Differentiating Diagnostic Assessments

A diagnostic assessment is defined by growing success as an assessment that “takes place before instruction begins so teachers can determine students’ readiness to learn new knowledge and skills, as well as obtain new information about their interests and learning preferences” (growing success, 31). Building off of my previous post that discussed the importance of differentiating instruction and consolidation I feel that it is critical to differentiate diagnostic assessments as well.

http://cnie-rcie.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/2014_
CNIE-Presentation_13May2014_KW.pdf

These assessments must not only be differentiated in a sense that they will include all students learning styles, but they must also be different from the other types of assessments. Formal testing often discourages students since some have become closed minded about the questions that they are asked. In saying this, it is critical to differentiate the diagnostic assessments that we will be using in our classrooms in order to ensure that we get the best idea of where to begin our instruction.

     Earlier this week, our class explored the Gap closing documents and spent some time working on the diagnostic assessment that is within it. We were asked to complete the diagnostic assessment and then explore why we thought each question was there. When presented with the assessment I was hesitant to ‘explore’ since it looked more like a test than an exploration of knowledge. As a result of this I began to think about what a student would feel like when presented with this assessment. It looks and writes as a standard test and would most likely result in an imbalance of results. As I read through and completed some of the questions I did realize that there was some differentiated questions that involved pictures, numbers and words, but there were no opportunities for students to express their knowledge outside of the written answers.

     As such I feel it is critical to utilize the same tools that I discussed last week in relation to consolidation in order to present students with a successful diagnostic assessment. We must allow students to express their current knowledge in more ways than through a written test. Tools such a Kahoot and Socrative that were discussed in last weeks post will also assist in this differentiation. Kahoot not only allows teachers to understand what students have learned, but can also allow teachers to explore new diagnostic assessments. The same classroom activities that would engage students in their consolidation will also engage students in diagnostic environments. Allowing students to engage in the diagnostic activities will not only ensure that that have been given the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge, but it will also ensure that they do not feel as though they are being ‘tested’. Presenting a formal test may result in students beginning the test with a negative mindset, which ultimately leads to lower test scores. This would not be a fair assessment and would then provide an unreasonable starting place for the classroom teacher. As such, it is critical for educators to ensure we maximize the opportunity for students to show us what they know before we begin instructing. Diagnostic assessments are beneficial as long as every students is given the opportunity to thrive and stay engaged.

Mr. Moore