"What a Difference a Word Makes" review

“What a Difference a Word Makes” really appealed to me since I have been participating in a teacher study group at the middle school that I work at that focuses on formative assessment. Since I have been entrenched in this concept and revolutionary approach to teaching and assessing for the past two years, I was interested in getting another perspective on the topic.

Rick Stiggins and Jan Chappuis try to give the reader an alternative form of assessing their students which is rooted in this concept of formative assessment or what W. James Popham likes to refer to as transformative assessment (you might want to check out his book Transformative Assessment. It’s a bit long winded but definitely breaks down these concepts in tangible ways).
Summative assessment, in its current form, is not helping our students find success. It is only keeping them in the endless cycle of letter grades that at the end of the day measure very little. I often find myself saying that my “C” students could end up being the most successful in life because they know when to take risks and when not to. My “A” students might not fare so well since they play within the confines of the rules which often ends up making them very predictable and lacking a certain luster (being a generalization, the tables can turn both ways). Letter grades mean very little in determining if someone is going to be ok in the real world. At the end of the day, our students are the captains of their own ships, we are not, and if we are willing to surrender some of our “pen” power, and realize “students must be taught the skills they need to be in control of their own ultimate success: self assessment and goal setting, reflection, keeping track of and sharing their learning,” (13) we might all end up being better for it.

We are well oiled assessment machines. Teachers come out of educational training programs armed with the tools to makes tests, quizzes, art based projects, and presentations that aim to reward the kids who do exactly what the teacher tells them to do and nail the kids who don’t. Most teachers come from a place where “colleges of education often fail to include this(formative) kind of assessment training in their programs,” (11), and so teachers are left to unlearn or never learn the power of assessment that aims for growth instead of reward and punishment. And I will admit, at first transformative assessment sounds daunting, idealistic, and unrealistic, but with a little bit of work (ok, a lot of work), it can become the most powerful agent of change a teacher can arm himself with.

I am lucky that I am part of what Stiggins and Chappuis refer to as a learning team. It makes a world of difference, and most of the learning I have come to appreciate has been done through working with my colleagues rather than just reading about it. This year my colleagues (who I have to tell you are the most inspiring group I have ever met) and I have participated in action research projects on formative assessment practices, and we have put the ideas that are talked about in this article into action really illustrating that “when the experiences of such hands on learning are shared among teammates in regular team meetings, all members benefit from the lessons of each partner. When teams commit to shaping the ideas into new classroom practice, reflecting on the results, and sharing the benefits with each other, professional growth sky rockets,” (14). It has been a revolutionary experience that has not only been rewarding, but it has been difficult. Nothing that is really worth it is ever easy. I say this to my students all the time, and as teachers, it’s important to live by that motto as well. I’ve seen the differences in my own classroom, and the amazing results and data that are coming out of my colleagues’ classrooms, challenge me to want to be better.

This philosophy, which essentially it is, is rooted in transparency for students. Kids need to start taking a leadership role in their own education. It is the job of the teacher to provide them with experiences to do so where “quality assessment can arise only from a clear vision” (12). This philosophy asks you to be a guide rather than the chief. Teachers have to “delete content coverage” (14) in order to promote authentic learning that transcends into the future rather than just the moments that are in your classroom. If I’m going to be honest with myself, my students don’t care about the endless feedback I give them in the margins of their papers. What they do care about is meaningful conversation about feedback and improvement with their peers and me. It’s time consuming, but “assessment for learning happens in the classroom and involves students in every aspect of their own assessment to build their confidence and maximize their achievement,” (11). It’s time well spent and time I’m willing to invest.

Formative assessment is complex, certain days it is anything but joyful, and then on the really great days, it truly is transformative. So, maybe a bit idealistically I’ve jumped on Stiggins and Chappuis’s train, but it’s worth getting out of your comfort zone and trying a new approach every now and again.

Stiggins, R., & Chappuis, J. (2006). What a difference a word makes. National Staff Development Council, 27(1), 10-14.