Chapter 8: Effective Assessment

This chapter is about effective assessment in the classroom. “Jay McTighe says that assessment should promote learning, not just measure it” (p 89). The chapter then proceeds to talk about different ways to assess students effectively. One of the things that Wormeli talks about is making your goals for the unit clear. He talks about how he sometimes gives his students the test to the unit before beginning the unit. Therefore they know what they’re going to be getting at the end of the unit, and there will be no surprises for them. Making sure that the assessments that the students receive are rigorous and motivating is another key part of effective assessments. However, this type of assessment shouldn’t be tied down to just tests. This is where other forms of activities and assessments come into play. Group projects, or individual projects are a good ways to effectively assess students, without giving tests. Overall this chapter has really good ideas on how to properly assess students without always giving them tests.