Week 4 Reading Reflection

In our reading this week, I was thinking about assessments and how all students are not the same and how can we assess properly knowing this.  I was reading Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age and came across the following statement:  "Generally, educators have interpreted "fairness" to mean that assessments are uniform in format and administered in a standardized fashion.  The same test is given in exactly the same way and under the same conditions for each learner. In some situations, and for some purposes, standardized administration is indeed appropriate, particularly if the format and circumstance of the test exactly match the requirements of a future task."

This is so true.  We have been worrying about our testing scenarios all being the same, but the truth is some kids learn differently than others and with our technology resources we have already found many ways to overcome the learning differences so that all students can excel. We need to embrace technology and find better ways of assessing and helping students excel in their learning environment. We as educators have a responsibility to make sure all of our kids are succeeding to the best of their ability and the best way to do this is to find ways to enhance their learning utilizing technology whenever possible.


Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age: Universal Design for Learning, Chapter 7, Rose, D., & Mayer, A. (2002),http://www.cast.org/teachingeverystudent/ideas/tes/chapter7_3.cfm