assessment doesn't always mean tests

as·sess·ment /əˈsɛsmənt/ Show Sp[uh-ses-muhnt]

–noun

1. the act of assessing; appraisal; evaluation. 

 

assessment. (2010). In Dictionary.com.

Retrieved March 1, 2010, from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/assessment 

For teachers, assessment is the act of monitoring students' progress and finding out what information your students are retaining.  Hearing the word assessment automatically makes me think of test taking because for some reason, teachers love giving tests.  : )  Informal assessments can be done too.

• classroom observations--help teachers "understand how children develop language" and help teachers "understand the role of errors in language-learning" (Tompkins 54).
• anecdotal notes--teachers make brief notes about students while they work.  Often times, "teachers make notes about students' performance in listening, talking, reading, writing, viewing, and visually representing activities; about the questions students ask; and about the strategies and skills they use fluently or indicate confusion about" (Tompkins 55)
• conferences--teachers assess their students by talking to them.  They talk with their students "to monitor their progress in language arts activities...and teachers can learn a great deal about students and their learning if they listen as students talk about their reading, writing, or other activities" (Tompkins 55).
• checklists--check off activities as teachers observe students have completed them

My personal experience with assessment has been lots and lots of tests, and I hate it.  I haven't been exposed to many other forms of assessment besides standard testing. As a future educator, I better learn other ways to assess my students besides tests, because why would I make students do something I myself wouldn't want to do?  Authentic assessment is way better than testing.  I'd rather go the route of portfolios, projects, and rubrics.