There’s not necessarily a clear-cut answer to the question of whether we should share benchmark data with students. Students should want to progress for the sake of progression, not for the sake of their levels moving up. The goal is always learning, and data serves as lampposts along the way. Ensure that students understand that the data is never the goal, but a guide.Ensure there’s a clear connection between the data, metacognition, and “what’s next.” Help students tune into their own thinking about their progress, and maintain a dialogue on the strategies that will best help them move forward.Are students developmentally ready for the type of data you can share? If, as in the story I shared in “ Will It Help or Hurt to Review Scores with My First Grader,” the student has yet to even comprehend the nature of data, then it would be counterproductive to share.That it’s meant to compare individual students’ levels against their own progress - not against anyone else in the class. That there is a definite degree of subjectivity. Seek transparency not just about the data itself, but on its limitations.Students should rely much more on regular formative assessments as they make course corrections in their learning/growth. Reading benchmarks are a much less frequent and much more formal form of assessment. Data should only be one piece of the feedback puzzle.The more I reflect on this, the more I believe there can be - but with some important considerations, including, but probably not limited to the following: Not to mention the whole idea of “ No secret teacher business!” ![]() ![]() And I recently wrote about my quandary over whether to share scores at all yet with my first grader ( Will it Help Or Hurt to Review Scores with My First Grader?).Īll that said, I believe that in order for students to take the wheel in driving their own learning, they should be able to reflect using available resources and data to inform their decisions and progress. I also worry about our students and their parents taking too much stock in these assessments and therefore experiencing pressure, lack of confidence, and yes, even labels. ![]() As a teacher myself, I was glad during my daughter’s last parent teacher conference to possess the background knowledge of these assessments’ imperfections - we chatted about their subjectivity and the uneven spacing between levels (for instance, in the program my school used, it was an extra wide gap between levels T and U for some reason). ![]() I completely understand where Fountas & Pinnell is coming from here. But they don’t understand the intricacies of how those levels work the way you do. Parents also talk with other parents, and if they find that their child is reading at a lower level than other children, they might panic. They may see the level as a very exact measurement, but students don’t always read at a precise level. Informing parents of the level at which their child is reading can make them uneasy. Too much emphasis on levels can lead to misconceptions on the part of families. I recently came across this article from Fountas & Pinnell entitled, “ A Level is a Teacher’s Tool, Not A Child’s Label.”įountas and Pinnell believe very strongly that students’ reading levels have no place in teacher evaluation or on report cards to be sent home to parents.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |