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Assessment is an important aspect of teaching and not only needs to be done, but is helpful for ensuring student success. There are many tools that can be used by a teacher to assess a students’ progress and to guide them in the right direction when misconceptions arise. Teachers need to be aware of the tools they can use and how and when to use them.

Synthesis
The fourth chapter of Fair Isn’t Always Equal is all about different forms of assessment. It focuses on three assessment tools and the advantages to each. A [|portfolio] is the first assessment tool that is address and it allows teachers to see the progress of a student over time. Artifacts are collected throughout a unit, a year, or a students’ career to display works that have been accomplished and provide examples of growth. Students can reflect upon their work throughout the unit and improve in future assignments. Teachers can also use portfolios to compare among students and determine if they are at an appropriate level throughout the unit. Another assessment tool that is addressed in this chapter is the use of [|rubrics]. Rubrics are tools used by teachers to guide the assessment of student work, and to ensure the student is aware of what is required of them. Students are able to use a rubric to focus and guide their work and know what quality of work will get what grade. Teachers can use the tool to determine how well the students follow the directions, as well as to fairly evaluate the work. The last tool that was presented in this chapter was the use of [|self-assessment]. Self-assessment is used by a student to evaluate himself or herself, and to reflect on what they are learning. Students can also think about their own progress. It is important that students are comfortable analyzing their successes and their failures in order to improve upon their work. All of these tools are useful and should be used in various ways to help students succeed.

by Erika Tingley

Olivia Wandelear
I learned from chapter four that the three most important types of assessment in a differentiated classroom are student portfolios, rubrics, and student self-assessments. Portfolios track student’s work and progress over time and are very flexible in all subject areas. Rubrics clearly outline the content and factors a student should focus on. Student self-assessments allow the student to track his or her own personal growth throughout lessons and provide appropriate places for students and teachers to write feedback and thoughts on assignments. I would like to use these self-assessments in my classrooms, especially the journals and learning logs that offer prompts for students to respond to about their own personal learning. I can write responses to their thoughts to ensure that we are on the same page regarding the purpose and effectiveness of the lesson.

Courtney Burns
This chapter, as the title suggestion, gives descriptions for three different types of assessments, ones which the author of the book has found to be most successful in the classroom. Portfolios or a longitudinal collection of students work can be used to demonstrate their mastery of a unit or even an entire school years worth of units. The great thing about portfolios is that the artifacts contained within are often chosen by the students which gives them opportunities to self reflect on their work. Rubrics are another type of assessment that will work great in my classroom. With rubrics, the requirements and expectations for projects are clear, in other words, students will know what quality of work will receive what grade. Other options such as journals, interactive notebooks and questionnaires, can also be complete to allow students to self reflex on their work.

Erika Tingley
It is important that a teacher become acquainted with various tools that can be used to assess student learning. This chapter focuses on three methods a teacher can use to evaluate a student’s retention of material. The method of evaluation that I found most interesting was the portfolio. This tool allows teachers to assess students’ progress throughout their learning as well as to keep a record of what is accomplished. I think that as a teacher I would like to use this method sometimes in order to determine a student’s growth in knowledge and to be able to keep track of where he or she is. It would also allow students to see their own progress, which would encourage them to continue in the work.

Dylan Stefani
This chapter is all about more assessments and rubric making. It focuses on three important types of assessments and what they do. Portfolios are useful because they show the “big picture” or a longitudinal study of the students work over a period of time. This helps the teacher see the students development and if they are balanced with the other students. Rubrics are also good tools to use because they show exactly what needs to be done and if the student followed directions. A clear and precise rubric is all a student needs to go by if it is done the right way. The last assessment is a students self-assessment were they discuss whether they believe they have done what it takes to complete the task at hand. This assessment helps the student and teacher set specific goals for the student. Assessments are in place for the teacher to learn what the students know, not for the teacher to grade how well the student know the material.

