Friday at WHS.

Today was my final day (hopefully) at Williamsburg Independent (not that it has been at all unpleasant). I am looking forward to getting back to teaching, but I have had some valuable experiences.

For example, as a part of my Professional Growth Plan, I had a conversation with the head of the English Dept. at WHS about her philosophy and methods of assessment. She understood and appreciated my desire to go beyond method to underlying philosophy and offered some helpful advice and insight. She shared that he basic philosophy is

If you study to remember, you will always forget; if you study to understand, you will always remember.

From that core belief, she designs assessments that show student understanding rather than rote regurgitation. She also explained how that philosophy guides her to assess at no lower than Depth of Knowledge level 2 and to also design plenty of opportunities to go deeper into levels 3 and 4.

In addition, she affirmed the concerns that I have regarding writing assignments and writing tests that are purposefully divorced from all the necessary experiences (namely reading, studying, and thinking) that naturally lead to writing.

While her insights have helped further my thinking on the subject, they have also brought other questions -- namely, in reference to quantifying student progress. Currently, standards and rubrics are applied objectively -- one student could learn absolutely nothing in a class and make an A whereas another student could grow and learn more than ever before in his or her life and make a C or a D. Moreover, a student could seem to learn nothing from the class and show no signs of growth over the course of the semester or school year, and yet cold have been impacted in a way that will bear fruit over time.

So, yes, I affirm the necessity to study in pursuit of understanding and also that assessment avoid wrote regurgitation; however, I am left with the question:

What is the best way to gauge not only current ability to apply knowledge but also student progress? And is that progress always quantifiable?