Factor 4: Lack of Integration with Curriculum
Even if the first three barriers to accuracy inherent in traditional assessment were overcome, the value of the results they produce would still be in question. There's a simple reason: Most traditional assessments are detached from instruction and practice. Students take a spelling test after they have been taught the words or a social studies test at the end of a unit. And even when these performance measures are well constructed, they reveal very little about the learning process and the value of different teaching approaches.
As teachers, we want to know how a student's knowledge and skills are changing during instruction and what is facilitating or hindering the change. We want to measure not only students' knowledge but also students' learning processes. The way to gain insight into learning processes is not by giving an end-of-unit test, but by examining the interaction between a student and curriculum over time—assessing performance and the factors that underlie it. What cues does the student attend to? What strategies does the student use? What motivates the student? This interaction also involves studying the effects of different aspects of curriculum. What changes in the content presentation are helpful? What kinds of feedback and supports help build skills? What content and what kinds of activities are most engaging?
To measure change accurately, teachers need multiple, flexible, ongoing assessments—more like those used by doctors. An ophthalmologist doesn't assess your needs only by testing your visual acuity; she also assesses what interventions will help meet these needs by trying out a series of prescriptive lenses. And the process does not end there: the doctor continues to consult with you on how well the chosen lenses are working as time goes on.
Two excellent ways to learn what is working and what is not are to observe and talk to students. Alternative assessments such as portfolio assessments and self-assessment journals are also effective ways to learn from students over time, thereby gaining a much more comprehensive picture of a student's status. Ongoing assessment allows us to measure not only a student's performance at one point in time, but also the evolution of that learning and the contributing factors.