Andy Shorey
In this chapter of Fair isn't always equal the authors get into more specific types of assessment. The first is portfolio's. I would really like to use portfolio's in the classroom I think they are a great tool for students to use and help the teacher grade and collect data as to where the students are at in mastery of the content. The second type is rubrics, in the book the authors discuss making a good rubric and how it is a good way to show student knowledge in different area's of a subject. Creating the rubric is very hard for teachers however they need to be specific and make absolutely sure that it works for everyone. I would defiantly use rubrics in my classroom if I am doing projects and maybe simpler ones for tests and quizzes. The third type of assessment is self-assessment. Letting students assess what they feel they have earned before you grade is a great tool but it could also be as easy as keeping a journal to show what they have learned.

Timothy Grivois
Types of assessment are often a hot-button topic for teachers because of their importance and relevance to modern classrooms. Public and private programs alike are always looking to measure their own effectiveness through assessment and evaluation. Finding out which types of assessments are the most applicable to certain situations is both necessary and helpful. Often neglected is the concept of student self-assessment. Creating an environment wherein students feel comfortable analyzing and understanding both their successes and failures will assist them in maturation and growth. Creating functional and proper rubrics that allow students to focus on their clear and well-structured objectives and goals will encourage them to pursue maintained effort. It is easy for students to find discouragement when they are ignorant of the criteria for success. Functional assessment can be one of the most helpful things for students while dysfunctional assessment can hamper the progress of many students.

Josh
Chapter four details three types of assessment that can be used instead of standardized tests. The three types of alternate assessments are student portfolios, rubrics, and self assessments. In math class I think a student portfolio would work great. You could see the change in the students work through the units and over the course of a year. You could really track the difference in understanding by assessing their entire body of work. Rubrics and self assessment would also be good tools but I think the motivation to self assess would be low with some math students and a rubric will not always be practical with math work.

Kay Sue Collins
There are three types of assessment that are extremely useful. The first is portfolios. They are very good at showing valid student mastery over time. They also give the student an opportunity to reflect on their own progress and make goals based on that knowledge. They are flexible and can be either all hard copy or include digital artifacts as well. However it is difficult to assign them a letter or number grade therefore some teachers avoid using them for grading purposes. I didn’t realize how many forms they can take. The second form of assessment in this chapter is rubrics. They are really useful because, if done right, the student has much more clarity about what is expected on a big project, and the teacher has a more uniform set of criteria with which to assign a grade for a project. But they do have less consistency from teacher to teacher and even from day to day. I feel a little intimidated by creating my own rubrics. There seem to be a lot of things to keep in mind while making an effective rubric. I especially liked the suggestion that you give the student only the mastery criteria at the beginning so they won’t ‘settle’ for a mediocre grade, because of lack of belief in their ability or out of sheer laziness. The third form of assessment is self assessment. It is especially important in helping students direct their own educational goals. Strategies include checklists, journals, practicing in front of the mirror, and videotaping presentations. This seems especially useful to me for teaching students to find their own feedback to assess their progress.

Heath
Chapter four provides information on three alternative methods for assessment. They are portfolios, rubrics and self assessments. Rubrics resemble a contract between the teacher and student and self assessment requires more student involvement in the process. I am interested to see how the portfolio approach might work with mathematics; it allows for long term evaluation of development and creates a physical record of the work. = =

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Dan Horne
In chapter four the book discusses three types of assessment that can be used in a classroom. One was a rubric, which is used to outline the requirements for projects the students will do in the unit. Another form was student self-assessment. This is useful in that the student can see where they are in their projects and it gives them a chance to look at their work from a different point of view. Lastly there were portfolios, which allow for a long term assessment over a unit or even an entire class. This allows the student and teacher to see how the student has grown over the unit or year. I really like the idea of a year long portfolio because it really shows the student that they have learned something by comparing works from earlier in the year to ones they did at the end.

Shila Cook
Chapter 4, //Three Important Types of Assessment//, explains the three most important types of assessment that we as teachers can use. The first type of assessment was a portfolio. Portfolios give students a chance to reflect and revise their pieces before presenting or turning in the final piece. They are also helpful because there is no definite format so each student can make their individual portfolio special, which might motivate more of them to complete it. The second way is by making a rubric. This is a very popular form of assessment because it can be molded to fit just about any project. The third type is student self-assessment, which is where students evaluate their own work. I plan on using each one of these types of assessments in my class.

