Similarly, all teachers take responsibility for students' being able to speak correctly, to write good English, to expand vocabulary, to add and subtract, to observe good health habits, to be safe, to have good attitudes toward school, and to learn about current events. The day of sending a student back a grade to learn something is, for the most part, a thing of the past.
Therefore, in addition to teachers' assessing students' knowledge of specific grade level curriculum or subject matter,it comes within the purview of most teachers to assess students' English proficiency, understandings about health and safety, attitudes toward school, and knowledge of current events. Students come to see how much there is to learn and share in developing educational strategies.
The following tests, drawn from the Test Locator, are illustrative of tests that many or most teachers can use profitably, since the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that they test are the responsibility of many or most teachers.
Chapter II
1. Strategies for Managing Students' Independent Work
General information
Check Up Tests in Science. These tests for ages 10-11 test children's ability to make reasoned judgments from observations of the material that is presented. Students record their answers in words, diagrams, charts, and graphs. The material is based on the scientific background that an average 10-11 year old will have built up from experience. There are 22 tests with 40 answers each. The tests are available from Macmillan Education Ltd., Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire, RG21 2XS, England.
Check Up Tests in General Knowledge. These tests for ages 10-11 are designed to be used as a general education resource. Subject matter includes literature, science and natural history, vocabulary, geography and history, sport, civics, music and the arts, mathematics, and religious education. There are 22 tests, each taking about 30 minutes.
Check Up Tests in Workskills. These tests for ages 10-11 include reference skills, comprehension skills involving assimilating information so that instructions can be followed, and interpreting data and presenting answers in visual form. There are 22 tests, each taking about 40 minutes.
Knowledge Master. This pool or library of 100,000 high school test items is available for either Windows or Macintosh. Subsets for junior high and elementary teachers are available. Items can be selected by topic and/or by level of difficulty. Covers American history, government, world history, geography, economics, law, current events, mathematics, geometry, word problems, biology, health, psychology, physics, chemistry, astronomy, meteorology, geology, oceanography, building trades, sports, fine arts, English, spelling, vocabulary, literature, mythology, Shakespeare, social studies, life science, earth science, and physical science. A separate short series is produced for "Knowledge Bowl"-type competitions. New sets of secure questions for local, regional or state competitions are produced yearly. Available from Academic Hallmarks, P.O. Box 998, Durango, CO 81302 (800-321-9218) (http:// www.greatauk.com).
Diagnostic Test of Library Skills. This test for grades 5-9 evaluates students' knowledge of library skills in these areas: title page; table of contents; card catalog; library arrangement; and reference books. All items are multiple choice. Available in both paper-and-pencil version and computer version. Available from Learnco, Inc., Box L, Exeter, NH 03833.
English proficiency and reading
Primary Reading Survey Tests. Level AA for grade 1 is a word recognition test. Level BB for grade 2 tests both word knowledge and comprehension. Levels A-D are for grades 3-6. These tests are available from the Australian Council for Educational Research, P.O. Box 210, Hawthorn, Victoria, Australia 3122.
ACER Word Knowledge Test. This test for grades 9-11 measures knowledge of word meanings. It may be used by teachers as a screening test to assess vocabulary knowledge and verbal skills. The test is available from the Australian Council for Educational Research, P.O. Box 210, Hawthorn, Victoria, Australia 3122.
Test of Word Knowledge. This test is designed to assess a student's skill in reception and expression of semantics, which is the meaning system of language. They can be used to evaluate and identify students who may be having difficulty with semantics. The test probes word knowledge on three levels: ability to match spoken words with referents and to name pictured referents; knowledge of word definitions and opposites and synonyms; and metalinguistic aspects of word knowledge related to multiple meanings and uses, figurative usage, and use of transition words and conjunctions. Norms are provided for students from 5 to 17 years of age. Available from the Psychological Corporation, 555 Academic Court, San Antonio, TX 78204-0952.
Attitudes to School
Attitudes to School Inventory. This test was developed to measure children's affective and cognitive attitudes toward school. Conclusions can be drawn about children's enthusiasm for school, enthusiasm for a particular class in school, dislike of disruptive behavior, relationships with teachers, academic self- concept, social adjustment to school, and achievement orientation. Available from Kevin Marjoribanks, University of Adelaide, GPO Box 498, Adelaide, South Australia 5001.
