FIAE Chapter 4 Response

Although it wasn’t stated, I’m assuming that it is best for teachers to use a combination of the three types of assessment (portfolios, rubrics, and student self-assessments) discussed in this chapter.  I especially like the idea of portfolios, but I’ve never really liked rubrics.  However, because they are so different from each other, they are probably each useful in their own way.  In my future classroom, for example, I might use portfolios to gauge the progress of my students’ writing abilities while using rubrics to grade the individual pieces that go into the portfolio.  I would definitely place more weight on the grade of the entire portfolio, however, versus the grade of each individual piece.  I like to think of rubrics more as guides for students than strict criteria for which they will be graded.  I understand that it’s important to be consistent, but if a student reads too much in a rubric, they may “settle” for the average requirements just to get a decent grade and not take the time to push themselves to hand in their best work.  As a student, I often found (and still do find) rubrics to be confusing and daunting.  Sometimes I wouldn’t even read them thoroughly because I felt like I would rather just put my best effort forward and “hope” that met the criteria.  I’m assuming there are others out there like me, and I’ll keep that in mind as a teacher by not relying too heavily on rubrics.  I will value the final form of assessment that the chapter discussed, student self-assessment, because it will give me an idea of what my students feel they are capable of along with how they view their own work and effort.