Testing and Assessment

Brown chapter 23 and 24 provided great examples of what is important while designing a test.  In my ENG 346 course, we went over validity and reliability in depth.  These, along with practicality are all factors test makers must consider. It is of paramount importance for tests to be as valid as possible, accurately measure what it's intended to, while being reliable.  These facets should be set in stone. When we come to types of test, this is where one can see some variation.  I felt that the most important note to draw from these readings is that there are many different tests for many different purposes. It is the teachers job to discern what types of tests to give and when.  As the book states, norm referenced tests may be more appropriate due to efficiency and costs and better measures of validity/reliability, while criterion referenced tests may be more focused on washback and authenticity.

Another part of the reading I found interesting was the ethical issues of testing and the critical lens.  I couldn't help but think of the biased tests we covered in our ENG 346 class.  The ISAT for example didn't give appeal to the needs of deaf or ESL children.  Second language learners would just take the test, knowing that they were going to do terrible.  As the book mentions, many tests have their certain biases.  In my opinion, the biggest qualm with testing Brown mentioned was when he stated, "Tests promote the notion that answers to real-world problems have unambiguous right and wrong answers with no shade of gray." (463)  The real world does not operate on these same principles.  I feel the book did a nice follow up with explaining how the best way to go about testing is through multiple measures of testing or formative evaluations.  These processes mimic the real world in a sense that nothing is completely right and wrong. 

Curriculum Design and Lesson Planning

     Brown's chapter 9 through 11 was a great way to show all of the work that goes into forming a teaching environment.  Over the past few chapters, we have learned various approaches to teaching, but these chapters focused on applying these strategies to individualized lesson plans.

     

     When Brown talked about lesson plans, the only thing that remained in my head was the lesson plans I had been slaving over the past weeks for my C&I courses.  I would definitely agree with Brown when he states, "Those lessons, from the point of view of your own and students' time management, are practical, tangible units of effort that serve to provide a rhythm to a course of study." (164)  Lesson plans help give a concrete plan of what I want out of students, while providing a rough outline of how to sequence my lesson.  With lesson plans, a teacher must plan his/her objectives, rather than just hoping that he/she covers some valuable information without a lesson plan.  Lesson plans promote a structured lesson that is very efficient.

In regards to Brown's chapter 9 on curriculum, I felt that the most important part could be stated in one of Brown's quotes.  Brown said,  "It's important to place every class period against the backdrop of the course in which it is embedded and within the context of preceding and subsequent lessons." (161)  While reading many of Brown's chapters, you may develop great approaches towards teaching, or various strategies to meet learners needs, but it is important to place these concepts against the backdrop.  While many of us will have control of a classroom, we must keep in mind that, despite the lesson plans we come up with and the strategies we use,  we may be subject to higher authorities that provide certain curricula or standards to follow.  Various state standards may propose several objectives, while districts may have varying goals for students. In many high school cases, departments may stress certain goals or objectives.  It is important to keep all of these goals, standards, and objectives in mind when proposing your lesson plans.  Teachers must have an open-minded perspective to their own lesson plans, allowing them to be flexible to meet students varying needs.