The following scenarios depict typical children found in classrooms across America. Each child displays behaviors that prevent him or her from being successful in the classroom. The teacher faces challenges every day in finding the best practices to ensure that students like these receive the best educational experiences and instruction in order to promote healthy development and growth. As you read, think about what assessments would be most beneficial for each student and his or her achievements in the classroom, while also noting that those assessments should be purposeful. A purposeful assessment is an assessment that aims to test students with an end goal in mind and for a specific purpose. According to Norris (2012), “(1) focus on assessment, not simply tests; (2) clarify the intended use of the test; and (3) evaluate the outcomes of assessment” (p. 41). A purposeful assessment can yield data that allow teachers to provide interventions or enrichments for students at their level of learning. These assessments can allow teachers to also provide instruction that is meaningful.
Scenario One
Caleigh is a healthy five-year-old girl. She is in kindergarten in the public school system. Her class has 18 students with one teacher and a teacher assistant. She enjoys school but is not eager to go each day. Her teacher has recently reported that she is starting to show signs of struggle. Caleigh’s teacher is following the state’s content standards which are aligned with the general curriculum for the classroom. She receives daily instruction in phonics, reading, writing, math, science, and social studies. Caleigh has problems with blending sounds and withearly literacy skills and also shows very little interest in books or drawings. She has trouble following tasks when given and needs repeat explanations of directions. Her teacher also reports that she has trouble playing with her peers. There are times when she does not communicate and will not use any hand gestures or facial expressions. She often becomes frustrated when asked to repeat herself and is starting to withdraw from her peers. Her teacher mentioned to her parents that she does respond well to verbal praise and is able to stay focused on a task for a maximum of 10 minutes but often needs redirection. She frequently fidgets in her seat or on the carpet during circle time and is not engaged in lessons.
Scenario Two
Kennedy is a 7-year old girl in second grade. She enjoys coming to school and gets along well with her peers. She lives with her parents and is the oldest of four children. Her parents have reported that at home she is very rambunctious and behaves very immaturely. Kennedy’s teacher reports that she can be very quiet in class and participates very little in class discussion. Kennedy struggles to pay attention and is easily distracted. She excels in math but is below grade level in the area of reading. She struggles when solving words problems and with writing. She avoids completing work assignment and will misbehave when confronted with not completing her assignments. She often will shut down if she has to complete assignments and will refuse to be compliant.
References
Norris, J. M. (2012). Purposeful language assessment: Selecting the right alternative test. English Teaching Forum, 50(3), 41–45.
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