Assessments

I argue that formative assessments are useful in ways that summative assessments are not. The MCA’s are summative and are seen as the total amount, the end result of what one has learned. Formatives gather information along the way that may be of importance and interest, but may be lost by the time one reaches the end. I need to keep in mind that formative and summative assessments might not work at all. I need to be open to alternative assessments like portfolios perhaps. It makes me keep in mind the different learning styles out there, and the importance of differentiated instruction. This goes hand in hand with assessment. The necessity of structure and scaffolding is extremely beneficial when it comes to the organization of instruction, not to mention to importance of background knowledge and never assuming your students know what you want them to know.