discuss the setting, concept maps, beginning, middle, and end, and problem
and solution. Mrs. Storey told me that every couple of weeks, the kids are tested again
using a running record. The goal is to have the children increase level reading books.
During the running record test the teacher marks down every word read and puts symbols
beside them to remind them what the child did wrong. The teacher marked down things
like misread words, skipped words, and fluency of the childs reading. Another test I
observed during my time with Mrs. Storey was a long a quiz, and a spelling test. After
practicing, the students returned to their seat to listen to the words, and spell them
correctly. While I was observing, I also had to teach a lesson for my learning to read
class. The teacher wanted me to design an activity, and then administer a sight word test.
I decided to create an assessment game called parking lot sight words. The students came
back one at a time during centers. The object was to drive the car and park it in the
parking spot that had the sight word I said correctly written on it. As the children did this,
I put an x on a worksheet by any words they may have missed the children and the
teacher both loved this assessment. A few weeks later, Mrs. Storey told me that the kids
are still asking her to do this for all of their sight word quizzes. The last assessment I
observed in Mrs. Storeys room was a CBA for mathematics. The test was a summative

one reflecting what the students had learned in unit two. I liked the way that the company
made the test. It had tier 1, tier 2, and tier 3 questions. The teacher had me help her grade
them, and the results of the quiz were decent also. There were no children who failed, but
definitely a few that needed a couple days of one on one and reteach.
The next parts of my assessment hours were spent in Mrs. Proskins Kindergarten
classroom at Ligonier Valley R.K Mellon on November 11th and 12th of 2015. Mrs. Storey
connected me with her when she went into labor early. I was excited to observe a
kindergarten classroom because I wasnt exactly sure of the types of assessments they
were using in the 21st century classroom. A lot of the stuff they were doing involved
constant informal formative assessments. There was a lot of observation, question and
answer, and classroom discussions. After observing, I had a discussion with Mrs. Proskin
about other types of assessments the kindergarten does. She told me about
Overall, this observation was eye opening. I loved getting to administer and
observe assessments being given to students in a real classroom. I learned a lot about how
to approach, and execute good assessments. By doing observations similar to these I will
be better prepared when it comes to creating assessments, and differentiating them to
meet the needs of my individual students. If a child cant learn the way we teach, maybe
we should teach the way they learn (Ignacio Estrada).