My Views on Assessments

I believe students can be assessed in so many ways. A portfolio is one way a teacher can keep records of students’ writings, quizzes, homework and class work. Parents, teachers and students, themselves, can evaluate the portfolio and see how far students have grown in their work. Teachers can also observe those students who are struggling and adjust their method of teaching.


Another form of assessment that should be included into the portfolio is a pictorial assessment. As a special needs teacher, I had some students who had poor writing and reading skills but they were able to draw and bring a novel to life with their drawings. They could draw the main characters, settings and tell the story through their pictures.

Other students with poor writing skills but had good reading and excellent comprehension skills could verbally recall, retell and describe the characters, setting and solution of a story.

In my class, we read a lot. I was constantly assessing my students by asking questions about the books we had read, hearing their answers, observing who understood the stories and who did not. I also observed who read well and who were struggling. All of this enabled me to modify and adjust my strategy in teaching.