Assessment and Learning

Honestly I'm not 100% sold on assessments. They seem to be a mixed bag. I can see how some people need some sort of grading in place, but I can also see how much stress, anger and fustration they can cause. I often wonder, besides giving me feed back on my teaching style ,and making parents and adminstrators happy, what purpose do grades serve? I mean it seems that grades exist mainly for principals, department heads and parents happy with their kids progress. I often wonder what would happen if I did away with grades and went another route, like portfolios and projects, or self grading. To be honest I really don't like grading daily quizzes. for the daily stuff I like journals and current events. I also hate taking time out to explain how to take tests. I would rather spend more time teaching and encouraging critical thinking skills development.

Now Learning. I honestly can't expect a 14 year old freshman to have a handle on their learning styles like a 22 year old college student can. My job at that point is to help the freshman get a handle on their strengths and weaknesses. I think that the name of the game, teaching students how to learn.