Student Assessment

 In Chapter 10, Prensky says that most assessment is basically just sorting and comparing, using standardized tests to rank students, schools, and countries.. but it doesn't actually help the learner. Assessment should answer  questions regarding the students improvement, skills, and future.
 In a partnering class, its important to utilize formative assessments to gauge what the students know and how they are progressing through the unit/lesson. To use formative assessments most effectively, feedback on the work should be given with ample time to improve for the next assignment.
 Ipsative assessment can also then be employed, which refers to beating your personal best. To reference sports as I did in the previous post, "you are only as good as your last game." This applies to work in the classroom: If you are constantly improving, you are constantly beating your best, but when you drop below your potential and performance, you can't progress.
 Peer assessment and work shopping can also be useful assessments for students to see opinions and compare their work and ideas with others. This can be done on blogs, social networking site like Hall, or videos and podcasts with more public audiences.
 Similar to "making it real," when students posting work for a public audience the quality of their work increases. Not only can students receive input and feedback from peers, but also other educators, experts, and people around the world from sharing their work from bogs and posted videos.
 Students should also reflect on their assignments and progress, but teachers need to help give them the tools and methods to question themselves and critique their own work. Partnering students should also be evaluated on their use of technology to enhance their learning experience.
 Eventually students will face standardized tests, whether at the state or national level, but using these types of assessment in your class throughout the year will make students better learners to the point that not only do they understand the curriculum, but they know how to decipher the information given to them they may not fully understand.