Gina DiPalermo

Assessment evaluation
Dr. Holcomb
April 27
th
2014

Prior to this assessment class my knowledge on the concrete meaning of
assessment was very slim. I perhaps only knew some elemental assessment types;
formative and summative and knew slightly how to implement them. Upon taking this
class, there are a couple of key things that have informed me about assessment and its
application. The first key component is simply my awareness of assessment. The
importance of assessing does not seem so apparent until we know why were assessing,
what were assessing, towards whom and ultimately for what purpose. I now understand
that student and teacher evaluation processes enhance the experiences we give students as
a result of our assessment and enables teachers to reflect on themselves and their
teaching. At this point in my career, I am still unsure of how I will implement certain
assessments and how to file them but I do know that evaluating and assessing students
knowledge and growth is tremendously helpful in building their skills, achieving the
goals we set out for them to but also strengthening the teachers ability to be aware of
students strengths and weaknesses. As novice teachers, I think it is important that we are
aware of SGOs, SLOs, Danielson and other types of data so we may prepare our
students and ourselves to meet highly effective means.
I have also become more aware of the more political side of assessment and the
imbalance that is present between state, district, administration mandates, assessment
motives and teachers motives for assessment and some of the injustices that naturally
happen within a school system. This is most certainly not to say that Administrative
authorities are completely against the thousands of teachers they assess. Naturally those
in the authoritative positions want to ensure that their students are being taught to achieve
at the highest and most worthy level. Despite the proposed imbalances administrators and
teachers encounter, I feel that it is less about collecting data to prove in a pragmatic or
scientific way rather a way of gathering information so that we use it towards the
betterment of our students. We attempt this ultimately for the advancement of their
education and their growth.
In regards to music education, I think the new Nafme standards for music
education give hope to existing and pre-service teachers as they continue to set new
outcomes for their students and prepare their students to meet high quality standards. I
think where music is concerned these new standards address all of the old concepts in a
less strategic way and empower teachers to get their students more in the doing. As a
result of this, teachers can more effectively assess their students growth. Overall, I
conceptualize assessment as a continuous circle; it starts with the students and teacher, is
perpetuated by a combined effort of assessment and the students and teacher with a
greater perspective. Hopefully within the near future I will be able to strategize and
implement more ways of assessing in my own classes and build for myself valuable ways
in which I can evaluate my students growth. I believe that the more we evaluate the more
honest we become and thus the more effective we become as a result of our evaluation.