Chapter 6 Reflection

This chapter discussed assessment, an obviously critical and essential aspect of teaching, in science education. After discussing assessment in theory, including distinguishing it from "evaluation", many examples of assessments are given. Overall, the questions "Where are learners going?" and "Where are they now?" are stressed as the ideal focus of assessments, and teachers should use rubrics or some other sort of scoring guide for each. I liked the charts that were provided in the chapter, such as Table 6-1 ("different audiences use different types of assessment results for different purposes") and Table 6-2 ("science assessment examples"), as they made the specifics clear regarding a subject which tends to be very involved and tedious. I feel that this is a strong aspect of the book in general - it is very well organized (although admittedly can be a bit dry to read! lol). Also the examples of student work are very helpful, such as the one on page 148, which is an example of a student record page. Overall, I know that assessment is so important to do well in the classroom, for many reasons, and so I want to learn how to properly and effectively use assessments, as well as evaluations, as a future teacher. This book chapter is an excellent reference to help me get there, but ultimately it will be in the actual classroom where I will learn what works and what doesn't. For now though, this is very good!