Assessment can sometime be one of those dirty little words, mainly because it brings to mind standardized testing. In my first few years of teaching, I struggled with understanding why some students were prepared and why others knew nothing close to what they should to be successful in Algebra 1. I guess I got over myself and started keying in on the things my students like to help differentiate instruction. I feel that I involve all necessary parties when a student is struggling. We make a list of "low achievers" each quarter and those are distributed to the guidance counselors and administrative team. We have designated mentors for the students who are struggling academic. I also feel that I separate a student's behavior from the academics.
I think I get stuck in a rut sometimes, and don't further explore interventions to use with my students. I also usually require students to take quizzes and tests in my room, and as our book points out, creates more stress for them.
I teach test taking strategies with my students, but I have not put myself in their shoes and determined how they feel. I need to teach my students with special needs directly, and not expect them to pick up on these skills independently. I also like the idea of having students recopy problems. That would be something easy to teach in my classroom as students become familiar with solving equations and graphing lines in one particular way.
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