It’s that time again…
We will be doing our mid-year student assessments in every classroom. This happens to be my favorite time of year because it shows us how far we have come. We do assessments at the beginning of each year and with all new incoming students. My teachers and I find these assessments incredibly helpful. It’s important to see where the children are starting from.
When we compare the beginning of the year assessments with the mid-year assessments, we can see tangible progress made on many fronts of education and socialization. It’s pretty incredible to see just how capable these students are.
The mid-year assessments are twofold.
First, they show us how we’re doing in the classroom as teachers. If half the class hasn’t quite grasped a concept then that’s something we need to return to and review again. If a teacher can see the full class has a mastery of many concepts then we know that our teaching techniques and curriculum are right on task. We base our curriculum on the children’s ages and benchmarks for development, socialization, and basic learning skills.
Second, the mid-year assessments help us as teachers see whether or not we’re going to reach our goals for the end of the year progress. Thirdly, the mid-year assessments help show the parents where some extra work could be done at home as well as showing the parents that their student is meeting their basic benchmarks and socialization skills. This is a good time to have parent-teacher conferences so we can meet face-to-face and discuss the progress of each student individually. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again- we see such success when there is open and honest communication between teaching staff and parents.
I look forward to meeting with you all and I’m excited to see not only where we’ve come from but also where we’re headed for the end of our 2017-2018 school year.
Thank you!
Ms. Heather