Assessment Inventory

Throughout my field experience, I observed Mr. Lusk teach various lessons to the class. Of the many
lessons I observed, two lessons caught my attention regarding the way the students were assessed. The
social studies lesson focused on the roles of the key figures during World War II, and the science lesson
focused on processes that affect landforms. The various types of assessments used by Mr. Lusk include
observation, oral questions, selected response, brief constructed response and performance. Also, preassessment, formative and summative assessment. I took note of how each assessment was
administered, to whom the assessment was administered, and how the assessment data was used by
the teacher.
At the beginning of both lessons, Mr. Lusk administered a pre-test. The definition of a pre-assessment is
a method practiced in the education fields, where educators take in consideration what the students
knows about the subject at hand to identify any misconceptions. It is considered an effective evaluation
method, that provides a better understanding to the whole education process and strengthen the
communication between all parties involved. Lets use the science lesson for example. He assessed the
students on weathering, erosion and deposition. For one of the questions, he used a table that asked
the students about each of the science words, if they knew the meaning of the word and what it meant.

During the process of both lessons, Mr. Lusk took note of the students reactions and understanding of
the information. This falls under formative assessment. A formative assessment is a range of formal and
informal assessment procedures employed by teachers during the learning process in order to modify
teaching and learning activities to improve student attainment. This was the first kind of informal
assessment that I noticed. Mr. Lusk used observation to decide whether or not he should explain the
content again, give more examples, or continue to the next part of the lesson. Because it was an
informal assessment, it was difficult me for to tell which students Mr. Lusk observed. Once the lesson
was complete, I asked Mr. Lusk which students he observed. He explained to me that during the
beginning of the lesson, he paid attention to all the students; however, as the lesson progressed, he did
more observation on those students who were having difficulty understanding the content. The informal
assessment was used during both the social studies and science lessons. Mr. Lusk explained that he uses
observation throughout all of his lessons.

In the science lesson, Mr. Lusk used selected responses and oral questioning to assess the students.
Throughout the entire lesson, he continued to ask the students questions regarding the content. The
questions were used to make sure the students understood the problem solving process and steps. The
student had to explain their answer. By the explanation, Mr. Lusk was able to see where the students
were having difficulty understanding the content. The selected response assessment contained both
multiple choice questions and fill in the blank questions. The test was administered to all of the students
in the class. During the test, each student had to spread the desk out. When looking over the
assessments, it was apparent that some students just put numbers and did not attempt to work out the
problem. The assessment data was then used by Mr. Lusk to see which students needed to review the
information from the lesson. He would then ask me to work with those groups of students, so that they
may have a better understanding.
In the social studies lesson, oral questioning was also used as Mr. Lusk continued to teach the lesson.
The questions referred to the content that Mr. Lusk just taught. The assessment at the end of the lesson
contained both selected response questions and brief constructed response questions. The test was
given to all of the students within the classroom. Just like the science test, the desks were spread to
prevent students from cheating off of each other. The selected response questions dealt more with facts
about key persons in World War II. The brief constructed response questions required the students to
write a short answer to the question. For example, one of the questions was how did World War II
contribute to the war. The last assessment used was a performance. The students were required to do a
project. For the project, students had to create a timeline for the key figures in World War II The project
was a form of summative assessment. The goal of summative assessment is to evaluate student learning
at the end of an instructional unit by comparing it against some standard or benchmark.
After observing the various types of assessments that Mr. Lusk used, I realized that not all students
perform at their best for all types of assessments. Some students performed better on selected
response questions while others excelled at answering brief constructed response questions. I learned
that assessment plays a major role in instruction within a classroom.

Reflection

After observing the two consecutive lessons taught by Mr. Lusk, I began to have an understanding as to
why he uses certain assessments. All students do not learn the same way. This was the reason for the
different assessments used by Mr. Lusk. I found observation to be the most effective and beneficial
assessment used by Mr. Lusk. The observation allowed for him to make adjustments throughout his
lesson. I thought that he used selected response questions and brief constructed response questions for
the right subjects. As I observed, I saw how the students liked multiple choice a lot of the time. This type
of assessment is good as long as it continues to challenge the students by asking critical thinking
questions. The questions should be phrased in such a way that the students still have to process and
think about the possible answer choices.
For the science lesson, the oral questioning and selected responses seemed to work but only to a certain
extent. I saw that the students did not always understand when given multiple choice. Many guessed
questions and many knew the answer but nothing more. As I observed the students taking the
assessments, I noticed that some of the students were just circling answers. This automatically showed
me that some of the students were clueless as to what they were taught and what they were being
assessed on.
The assessments used in the science lesson seemed to be more successful than those used in the social
studies lesson. Having the students to label a diagram or to make a Venn diagram was very successful.
The students were able to explain their thoughts completely. As I observed the students taking their
assessments, I noticed that they seemed to be more engaged in this assessment. The students were
more enthused to complete this assessment compared to when they were completing the social studies
assessment. I could only assume that the students liked science more than social studies when making
this observation. The performance assessment seemed to be the most successful assessment in both of
the lessons. I say this because the students were able to apply their knowledge to real life activities.
The assessments Mr. Lusk used seemed to be helpful to a certain extent. I believe that he could have
been clearer with the instruction so that she could have received better results on some of the
assessments.