Health
Know Your Body Health Survey. Three tests are available: grades 1-2, grade 3, and grades 4-6. The questions cover nutrition, exercise, safety, personal physical facts, and eating habits. The survey takes 30- 45 minutes. Available from Tests in Microfiche, Test Collection, Educational Testing Service, Princeton, NJ 08541.
Knowledge Test in Nutrition. A test for each grade level 1-6 is available. Concepts assessed are a variety of foods, vegetables, dental health, and snacking. Available from Tests in Microfiche, Test Collection, Educational Testing Service, Princeton, NJ 08541.
Quicktests Across the Curriculum
An interesting series of tests is published by Globe/Fearon called Quicktests Across the Curriculum. Each book offers 50 reproducible tests. They are designed for grades 6-12 (reading level: 4-5). These are the test books in this series:
American Government Quicktests
Applied Mathematics Quicktests
English Reading and Writing Quicktests
Fundamental English Quicktests
Fundamental Mathematics Quicktests
General Science Quicktests
Interpreting Literature Quicktests
Life Science and Health Quicktests
United States History and Geography Quicktests
World History and Geography Quicktests
Searching the Internet
A search in the Internet book store Amazon can yield interesting finds. For example, Quicktests (see above) are listed there.
http://www.amazon.com
A general search in Google or one of the other search engines can also yield results. For example, entering "tests of knowledge" or "quiz" along with the subject-matter area can yield many interesting tests.
The following are illustrative of tests available from the Internet:
FunBrain Quiz Lab - many home-made quizzes, classified by grade level and by subject:
http://www.funbrain.com
Ohio Proficiency Tests:
Ohio Practice Test
Sample tests from Missouri Elementary Mathematics Contest:
Practice for Missouri Elementary Mathematics Contest
Elementary science practice test:
Elementary science practice test
Virginia Standard of Learning sample tests:
Virginia practice tests
A math problems generator is available at
Math problems generator
Navigate to Home Page "Students Can Learn On Their Own" - http://www.teacherneedhelp.com/ students/
2. Choosing Work According to the Curriculum
Assessment of students' knowledge and abilities is the teacher's absolutely best educational tool. It is so powerful because it is an inspiration to the teacher's creativity. When the teacher sees where students' educational needs lie, his or her mind begins to work on what to do about them. An analogy with a politician is in order: the politician who goes out to meet and talk with the people learns what the needs are and then thinks up strategies for meeting them; the politician who lacks the common touch, on the other hand, generates ideas that are often inappropriate. Similarly, the teacher who assesses students' knowledge and abilities begins to think out appropriate educational strategies, whereas, with the ivory tower teacher, there is often a mismatch between what is taught and what is appropriate for the students. When tests are administered in advance of teaching, the teacher sees where the needs lie, and the students realize that there is much to learn - the test results are an inspiration to student humility.
Assessment helps prevent the teacher from teaching over the heads of the students. When the teacher knows that a student is unsure about step 1, there is no point in going on to step 2. For example, if a student doesn't understand subject and predicate, there is no point in teaching sentence diagramming; if a student can't multiply or subtract, there is no point in teaching long division.
Many classroom tests come from textbooks. Math textbooks provide many tests, as do some basal reading series.
Some of the best assessments are the simplest. For example, a teacher's dictating a paragraph, where the students are required to write down what is dictated, is very simple but very effective. Finding a paragraph to dictate is no problem, and student shortcomings in spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and handwriting are immediately apparent to the teacher[3].
In addition to assessing students' knowledge and attitudes before a study begins, many teachers assess students' interests as the study progresses. They recognize individual differences among students and make room in a study for students to go off on their own in some area. For example, in a study of Rome students might be asked to express interest in pursuing knowledge of Roman authors, Roman warriors, Roman law, Roman architecture, Roman cities, or Roman colonies, among other topics. Students would then go off on their own and come up with a true-false test or a short report on their topic to share with the class.
The content of most classroom assessment is specific to the curriculum of the grade or class being taught. For example, if a unit is to be taught on Rome, the teacher will make a list of the vocabulary words to be taught in the unit, geography concepts, famous Romans, wars, and so on, and will then test the students on their knowledge. The answers are usually open-ended: who was Tacitus? Who was Cicero? What is the name of the sea east of Italy? The results tell the teacher - and the students - what the students don't know; implied in the results are what the students need to know. Teacher and students are then ready to embark on the study.
