Assessment

Assessments are taken to provide the teacher with an idea of what their students have learned throughout their class. My high school was supposed to start Senior Assessments in 2003, the year that my brother graduated. If the senior passed their assessment they would be able to graduated, if they didn't pass they would have to go to high school another year. However, the assessment tests were not taken that year and when I graduated in 2007 they still hadn't been put in place. The reason for this is that my high school did not meet the state standard for graduation. After the No Child Left Behind act my school can't afford to change the curriculum. An example is that in my sophomore year I had a text book that was older then me. The students took one test while I was there. I wrote up the freshman's test, but they were allowed to use their notes (teacher's idea). Most of the students brought their notes and did very well on the test, but it was surprising because there were about 5 students that didn't even bring their notes and they failed my test. I compared the students test grade and their semester grade and they were very similar. Though by allowing the students to use their notes, it is hard to determine how much they learned on this particular unit.

I think that school should involve parents by asking them to chaperon events and to ask them to participate in school events. I don't think that it should fall onto the shoulders of the teachers to get parents involved in their children's school work. It is important for the teachers to contact and meet with the parents to tell them how their child is doing in school and tell them if they need help, this is done by having parent-teacher conferences. In a way this is getting the parents involved in their children's lives because they are learning about their children in a school setting.