Assessment: The Pathway to Improved Professional Performance

Assessment The Pathway to Improved Professional Performance by Joe Pergola

Thankfully, the education profession is once again focusing on the importance of “assessment”. The first big push for embedded assessment accompanied the introduction of the National Standards which called for the systematic assessment of student learning. The newest education initiatives such as Common Core, Annual Professional Performance Reviews and others designed to improve student learning, have once again brought assessment front and center as a critical element in the teaching/learning process. It’s time to re-examine portfolio assessment in light of today’s push for evidence of learning.  Comprehensive assessment is the most significant factor in the pursuit for better student learning. Improved learning is totally dependent on successful teaching and successful teaching is dependent on improved teacher instruction! Successful teachers continually evaluate the teaching and learning process. They determine the learning level of their students and refine their instruction for greater success. Improved student learning is an out-growth of information necessary to judge student understanding, measure student progress and examine student thought processes. Teachers who are successful question what they can do differently, what new materials they can use and what new instructional approach they can take for improved results. In other words, successful teachers assess learning because assessment improves instruction.  Successful teachers continually evaluate the teaching and learning process. They determine the learning level of their students and refine their instruction for greater success. Improved student learning is an out-growth of information necessary to judge student understanding, measure student progress and examine student thought processes. Teachers who are successful question what they can do differently, what new materials can they use and what new instructional approach they can take for improved results.

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