Assessment and Special Education Article Review

Open, View, and/or
Download this Document

Total Length: 1334 words ( 4 double-spaced pages)

Total Sources: 3

Page 1 of 4

Special Education

Assessment Options

There were a number of eminent points and observations regarding the methodology of assessment utilized within Maryellen Weimer's article, "Making exams more about learning," which initially appeared in The Teaching Professor in 2011. This article essentially functions as a case study in which an undergraduate instructor, Thomas Smith, employed a number of unusual methods to assist his students with the process of assessment. Among the measures that Smith adopted was grading the examinations students took individually with each student, as well as allowing them access to previous examinations on the same topic. While analyzing Smith's methodology, the author makes note of both positive and negative points that can aid additional instructors who want to incorporate some of Smith's techniques in the future. The overall effect is that readers and pedagogues are able to get a practical, compressive overview of alternate assessment methods that can easily be incorporated into virtually any classroom setting -- even for assessing special education students.

The principle thematic element that Weimer's article is based on is the fact that traditionally, the assessment process involves students concerning themselves with the resultant grade, and whatever steps they must take to earn such a grade. However, the obtaining of a particular grade is not always the objective of learning -- which is more commonly associated with edification purposes. The author poses that "the process of preparing for, taking, and getting feedback about an exam can also be a learning experience" (Weimer, 2011). There appears to be a good amount of relevance and accuracy in this statement -- particularly the part of it that references the feedback incurred once an assessment is given. With the answers presented to students in this setting (after they have already given a considerable amount of reflection on them during the process of studying and taking the assessment), "teachers can design activities associated with exam events that can result in better content learning and heightened student awareness of the learning skills associated with demonstrating knowledge" (Weimer, 2011).

Stuck Writing Your "Assessment and Special Education" Article Review?

View All Our Example Assessment and Special Education Article Review

Have A Custom Example Essay Written

According to this viewpoint, assessments are merely the demonstration of knowledge. It therefore stands to reason, quite logically, that these demonstrations of knowledge can serve to facilitate further learning, which appears to be a quite valid point as the following quotation from Julia Osborn's "Assessing gifted children" implies. "…in assessment, the person doing the assessment does have a major impact on the final result.. assessing children is part science and part art." (1998, p. 9).

One of the most salient aspects of the assessment process detailed within the case study of Weimer's article is the fact that students were required to offer justification for their answers on exams, and it was the justification -- not the actual answer itself -- that was graded and that students received credit for. From a pedagogical perspective, this method actually helps to enhance learning by allowing students to focus less on the correct answer and more on why such an answer is in fact correct. The examination administered in the case study was multiple-choice. Students could actually receive some credit for incorrect answers if there was a definite logic evinced within their justification that related to their answers, while students who may have inadvertently guessed correctly and could not justify their responses would not receive credit. The focus of such a method is extremely conducive to the didactic process because it allows for an instructor to gain a broader understanding of what students have actually learned about a subject. Some students may have understood a concept but merely miscalculated or misinterpreted a question -- and subsequently are still deserving of some acknowledgement for that which they do know.

One of the most useful aspects of Smith's case study pertains to how the pedagogue was able to systematically reduce the negative symptoms often associated with assessment. All too often, "For students, assessment often is perceived as a means of competing with classmates for the highest grade" (The Center, 2008).Testing anxiety, nervousness, and a host….....

Show More ⇣

     Open the full completed essay and source list


OR

     Order a one-of-a-kind custom essay on this topic


sample essay writing service

Cite This Resource:

Latest APA Format (6th edition)

Copy Reference
"Assessment And Special Education" (2012, July 05) Retrieved May 5, 2024, from
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/assessment-special-education-67713

Latest MLA Format (8th edition)

Copy Reference
"Assessment And Special Education" 05 July 2012. Web.5 May. 2024. <
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/assessment-special-education-67713>

Latest Chicago Format (16th edition)

Copy Reference
"Assessment And Special Education", 05 July 2012, Accessed.5 May. 2024,
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/assessment-special-education-67713
   

Open, View, and/or
Download this Document
order custom essay example