Chapter 7 Using informal and formal assessments

Chapter 7 dealth with assessing and if assessing is useful. Will the assessments help the teachers plan instruction, monitor progress, determine special education services and accountability? I feel that sometimes there is so much assessment that it takes from the teaching. I agree that as teachers we must know where our students are. I think that assessment is important in the beginning of the year, middle of the year and at the end of the year. In my class and in my grade level, on the first day of school I give an informal assessment by giving everyone a blank sheet of paper. I ask them to write their name, draw a picture of themselves. I pretty much can tell who has gross motor skills developed on observing how they hold the pencil. If they are able to draw and squiggle something I have an understanding of it. I then give them a ditto of a bus to color and cut. Just by observing I can tell who can color, has concept of holding a crayon, and who can cut holding the scissors correctly. I pretty much can group my student accordingly. After a couple of days when they have stopped crying I do a formal assessment on letters, counting, recognizing shapes, colors, etc. That is more depth and I can once again group my students accordingly. Most of the time the ones that started out in their comfort zone are the top group. They have been exposed to school supplies before they entered school. I am not against assessments but I am against of overdoing it. For example this last three days I have been testing, monitoring the students as they take TAKS! We have not even completed the TAKS (because tomorrrow is make up day) and there is an assessment for TPRI due. Poor kids they pretest, practice test and then the real thing comes along and they are burned out. I specifically tested a child with the accomodated version and by the end of the first hour she was exhausted. Then she tells me I am so tired of testing because we had so many practice tests and now I am tired. So in my opinion I think that assessing should be in moderation and not overwhelming for both the teachers and the students. So assessment do help the teacher with everything from instruction to identifying special needs students but I still think it is a little to much.