Common Core and Classroom Assessment

This is where the proverbial rubber hits the road. Not with a once a year test or an occasional interim measure but rather every day in the classroom. It is the classroom teacher who will be the primary deliverer and assessor of student progress towards the common core on a daily basis.

It is in the classroom that teachers identify individual student’s strengths and learning gaps. It is on a day by day basis that each student makes progress towards the standards. It is throughout teaching and learning that the needs of a whole child can be met. This is where they learn the important social skills that come from collaborating with others on a project. This is where they develop strategies to solve real world problems. This is where they practice with training wheels, not only the common core but the full range of 21^st century skills essential to their success: creativity, digital literacy, cultural understanding, metacognition, personal responsibility and more.

If we spend the next decade deciphering what students are learning in ELA and math, we’re focusing on their heads, but not their hearts and their lives. Teachers, parents, students, and the larger community need to know how our children are doing, every day; not only in ELA and math but also in civic understanding, the scientific inquiry, and career-building skills. It is in the classroom that students will be prepared for the world.

Energy, effort, and time are a major part of the equation for ensuring teacher’s success with classroom assessment of the CCSS. Yet most of the energy, effort, and time are being spent on preparation for large scale tests. It’s time to refocus on teachers and students.