Assessment tools in elementary education

This study adopted both qualitative and quantitative research approaches where mixed method designs were used for collecting and analyzing data for both teachers and learners. The study embarked on interviews for learners by use of structured questionnaires. Learners were also assessed to determine the level of reading ability. The study also used semi-structured questionnaires for teachers. A focus group interview was also held with teachers in the study. The study was conducted in Central and Nairobi provinces where Nyeri and Nairobi districts respectively were used.

Purposive sampling was used to select the provinces, districts, divisions, primary schools, populations and the target groups, in this case of the teachers and learners. Nyeri District was representative of rural primary schools and therefore, the municipality and one rural division was selected. In this case, Nyeri municipality division and Othaya division.

There were four schools selected from each of the four divisions, giving a total of 16 schools from both Nairobi and Nyeri. In each school, 15 pupils were purposively selected from the list of those learners scoring marks and below from their end of standard 5 examinations. It provides complete assignment management from the creation process to the correction and publishing stage.

Apps can be used by the teacher to give quick formative assessments, help compile student portfolios, facilitate group projects, and turn any video into a live chat with discussion questions. Students simply need to have a device smartphone, tablet, computer , and Spiral takes care of the rest, linking the devices and pushing out the teacher-designed content. Teachers can load pre-designed content or ask questions on the fly—Spiral can adapt to any teaching style. There is even a grade book section that teachers can use to document summative assessments, record student notes, and export to share with parents.

Spiral can be applied across grade levels and with any subject. ThinkFluency — ThinkFluency is a streamlined reading fluency assessment tool for teachers. Teachers can use pre-loaded passages or upload their own.

To track reading errors, simply tap the text where the error was made. The app automatically calculates the word per minute WPM rate, tracks the words that were missed, and counts the number of errors. The app includes ThinkMeasure technology that analyzes errors and provides student-specific instruction plans.

Student data is saved and can be tracked over time. All data is easily shareable with parents or future teachers. The Edvocate. Top Menu. Building Relationships with Families. Tenure: Everything You Need to Know. Assessment Elementary School. Spread the love. Matthew Lynch.

Related articles More from author. Teachers can ask students to complete worksheets, and how well the worksheet is completed is an indication of how well the students have understood the lesson.

With this feedback, teachers can review the lesson and the teaching methodology used. The teacher may decide that some teaching methods were more effective than others, and based on this conclusion mold future lesson plans.

These important tools allow both teachers and students to improve their performances. Traditionally, teachers used paper and pencil tests to assess student mastery of a given concept.

In a multiple-choice question, students may pick the right answer out of luck. Similarly, in a math test, a student may pick the wrong answer due to an error in calculation and not because of incomplete understanding of the concept.

These drawbacks call for better assessment methods. This has given rise to the concept of performance assessment, where students are judged on task performance. Once the tools are designed, teachers share them with the students. This gives students an understanding of what the evaluator will be looking for and students can hone their skills accordingly.