Linking instruction Essay

Teaching is always perceived as a straightforward process whereby teachers provide management and students learn. With this perspective, teaching is seen as a simple controllearning process. In actual practice, it is more realistic to view judging as an integral portion of the teaching process. In fact, it has been estimated that teachers devote at least one-third of their professional time to sagacity-related activities (Stiggins & Conklin, 1992). Assessment can and should provide relevant information that both enhances instruction and promotes learning.In other words, there should be a close alignment between theory, instruction and assessment. With this expanded conceptualization of teaching, instruction and assessment are integrally related, with assessment providing objective feedback about what the students have learned, how well they have learned it, how effective the instruction has been, and what information, concepts, and objectives require more attention. Instead of t eaching being control to an instructionlearning process, it is conceptualized more accurately as an instructionlearningassessment process.For example, a misaligned curriculum, instruction, and assessment had been seen as one factor that led to low-down student achievement. In the past, standardized norm-referenced tests, used traditionally for accountability, have only partially aligned with curricular materials and classroom instruction. These conditions obviously result in low-down test scores (Burger, n. d. ). Using the standards-led alignment approach, this policy sought to align, integrate, and connect components of schools as systems (e. g. , assessments, curriculum, instruction, and accountability).According to Linn & Herman (1997), standards-led alignment should use local content standards as the central point to foster the use of multiple assessment sources and methods, describe how classroom and accountability assessment relate to each other, align accountability an d classroom assessment with learner outcomes, and ensure that teachers and administrators use appropriate forms of assessment, are skilled in interpreting data, can plan for re-teaching activities using data, and can evaluate the impact of circumstantial programs and instructional strategies.To begin the alignment process, Allington and Cunningham (2002) advocated a comprehensive policy review to determine where all system elements connect (e. g. , curriculum, instruction, and leadership). Stiggins and Conklin (1992) illustrated the key role that teachers play in the process of aligning instruction and assessment methods with theory As a nation, we spend billions of dollars on educational assessment, including hundreds of millions for international and national assessments, and additional hundreds of millions for statewide test programs.On top of these, the standardized tests that form the basis of district-wide testing programs represent a billion dollar industry. If we total a ll of these expensive, highly visible, politically important assessments, we still account for less than 1 percent of all the assessments conducted in Americas schools. The other 99 percent are conducted by teachers in their classrooms on a moment-to-moment, day-to-day, and week-to-week basis. In summary, if an educational institution wants to have effective teachers, they needs incorporate in their educational paradigm to link theory in the methods of instruction and assessment.Instruction and assessment are both instrumental parts of the teaching process, and assessment is a major component of a teachers day-to-day job. Knowing the connection of these, teachers can obtain information that promotes self-understanding and they will have more ability to help students plan for the future. For example, parents and students can use assessment information to make educational plans and select careers that best match a students abilities and interests.References Allington, R. L. , & Cunnin gham, P. M. (2002). Schools that work Where All Children Read and Write.Boston, MA Allyn and Bacon. Linn, R. , & Herman, J. L. (1997, February). A constitution Makers Guide to Standards-Led Assessment. Denver, CO Education Commission of the States. Burger, D. (n. d. ). Using Standards-Led Policy to Align Assessment and Accountability Systems.Honolulu Pacific Resources for Education and Learning. Retrieved 2 November 2006 at http//www. prel. org/products/re_/standards-led. htm. Stiggins, R. & Conklin, N. (1992). In Teachers Hands Investigating the Practice of Classroom Assessment. New York SUNY Press.