Assessment Article

3 things I learned about this article were:
1. "Paul Black, and one of us, Dylam Wiliam, found that students taught by teachers who used assessment for learning achieved in six or seven months what would otherwise have taken a year." So, the argument is that if a teacher focuses their teaching skills on the learning process of each kid then the student will be able to perform at higher levels, rather than teaching a broad range of topics and only assessing students at the end of the units.
2. "Range finding" is a strategy for teaching that I have never heard of before. I like the idea though, because it offers the teacher a better idea of how to structure the lessons, where to start a unit, and how much detail they must go into to have their students be successful. It's a smart idea to be aware of all student answers, rather than just the right answers.
3. "Exit passes" are an interesting idea to use in a classroom. I've never been in a situation where on was used, but the thought behind it seems to be a good one. Using note cards to have students answer either a "big picture" question or a "range finding" question is a better way for the teacher to assess how much the students are getting from each lesson.

2 things I would use in my classroom, from this article were:
1. The different strategies that have worked for other teachers and have the ability to transcend age, subject, and learning abilities. These strategies are easy to incorporate and make learning more productive. They are: "Clarifying and sharing learning intentions and criteria for success. Engineering effective classroom discussions, questions, and learning tasks, etc."
2."One common method, for teachers to share state standards and learning objectives with their students, involves circulating work samples, such as lab reports, that a previous year's class completed, in view of prompting a discussion about quality." I think this is a good idea, because students don't want to try to figure out what the language means when they are presented with these standards or objectives, plus the students aren't always able to understand the language. Therefore, if teachers tell students in rhetoric they use, plus show examples of successful products, students will most likely want to achieve the same success.

1 Question I have from this article is:
If there are better ways to teach students and for them to learn more efficiently, then why do teachers always use tests? Doesn't that sort of undermine the learning process?