The first thing that struck me about chapter 14 (Responding to Student Writing) was all this talk at the beginning of how teachers can't teach writing because they're too busy teaching to the test. I think this is nonsense. I have seen in my students' test scores that, if I teach them critical thinking and how to read and write, they will also excel on the standardized tests. Now, I do realize that many school enforce the use of curriculum that don't ALLOW teachers to teach critical thinking, reading, or writing, but I think that in many other cases, teachers use the excuse of "teaching to the test" to avoid coming up with challenging and relevant lesson plans.
And, speaking of excuses...that list of 11 things to do when responding to student writing is also nonsense. We do a lot of writing in my classes. Most of it I don't respond to, some of it never even gets graded. But we write four "real" essays a year that I do respond to and grade. A couple of them even go through the entire writing process, including multiple drafts and conferences with me. But Lindemann speaks of the average teacher being overwhelmed by paperwork with a 130 student load. I have over 200 students and I am way past the point of being overwhelmed. I try my best to score holistically and to give feedback that I think students will actually read and be able to use, but I really do feel that these tough times call for a different kind of feedback from the teacher.
"[T]hese tough times call for a different [form] of feedback from the teacher."
ReplyDeleteIf form indeed follows function, then, indeed, we need to find a form of assessment that follows a new function, one that is truly holistic.
Caitlin, I applaud you (et alia) who are desperately trying to re-form assessment pedagogy.
Lord knows it needs a new function.