Reading+and+Writing+Workshop+Assessment

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Welcome to one of six of interconnected pages devoted to exploring the facets of reading and writing workshops in adolescent classrooms. This page is provides an overview of assessment in an effective reading and writing workshop. Follow these links to explore other components of reading and writing workshop:

=Overview=
 * = Materials ||= Home ||= Resources ||
 * = Conferring ||= Grammar ||= Assessment ||

In the reading and writing workshop, there are many ways to assess student learning. This section will discuss various forms of teacher assessment, student self-assessment, portfolio assessment, among others. Sibberson & Szymusiak (2008) say, "assessment is a key to building our knowledge," (7). Assessments are a critical piece of the reading and writing workshop model because assessments are how teachers know what to teach, how to teach, etc. Sibberson and Atwell both agree that one form of assessment in the workshop classroom is to take a status of the class. Atwell uses the status-of-the-class form to keep track of what each student is reading and how far each student is progress in his book from day to day. In writing, she uses this to keep track of what stage of writing each student is working on (drafting, revising, etc.). This kind of record-keeping provides a wealth of information regarding trends in the class as well as patterns for individual students.

Status of the class log:

As mentioned on one of the interconnected pages, conferring is also a useful form of assessment and tracking. Individual conversations with students provide insights teachers can use to refine teaching for the whole class as well as for the individual.

In her book, Assessment Continuous Learning, Lois Bridges describes a plethora of simple, authentic assessment strategies and defines six priciples of authentic assessment. For Bridges, authentic assessment is: (Bridges, 8)
 * continuous
 * an integral part of the curriculum
 * developmentally and culturally appropriate
 * focused on student strengths
 * self-evaluative
 * actively collaborative

Ultimately, Bridges says that, "when we evaluate our students' learning or ask them to evaluate themselves, our primary goal should be to help them learn more (26). Forms of authentic assessment included in her book are: kidwatching, rubrics, various self-evaluations, reading and writing interviews, status of the class, reading logs, anecdotal records and observations, checklists, conferences, inventories, questionnaires, presentations, reflections, learning logs, audio and video recordings, photographs, and portfolios.

Bridges frames her discussion about portfolios with this comment: "When used in a thoughtful manner, portfolios can serve as the focal point for teaching, learning, and reflection for both teachers and student. But //doing// portfolios and //learning with// portfolios are very different things" (Bridges, 89-90). For Bridges, portfolios, when used correctly, help to create the habit of being reflective. Students gather artifacts, evaluate them, reflect on their work, and share their portfolios with others. =References=

Atwell, N. (1998). //In the middle: New understandings about writing, reading, and learning // (2nd ed.). Portsmouth: Heinemann. Bridges, L. (1995). Assessment continuous learning. Portland: Stenhouse. Sibberson, F. & Szymusiak, K. (2008). Day-to-day assessment in the reading workshop. New York: Scholastic.

=Resources for further reading=

Kimeldorf, M. (1994). //Creating portfolios for success in school, work, and life.// Minneapolis: Free Spirit.