Assessments: Don't Panic!

Our new year has begun with high hopes and even higher expectations. Each year, students enter the classroom with visions of a clean slate and high expectations. During the first few weeks, one grade can cause panic in parents and derail a student’s confidence. 

While we encourage parents to monitor their child’s performance, it is essential not to overreact to one low grade. A missed assignment or low homework grade can deflate the overall class grade since there is no test or quiz grade that would show a more accurate reflection of the students work. These early grades fluctuate and are a part of the learning process.Students learn from their mistakes and these formative assessment grades are great ways for students to demonstrate misunderstandings of the material presented and to work with teachers to fill in some gaps. 

At Darlington, we encourage our teachers to use a variety of assessment instruments. Formative assessments may include homework, quizzes or other assessments. These generally do not significantly impact the final grade, but allow the teacher to discern if the student did comprehend the material presented. Teachers use these formative assessments to guide instruction. The summative assessment can be a unit test, project or other cumulative assessment. These summative assessments impact the grade significantly. The ultimate goal of a teacher is to identify gaps of knowledge in each student and then guide each student to a better understanding of the material.

Each class should have numerous formative assessments and few summative assessments. Much work should be done through a partnership between students and teachers to identify areas that need further explanation and understanding. Communication between the two should occur often. Each student should use the formative assessment as tools to begin conversations with teachers. In an effort to teach self-advocacy, we encourage all students to request a meeting with teachers during office hours to discuss a low formative assessment grade. This will allow the student to practice skills necessary for college and life. 

Early low grades are always of concern, but should not be a cause for panic. Students should use each grade as an indicator of the material understood and should communicate with their teachers to identify ways that they can learn the material better or study the information. If a student continues to struggle with study skills, then they can contact the Teaching and Learning Center for suggestions on better study ideas. Remember that academics are a marathon, not a sprint and there will be bumps along the way. The path to success has some challenges, but these early assessments help to build the foundation for future success.