Synthesis

Turning Points - Chapter 3 - Curriculum and Assessment to Improve Teaching and Learning
A.
This chapter discusses three important elements of any successful middle school: assessment, curriculum, and standards. Every state (except Iowa) has created standards to match or surpass the federal standards for education. Strong standards are important if you are building lessons and curriculum through backwards design, and also can be a helpful guide for new, or even veteran teachers, when planning curriculum. The chapter goes over a list of guidelines to keep in mind when creating standards such as being clear, accurate, brief, feasible, flexible (albeit interpretive) and assessable. The chapter goes on to show how state standards should be a basis for essential questions, which should be the basis for your curriculum. The last portion of the reading focuses on assessment. Although not an extremely in-depth overview, it does offer the advice to vary your assessment, make it authentic, and valuable.

R.
As a class, we were almost evenly divided between being annoyed that were reading about backwards design again, and thinking that this chapter was really helpful. By reading this chapter. some of us seemed even more eager to get into the classroom to “right” standard wrongs, while others alluded to wishing we could read something brand new and fresh. One student remarked, “I read it I want to yell at the text and say that I know all of this, tell me something new.” We all mostly agreed that even though this is a serious refresher, it’s still important information. As far as assessment, I think we all agreed, as one student put it, that “the real world is not one giant standardized test.” We need to make assessment feel important to students, and show us that they have acquired lifelong skills, not just a short term memory. As students ourselves, we know how frustrating inaccurate assessment can be.