Parents - Assessing Students

You don’t have to be a teacher to know that learning is essentially an exciting but messy enterprise. Each of us has our own unique set of interests and talents, as well as a variety of learning styles. Some of us are Big Picture thinkers who build frameworks that become the infrastructure for new understandings. Others of us need many specific instances of a certain concept in action before we are comfortable with the overarching generalization. And these preferences have nothing to do with whether we are auditory or visual or kinesthetic learners!

The educational reality, then, means that those of us who work in classrooms don’t really teach. It is more accurate to say that we use all of our experience and expertise to facilitate learning. In order to be effective, we have to have many ways to assess the students to whom we feel such incredible responsibility. In addition to observation, class discussion, and one-on-one time with students, we also use a range of assessments to inform our understanding or what and how our students are progressing.

Diagnostic Tests

Diagnostic tests assess student knowledge and are used primarily at the beginning of the year for placement purposes. The can also be used to help detect learning gaps that may be impeding student progress.

Timed tests

Timed tests are used by teachers, grades 1 through 5, as a supplement to their regular instruction in mathematics. The early stages of learning mathematics, the basic facts are typically presented through concrete materials (counters, colored rods, and the like) with emphasis on understanding. Later the focus changes to rote and rapid recall so students won’t stumble unnecessarily when they use the basic facts to find sums, differences, products, and quotients. Through systematic drill and practice on the number facts, students really learn their basic facts; they come to know them as well as they know their name.

Trimester Exams

In the Middle School, comprehensive exams are given at the end of each trimester. Students in grade 6 take exams within their regular class schedule. For students in grades 7 and 8, each exam lasts 2 class periods. Exams are scheduled by Administration over a 3-day period during the last week of the term. Students take these exams in class during double periods. Exams for classes such as Latin, that do not have "doubles," will be scheduled by Administration.

Standardized Tests

Standardized tests are given to students, starting in first grade. All students take the Terra Nova, which is a nationally-normed achievement test. Students in grades 2, 4 and 6 also take the OLSAT, which measures ability. Results of these tests are mailed to parents with final report cards in June. Administrators then study the school-wide results to determine if specific adjustments need to be made to Rockwern’s curriculum.

Homework

Certainly homework has been the topic of a great deal of discussion, debate, and research in recent years. For instance, researchers from the University of Michigan compared the amount of homework assigned in 1981 to the amount assigned in 1997 and found the amount of homework assigned to students aged 6 to 9 had nearly tripled from 44 minutes a week to more than two hours. Homework for students aged 9 to 11 increased from 2 hours 50 minutes to over 3.5 hours.

These results obviously beg the question: "How much is too much?"

Rockwern Academy teachers take the National PTA and National Education Association guidelines seriously. We believe, for children in grades KG through 2, homework is most effective when it does not exceed 10-20 minutes a day. Students in grades 3-8 can handle 30-60 minutes daily.

If your child is routinely spending more time on homework than this recommendation, please contact the teacher. Parent feedback is the most useful data a teacher can receive, and all teachers appreciate knowing when a student is spending too much time on homework.