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Central Middle School
Eden Prairie, MN
School Type: Public
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School Setting: Suburban
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Level: Middle
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School Design: Traditional
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Content Presented By:
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Eisenhower National Clearinghouse
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Summary
The practice: Assessment That Informs Practice in Middle School Mathematics
- Implementing portfolios and student-led conferences is a gradual process
- Self-evaluation is a skill that must be taught
- Building portfolios invites students to communicate with teachers, peers, and parents while increasing confidence and self-esteem
Here, a teacher describes what happened after she decided to use student portfolios: in this case, it is a collection of student work or artifacts that is self-evaluated and reflects the learner's skills and thinking. Initially, she assumed students would be able to reflect on and evaluate their own work with little effort. She quickly learned that self-evaluation is a skill that must be taught. To help them get started, she developed guidelines for reflection.
The teacher found that a good way for students to showcase their work was to conduct student-led parent conferences. Unlike teacher-parent conferences, the teacher is at these meetings only to support and encourage the child. The students are the ones who describe their work, acknowledging their growth and learning. After the parent conference, the portfolio is taken home for further review. The students and teacher develop questions they would like parents to respond to regarding portfolios and conferences. Parents include their answers in a follow-up letter addressed to the child.
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