Alternative Assessment Blog

 From working on my own assessment topic, I learned how many different math video games there are. I was shocked at how many I found with just a simple google search. I was also surprised that some of the video games I played as a child were actually educational. I found an educational journal about how Club Penguin is very educational for children when learning about money and budgeting, which I never would have thought of. I also learned that there are many of these math video games that can report scores directly to the teacher to use for assessment.

After learning about other forms of assessment from my peer’s presentations, I really saw how outdated paper and pencil math tests are for elementary school. There are so many different ways to assess students on every standard and skill that works for all different learning styles. I really liked the interview idea where students can show teachers their knowledge and teachers can assess right on the spot. This also allows teachers to pinpoint exactly what students do and don’t understand.

It is so important to use different and varied types of assessments because every child is different and is able to demonstrate their knowledge in different ways. Some students excel at paper and pencil math tests but other students struggle with this form of assessment. Some students would love to have an interview with their teacher to show their knowledge, but that would give others anxiety. It is important for teachers to get to know their students and what works best for them in order to accurately assess their mathematical knowledge.