Assessment As Hope? Says Who?!?

Assessment As Hope?
Says Who?!?

June 30, 2024

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One of the blessings of serving as a Solution Tree associate is that we can attend one event a year as a learner. This year, I went to the Assessment Institute in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. And if you’re interested, you can find posts for previous institutes HERE and HERE.

Assessment as Hope?

One aspect of the conference that piqued my curiosity was the notion that assessment can, and indeed should, inspire hope. The tagline that you may have seen is “Assessment, Meet Hope.” For most people, if you asked them to put those two terms, assessment and hope, on a continuum, I’m guessing you would have them on opposite ends. One hundred eighty degrees away from each other. And yet, here the Assessment Collaborative is tieing these seemingly two dichotomous ideas together. Why?

To begin, Cassandra Erkens made a point that probably few of us think about: that hope is a pre-cursor to motivation, not the other way around. Sometimes in schools we treat motivation as a characteristic that students either have or don’t have. Sometimes I hear things like, “kids just aren’t motivated these days.” But if hope is the pre-cursor to motivation, what we may actually be saying is that, at the heart of the issue, is that students lack hope. For without hope, there is no motivation. Not the other way around. And assessment is a catalyst for building hope.

And Efficacy…and Achievement…

Nicole Dimich expertly expounded on the notions of Hope, Efficacy, and Achievement as they relate to assessment. She emphasized that if assessment is used in its proper place as providing information on the attainment of essential learning targets at a point in time, then that assessment can most definitely instill a sense of hope (and thereby motivation), efficacy (a confidence in what a student can do), and, of course, achievement.

One quick aside: and that is that while assessment is many times thought of as a noun (think “test,” “quiz,” or other specific tasks), it was clear throughout the conference that assessment is a verb. It’s a process. It’s iterative, and very much involves students in understanding their relationship to learning targets.

Indeed, when assessment takes its proper place as a tool in the process of learning, the use of AN assessment (as in, a noun) for evaluation takes a back seat. And, of course, the logical extension of the use of assessment to inform grades, a topic for which Tom Schimmer clued us in, is transformed.

Next Steps

While it’s clear that two and a half days of learning cannot be condensed into this short post, the institute left me with new insights on assessment and grading practices that can transform teacher practice and student learning. I gained additional clarity on the work that must be done to make that transformation happen. And I find myself hopeful (and therefore motivated!) that our work can indeed have the intended impact by making sure that Assessment does, indeed, meet Hope.

Next year’s Assessment Institute is in Madison, Wisconsin. Maybe I’ll see you there?

Questions for Reflection

In what ways do your assessment practices help to instill hope in students?
What changes might you consider to make this more of a reality?
What new learning might you engage in in order to most fully achieve the reality of assessment as a tool for hope, efficacy, and achievement?

Rib Review

I had three amazing barbecue joints in June–one of which, I must say, has now taken the top spot of best barbecue ribs yet. Rackz BBQ in Carmel, IN (just north of Indianapolis) is in a little strip mall that is quasi-residential. It’s next to a legal firm or something like that, a church, and a few small boutique shops. In some ways, it’s a hole-in-the-wall, and the ribs were dynamite! They didn’t separate the ribs, so this may have contributed to their being ultra-moist. The rub had a really nice flavor and wasn’t overpowering, and there was no need for a sauce. As an added bonus, the coleslaw was some of the best I’ve had, as it was different than most. Rackz has now assumed the top spot for best ribs.

Lazlo’s Brewery in Lincoln was very good, and had I not had Rackz the week before I may have glowed about theirs even more. What was really nice about Lazlo’s was the rich hickory-smoked flavor of the ribs. These, too, were not separated, and I think these might have had the richest smoke flavor of any meat I’ve had.

Finally, Bandana’s in Cedar Rapids was also really good. These ribs were separated, though they maintained their moist content. There wasn’t much of a rub, but instead a sauce that had carmelized and concentrated nicely during the cooking. No need for sauce on these, either.