My Views on Assessment: Building a Balanced Path to Student Success

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For a long time, I saw assessment mainly as a score or a grade. Over the years, though, my view has shifted. I’ve come to see assessment as a bridge between where students are and where they can go. It is how I listen to their thinking, notice their struggles, and celebrate their growth. In this post, I’m sharing what assessment means to me, how I approach it, and why I believe it can change the way we teach and the way students learn.

🧠 Defining Assessment

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I see assessment as a mirror that reflects student learning and my own teaching. It isn’t just about collecting points—it’s about understanding how students think and how they grow (Brookhart & Nitko, 2019).

When I design assessments, I start by writing clear objectives that connect directly to the TEKS. Building assessments from clear goals makes them more accurate and meaningful (DeLuca et al., 2020). This planning step helps me be intentional so every question I include has a purpose.

Once the goals are set, I can choose the right type of assessment to measure them.

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🎯 Preferred Assessment Type

Of all the types of assessments, performance-based ones are my favorite. When my Chemistry students build atomic models or carry out short lab tasks, they show what they really understand—not just what they remember. These kinds of assessments are known to increase engagement and deepen learning (Herrera et al., 2020).

I still mix in selected-response questions for quick checks and open-ended questions to see how students think (Looney et al., 2021). Using a variety of formats gives me a clearer picture of what students know and can do.

Thinking about how to measure learning also made me rethink how I view effort in grading.

💪 Rethinking Effort Grades

I’ve decided not to give grades just for effort. Research shows that mixing effort and achievement can make grades less accurate (Brookhart, 2021). Instead, I show students that I value effort through feedback, class discussions, and growth charts.

For example, I often compare pre- and post-assessment scores with students so they can see their improvement. Celebrating growth encourages them to keep trying, even when the work is hard (Guskey et al., 2022).

This focus on reflection leads naturally to helping students assess themselves.

📝 Student Self-Assessment

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Self-assessment has become an important part of my classroom. It gives students a chance to look closely at their own progress and take ownership of their learning (Panadero et al., 2019). I use clear rubrics, reflection prompts, and goal-setting sheets so they can see where they are and where they want to go.

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Inviting students to help build rubrics has been especially effective. It helps them understand what quality work looks like and motivates them to aim for it (Andrade & Brookhart, 2020). This sense of ownership also connects to how I use portfolios in class.

📁 Growth Portfolios

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Portfolios let students see how far they’ve come. Instead of showing just one moment, they show a journey of learning over time (Tan & Ng, 2021). My students collect lab reports, reflections, and photos of projects in digital portfolios.

Managing portfolios takes time, but they give a fuller picture of learning and are helpful during parent-teacher conferences and PLC discussions (Eynon & Gambino, 2020). Looking at growth over time often makes students more confident and proud of their work.

The growth in these portfolios becomes even clearer when shown in visual form.

📊 Using Figures

Figures like graphs and tables help make assessment data easier to understand. Visuals support both teacher decision-making and student motivation (Datnow & Park, 2019).

Here’s an example from my Chemistry classes:

TEKS Objective	Pretest Mastery	Posttest Mastery
5A Atomic Structure	42%	88%
6A Periodic Table	36%	81%
7B Chemical Bonding	29%	74%

When students see their own growth in charts like this, they feel proud and more motivated to keep improving.

This supports my belief that assessment should guide teaching, not just measure it.

🌟 Broader Assessment Views

Assessments should serve students, not just systems. Standardized tests provide some information, but they don’t capture creativity, critical thinking, or social-emotional growth (Popham, 2020).

I prefer to combine different types of assessments—formative checks, behavior observations, and parent-teacher conferences—to get a well-rounded view of each learner. A balanced assessment system helps create fairness and improves instruction (Wiliam, 2020).

Used this way, assessments stop being something students fear and become something that helps them grow.

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💭 In conclusion

Writing this blog reminded me that assessment is not about numbers—it’s about growth, curiosity, and confidence. Thoughtful assessments give students more than grades. They give them clear feedback, encouragement, and the belief that they can keep learning.

I hope sharing these reflections will spark conversations among other teachers. If we can rethink assessment together, we can create classrooms where every student has the chance to succeed.

📚 References

Andrade, H. L., & Brookhart, S. M. (2020). Designing self-assessment for student success. ASCD.

Brookhart, S. M. (2021). Grading and learning: Practices that support student achievement (3rd ed.). Routledge.

Brookhart, S. M., & Nitko, A. J. (2019). Educational assessment of students (8th ed.). Pearson.

Datnow, A., & Park, V. (2019). Professional collaboration with purpose: Teacher learning toward equitable and excellent schools. Routledge.

DeLuca, C., Coombs, A., MacGregor, S., & Rasooli, A. (2020). Toward a differential assessment theory. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 27(2), 135–153. https://doi.org/10.1080/0969594X.2019.1701184

Eynon, B., & Gambino, L. M. (2020). Catalyst in action: Case studies of high-impact ePortfolio practice. Stylus Publishing.

Guskey, T. R., Jung, L. A., & Bailey, J. M. (2022). Grading exceptional and struggling learners (2nd ed.). Corwin.

Herrera, S. G., Holmes, M. A., & Kavimandan, S. K. (2020). Cross-cultural considerations in the education of young immigrant learners (2nd ed.). Routledge.

Looney, J., Cumming, J., van der Kleij, F., & Harris, K. (2021). Reconceptualising the role of teachers as assessors: From summative to formative. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 28(3), 266–285. https://doi.org/10.1080/0969594X.2021.1927344

Panadero, E., Broadbent, J., Boud, D., & Lodge, J. M. (2019). Using formative assessment to influence self- and co-regulated learning: The role of evaluative judgement. European Journal of Psychology of Education, 34(3), 535–557. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10212-018-0407-6

Popham, W. J. (2020). Classroom assessment: What teachers need to know (9th ed.). Pearson.

Tan, C., & Ng, P. T. (2021). Redesigning assessment for holistic learning. Educational Research for Policy and Practice, 20(3), 229–242. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10671-021-09281-0

William, D. (2020). Embedded formative assessment (2nd ed.). Solution Tree Press.