Phase I survey focused on respondent’s beliefs and perceptions about assessment in general. Upon review, responses revealed that overwhelmingly teachers believe
Table 30
Themes for Qualitative Study
Themes from interviews and open-ended items from survey. 1. Personal perceptions about assessment.
2. Perceptions of locally-developed, criterion-referenced, assessment process (STARS). 3. Perceptions of standardized, statewide, criterion-referenced NeSA tests (NeSA). 4. Perceptions of the transition from STARS to NeSA.
5. Perceptions of the prevalence of a balanced assessment system with local school districts.
It gives teachers the information they need to make good decisions about how instruction needs to change and adapt to the needs of the student. One teacher said,
I believe that formative assessments should guide and drive instruction. These formative assessments take many forms such as conferencing with students, checklists, small quizzes, etc. Summative assessments measure a student's growth in particular subjects. We need to be very careful about how we throw around the word ‘assessment’. We need to be very distinctive about the two different kinds of school assessment.
Another said,
I use pre-assessments to determine what needs to be taught or is already known, formative, and summative assessments in every subject area. I believe if the students know in advance what it is they have to know at the end of each grade level and we set goals together to try to reach, then they take on the responsibility of learning those skills and strategies for problem solving.
It is clear through their comments that teachers feel assessment is an important part of the teaching and learning process, “I feel strongly that assessment is the opportunity for students to show what they know and what they can do. Hopefully, instruction has been tailored to help students do that.” Yet another said, “The purpose of assessment is to help plan instruction, improve what the school offers and help with student learning . . . it gives feedback to students, teachers and parents.” Perhaps more to the point,
It’s everything . . . seeing where kids are at and figuring out what the next step is and where to go with them, how to help them understand even more and making sure that every kid understands on their level and can move to the next level. Teachers’ awareness of accountability and reporting was also abundantly clear through their comments regarding assessment in general. “I believe that assessment is a vital part of education. That being said, that doesn’t mean that the accountability of a school should be tied strictly to assessments.” Concern with how accountability results are obtained as well as time involved in assessment and accountability also surfaced. “I believe that assessment plays a part of school accountability but there are other factors that are just as important.” One teacher says, “Assessment is one tool in a broader picture that defines a school. . . . Solely using assessment to measure school success leaves out many factors.” Another said, “Assessment is extremely important within a school
system, but I do not agree that a statewide assessment is at all important for comparing or ranking schools.”
Another perspective on accountability was voiced by one of the teachers interviewed.
Teachers and schools are accountable for student results, but students seem to be left out of it . . . they don’t see the impact . . . perhaps it needs to be a grade for kids or something . . . I don’t know, but they are sort of the missing link. As accountability becomes more reported and the public becomes more aware, students need to become part of the picture.
The time spent with assessment rose as a concern for teachers.
Assessments are extremely important for all of the “parts” listed above. (Refers to five sections of the survey.) Unfortunately, assessment has gotten a bad
reputation among some in education. Statewide accountability assessments occupy a great deal of time that has taken away the ability for teachers to explore fun and engaging topics. Or at least that is the perception of some teachers.
“Although assessment is an important part of school accountability, it is not the only factor and possibly not the most important factor. Academic assessment, in my opinion, should focus on a student growth model.” Another said, “Too much emphasis is placed on accountability of NeSA. Too much of a high stakes test.” Another agreed that time spent on assessments is a concern, “We have far too many assessments at this time.” “student’s sometimes are ‘over’ assessed.”
Assessment and its connection to school improvement efforts also surfaced. “Without student performance data provided through assessment, schools cannot make any decisions about how to improve their programs.” “Assessment results drive the decisions made for school improvement as well as instructional planning.”
A summarizing comment to portray the sense of teachers’ beliefs and perceptions about assessments follow: “Without assessment, it is impossible to understand what learning has occurred and the instructional decisions that need to be made to allow all students to master the material.” Overall, teachers understand and give voice to the importance of assessment in providing meaningful instruction and improving student learning.