What Assessment Really Means to Me

If you stop by my third-grade classroom on any given day, you’ll probably hear me asking questions like, “How do you know?”, “What makes you say that?”, or “What would you change next time?”For me, those moments are assessment. They’re the quiet signals that help me figure out what each child understands, what they’re still developing, and where we need to go next.

Over the years, I’ve realized that assessment isn’t a test or a score—it’s a process of listening. Researchers note that formative assessment is most effective when teachers gather ongoing evidence of student thinking and use it to adjust instruction in real time (Shatri & Zabeli, 2018). It’s the way I collect evidence about my students’ thinking so I can teach more effectively and so they can learn more confidently. Assessment, in my classroom, is really a conversation between my students, the standards, and my teaching.

How I Choose My Lesson Objectives

I start with our California standards, but that’s just the beginning. From there, I unpack each standard into:

• student-friendly learning targets,

• observable skills or behaviors, and

• what “evidence” of understanding might look like.

Sometimes this evidence is a written response, a model, a discussion, a drawing, or an explanation they give to a partner. I try to picture the pathway that helps students get from “just starting” to “I’ve got this.”

Once the target is clear, the assessment naturally follows. It becomes less about “What test do I give?” and more about “What’s the best way for my students to show what they know?”

Assessment as a Tool for Learning

Research reminds us that formative assessment—checking in during learning—can significantly deepen student engagement and ownership. Shatri and Zabeli (2018) found that when students participate in assessments through self-reflection or peer feedback, their motivation and understanding grow. I see this every year: the more my students understand what they’re aiming for, the more purposefully they work toward it.

Assessment also helps me. Tools like informal observation frameworks or structured engagement checklists give teachers more reliable ways to interpret how students are interacting with content (Waggett et al., 2020). Even a quick snapshot of student thinking can help me adjust my instruction in real time.

A Working Definition

When I talk about assessment now, I’m really talking about a cycle:

plan → teach → gather evidence → respond → adjust.

It’s fluid. It’s ongoing. And it’s deeply human.

In the end, assessment isn’t about judging what students can’t do—it’s about honoring what they can do and helping them take the next step.

And in my classroom, that will always start with listening.

References

Shatri, Z. G., & Zabeli, N. (2018). Perceptions of students and teachers about the forms and student self-assessment activities in the classroom during formative assessment. Journal of Social Studies Education Research, 9(2), 44–59.

Waggett, R. J., Johnston, P., & Jones, L. B. (2020). Beyond simple participation: Providing a reliable informal assessment tool of student engagement for teachers. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 31(7), 737–757.