There are knowledge, skills, and attitudes that are the responsibility of all teachers and all students, and the teacher will do well to assess this knowledge and these skills and attitudes. There was a time in American education when a high school social studies teacher, for example, would say that the teaching of punctuation and capitalization was the responsibility of the English teacher, not the social studies teacher. The team approach in secondary schools has done away with this compartmentalization, so that now during team meetings teachers cooperatively discuss educational needs and then plan strategies to meet them.
Similarly, all teachers take responsibility for students' being able to speak correctly, to write good English, to expand vocabulary, to add and subtract, to observe good health habits, to be safe, to have good attitudes toward school, and to learn about current events. The day of sending a student back a grade to learn something is, for the most part, a thing of the past.
Therefore, in addition to teachers' assessing students' knowledge of specific grade level curriculum or subject matter,it comes within the purview of most teachers to assess students' English proficiency, understandings about health and safety, attitudes toward school, and knowledge of current events. Students come to see how much there is to learn and share in developing educational strategies.
4. Keeping a Studious Classroom
Over the door in one studious classroom is a sign reading, "Quiet, please. Learning underway." Another classroom has a poster that says, "You are here to work." All the students not with the teacher are working independently. One student is writing an unknown word on the whiteboard, where the heading reads, "New vocabulary words." Later, the class will discuss the word, and each student will enter the word with its meaning in a notebook. On a corner of the whiteboard are the assignments for the day; separately, there are the assignments for the week - "Write one half page on your pet." "Find information (no more than half a page) on Apaches." "Write a number problem requiring division for the class to solve." "Look through the dictionary for a spelling word ending in 'tion'." Students are busily engaged in completing these assignments. Several students are finding information on Apaches, a current class topic; one student is using an encyclopedia; another is in the Internet. The student in the Internet has found some resources to write away for. Other students are working on worksheets and work from kits.
The teacher is not harassed. Students in this classroom are eager to produce and to have their work checked and sometimes expect more of the teacher than one person can do; consequently, the teacher limits his or her commitment: weekly written assignments must be no more than a page, monthly reports must be no more than two pages, etc.
Discipline in the studious classroom is a matter, first, of convincing the students of their ignorance. When a student misbehaves, the teacher calls out, "Who was the fourth president of the United States?" If the student answers, "James Madison," the teacher calls out, "What is the capital of Hungary?" The wrong answer is followed by a short lecture on how much the student has to learn and how short is the time for learning. Students in this classroom are not time wasters because they realize how much there is to learn.
Discipline in the studious classroom is also a matter of liking to learn. Students are convinced not only of their ignorance but also of the desirability of overcoming it. They diligently write vocabulary and spelling words in their notebooks. They use the dictionary, the encyclopedia, and other reference books. Each student keeps a notebook of half-page comments about books read.
Much teacher time is spent at the teacher's desk with a student. The teacher reads and corrects written assignments with the student. Math assignments are checked individually. Workbook pages are corrected. Since the teacher's time is valuable, work with any one student is limited to a few minutes; however, a few minutes devoted to overcoming a student's specific weaknesses or mistakes can be more valuable than much full-class instruction.
This is not to say that full-class instruction does not exist in the studious classroom. The teacher introduces new topics, explains principles and rules, such as in spoken and written language or math, and hears student reports. However, in general the students are working on their own.
At one time in the development of schooling it was thought that students should be generally social. Since many students would rather talk than learn, the consequence of a social classroom was much talk and little learning. Students have plenty of time for socializing outside of the classroom. The purpose of being in school is to learn. A poster in a classroom says, "There is a place for socializing. This is not it." Fortunately, learning can be interesting, and students who would rather talk can become absorbed in their work. Although being a student in the studious classroom is work, the rewards of this work are great.
Periodically, the teacher meets with each student to evaluate progress and to make decisions about appropriate learning materials. Because of limitations on the teacher's time, plans for work to be accomplished must cover at least a month. A student placed in a workbook or a kit works in that workbook or kit over a period of time. One criterion in selecting a workbook or kit is, how suitable is it for long-term use.
Students who lack commitment to their independent work find many ways to avoid it - horseplay with the student in the next seat, finding excuses for leaving the classroom, or bothering the teacher with questions. The committed student, on the other hand, devours more and more knowledge. Basic to the success of independent work is a student's commitment to it.