Caitlin Alexander
Chapter four in //Fair Isn’t Always Equal// deals with three different types of assessment: Portfolios, Rubrics, and Student Self-Assessments, and it talks about the advantages of each individual method. According to the chapter, the advantage to portfolios is that they allow the teacher to examine the students’ growth over time (the portfolio could only last for the year, or it could encompass all four years of high-school) and it allows the students to not only reflect on their progress, but it also allows them to showcase the work that they have already done. The second method is through Rubrics, which teachers can use to evaluate how fully students have completed the assignment. The final type of assessment is Student Self-Assessment, which allows students more opportunities to reflect upon their own progress, work, and goals for the future. I feel that the most effective types of assessment are the portfolio methods and the student self-assessment methods. The portfolio method is a clear visual image of the progress of the student, and it allows the student not only to be creative in their work, but to have a physical manifestation of all of their hard work at the end of the year. I believe that Student Self-Assessment is useful because it asks the student to reflect on their own work, and gets them to think about what they did right, wrong, and how they could change it next time to do better.

Kasey Darnell
This chapter discussed three types of assessment that can be used in the classroom. Portfolios, rubrics, and student self assessment are all effective tools in assessing student knowledge and mastery of the material. With a portfolio, teachers can see a collection of student work over time, instead of using a single assignment as a reflection of student learning. From personal experience, I think portfolios are an excellent way for students to showcase their work and show how they are meeting specific standards. For many students, having a full portfolio of their best work gives them a sense of accomplishment and pride in their work. Rubrics are another assessment tool that I am very familiar with. My high school was one of the first schools to use standards-based grading and we had rubrics for nearly every project and assignment. As a student, this was very helpful because the expectations were very clear and the rubrics helped focus and guide our learning. This chapter gives a detailed approach on how to design clear, effective rubrics to assess students. Student assessment can also be a very valuable tool to facilitate learning. By having students self assess and reflect on their work, teachers can identify gaps in learning and steer students in the right direction. It also makes students feel more involved in the process and have a greater understanding of their learning style.

Kyle Rines
This chapter discussed three different ways to assess students within a differentiated classroom. The three were rubrics, portfolios, and student self-assessments. I can relate heavily to the portfolio aspect of these assessments because in high school it was required of me to complete a portfolio with overviews of every year of high school in order to graduate. It was not something that I enjoyed and became somewhat of a nuisance towards the final days of school, but I can definitely see how students would be able to reflect and assess themselves as individuals and as students to see how much they've grown in and out of the classroom. In my classroom I would probably use the student self-assessment the most. I believe that in English class (along with rubrics) discussion and self-assessment are the easiest ways to look back at prior work and fix it.

Ben Villeneuve
===Chapter four of //Fair Isn’t Always Equal// is fairly straightforward. It talks about “three important types of assessment.” This is one of those chapters that I can easily see myself referring back to as I begin my teaching career. It gives clear, step-by-step instructions on how to design a rubric. When I was in school, my teachers used rubrics for most large assignments. To me, it is important that I know what a teacher wants when they assign something, so I will always afford my students that respect. This section also talks about portfolios and student self-assessments, which I feel are important pieces of assessment because of how flexible they are. Students can use many different techniques to complete a portfolio, and the impetus is really on my to interpret their contributions correctly. In that same way, a self-assessment can give me valuable information on how a student is parsing the class.

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Tyler Brookings
In chapter four of Fair Isn't Always Equal the topic was assessing the students in a differentiated classroom. There are three main types of assessment in this chapter which are rubrics, portfolios, and student self-assessment. I feel this chapter can easily be related to many high school students experiences around the country. I know that for me I always had rubrics for large projects and the benefit of these rubrics were that they allowed me to assess myself along the way. I can definitely see myself using these three main assessment types in my classroom simply because I know the benefits of having something to look at and keep yourself on track, it is much more for my students than myself.