Assessing Reading and Writing

     A big topic in the education field that I struggle with is assessment.  As teachers we don't seem to get very far into any conversation without this topic coming into play.  There are two kinds of assessments: summative and formative.  Summative assessments are the kind that occur after instruction when all is said and done.  Formative assessments are the kind that are ongoing and show us as teachers where our students have been, are now, and hopefully will be.  Subject areas such as Math, Science, and Social Studies are as cut and dry as you can possibly have when talking about assessment, but reading and writing...where do I even begin to instruct a student on their progress and worst of all give them a grade when it is all said and done?  When grading a paper or a story that a student has written what rubric do I follow?  What guidelines do I have set in advance for my students so they succeed in meeting my standards to receive an A?  Am I then "teaching to the test'?  Do I grade every paper the same?  Are there exceptions?  Can you even imagine grading poetry?!  It is exhausting to think about! Writing and summative assessments go together like oil and water.  They do not mix well.  They best way to assess writing, I believe, is through formative assessment and the writing process.
     Debbie Miller talks in detail about the importance of formative assessment with writing.  In Debbie Miller's book Teaching with Intention, Erma Bombeck makes this statement about formative assessment, "I see our children as kites.  You spend a lifetime trying to get them off the ground.  You run with them until you're both breathless...they crash...you add a longer tail...they hit the rooftop...you pluck them out of the spouting...you patch and comfort, adjust and teach.  You watch them lifted by the wind and assure them that someday they'll fly...Finally, they are airborne, but they need more string and you keep letting it out.  With each twist of the ball of twin, there is a sadness that goes with the joy because the kite becomes more distant and somehow you know it won't be long before this beautiful creature will snap the lifeline binding you together and soar as it was meant to soar - free and alone."  This is exactly how formative assessment and teaching is.  This is how I aspire to teach my students about writing.  I believe students need a lot of comfort, courage, reassurance, and respect when it comes to their writing.
     Debbie Miller offers plenty of examples of how we can use formative assessment with our students writing.  She talks about conferring, listening in, observing, examining student work samples, charting student thinking, reflecting, sharing and teaching.  Something in particular that I enjoyed reading about from Debbie Miller and Anderson was conferring or conferencing.  Conferencing with our students is huge to their development in writing.  Anderson talks about starting conferences off on a positive note.  I COULD NOT AGREE MORE!  They talk about in education the "positive-negative-positive sandwich".  Start things off on a positive note, then giving CONSTRUCTIVE criticism, then ending on a positive note.  Students receive information and feedback so much better when they feel like they are appreciated and respected and what better way to do so then have a one-on-one sit down with them to praise and critique their work.  Debbie Miller says, "When we pull up a chair and sit next to a child to talk with them about their learning, we learn valuable information about how individual children are processing what we've taught them.  And when we look at our conferences as a whole, we can use this information to consider the implications for small, needs-based groups and whole-group instruction."  I think this is how we should teach everything we do in school.  We would learn so much more about our students this way and how we as teachers can better instruct them.  However, there is a big "but" when it comes to conferencing...But where do we find time out of our already hectic days to conference with each of our students individually?  Is that even possible?  If so what does it look like?  How is it managed?  What is the rest of the class doing while the one-on-one conferences are going on?
     Assessment will always and forever be apart of the teaching world.  If assessments did not exist how would we know where we stand or how far our progress has come?  Assessments and I may not be the best of friends now, but I have a feeling we will learn to grow on each other.  I think it is very important for me to learn when to use what kind of assessment, and how to use the assessment to gain knowledge about my students and how I can better instruct my students.