Assessment for ALL

If I were a physician I would be trained to heal the human body; if I were a psychiatrist it would be mental malfunctions; if I were a pilot it would be managing the flight console. I am a teacher and trained to teach but I am also responsible for coping with family dysfunction, handling physical maladies, sorting through economic challenges, and managing technology.

Our efforts to homogenize learning for all has resulted in students taking the same test, at the same time, that is scored the same way, and results in data that is used for sorting and ranking students and teachers. There is a belief that this strategy will somehow reduce disparities in educational outcomes; outcomes that are dependent on so many factors beyond the control of the teacher. This in no way excuses teachers from providing the best education for every one of their students, but does mean that multiple measures of both students and teachers are crucial. Classrooms are places of variation; as such assessment should be flexible to meet the needs of all learners.