Module+5+Reflection

How has technology impacted or changed your classroom assessment and evaluation? Has your data collection methodology changed with technology? If technology has not impacted your assessment and evaluation, what would you like to change? Discuss technology and your own productivity and professional practice.

**Description**: Using technology to collect data through various tools such as Scantron, STAR Reading, and Study Island, and using these tools to help guide instruction in the class.

**Impact**: The technology tools our school used to collect data made it easier to see what each child needed next. The feedback was instant, and grouping students according to need was easily established using the data. Without the data the teachers would have to spend hours grading and analyzing student tests. But, because there are tools out there that will score and analyze student tests, it makes knowing what students need fast and efficient.

I have found that comparing scores to the separate software we used can sometimes be a little tricky. While a student may have a GLE of 4.6 on a reading test in Scantron, their reading GLE on their STAR test may be a 3.4. Rarely did I find two scores on separate software tests match. This is where knowing the student and his/her abilities comes into play. As educators, we really need to know our students and what they are capable. While the use of technology for assessment and evaluation may be instant feedback and may offer us a guide as to what each student needs, it could be flawed. This can happen if the student is having a "rough" day and blows the test off, or gets distracted and starts to guess; or to the other extreme, happens to guess really well and scores better than you know their ability to be. Then again, we are working with technology and it wouldn't be too much hassle for the student to retest on another day, or break the test down into smaller parts. In Scantron, you have a 2 week time frame to complete the test before it spoils out, so it can be taken in smaller doses if the student is having a hard time doing it all at once.

Using the data we collected from the various sources: Scantron, Study Island, Star tests, Practice OAA's, etc, we made a classroom binder for each teacher. These binders included all Scantron, Star tests, and Practice OAA scores. Since we took each test 3 times a year, we could look at student growth amongst each area and assessment method. We could also break down the assessments to analyze what area(s) each student needed more growth. The binders provided helpful information when grouping students and providing material that would best support their needs.

**Intent**: I intend to use what I know about data collection through the use of technology to benefit my own class, or to help others collect and understand data in their own classes. While I liked the binder idea, I believe there is a better way to keep all the data in one place. One idea would be to import the documents into Google Docs and have the teachers enter in the info that way. This way, when the admin or data person needs to check out scores, they do not have to go get this huge binder from the teacher. Also, it would make it easier to pass along the student's info to the student's next teacher. This would be a helpful tool for educators because they could gain helpful insight as to what their students already know before the beginning of the year. It would also be helpful when looking at growth over the year(s). How exciting would it be to see how much a student grew from point A to point B? This would be great info to share with parents and even to look at any growth spurts and maybe even be able to pin point what really works for that student.