Chapter 3

ABSTRACT:
Chapter three outlines the principles of successful assessment in a differentiated classroom and how the assessment guides the practice. This chapter also emphasized that assessment is not about documenting deficiencies of the students, but guiding and shaping our instructional strategies. One of the bigger pictures in this chapter was that when constructing a unit, we should have the end in mind. If we can have a clear picture of expectations for the students, they will achieve more and put more effort into their work knowing the goals are.
Good assessment in a differentiated classroom focuses on essential and enduring knowledge, concepts, and skills. This enduring knowledge and essential understandings are often placed in broad essential questions that the students should be able to answer by the end of the unit. Determining what these essential questions and knowledge is takes time and may take guidance from a variety of different sources in order to create the most effective unit. Chapter three also mentions that we must determine how ready the students are to dive into a new unit, so a good pre assessment is a good way to determine this. Followed by the pre assessment is the formative and summative. Although the pre and formative come first, the summative assessment should be created first, and the others can be changed later.

REFLECTION:
We all believe that the backwards design makes more sense then creating a unit another way. By starting backwards, you can build off of your goals and surround the right understanding and questions so that it all comes together. Creating it differently might not allow it to flow as well, or force you to change ideas or thoughts. We all also felt a connection with the assessments. We believe that all three, diagnostic, formative and summative, are all essential throughout a semester. It gives us a better understanding of our students, our teaching methods, and how well everything is falling into place.

By: Tyler