It’s easy to avoid thinking too hard about assessment. Just grade the papers and go home, right?

But the most thoughtful path is to recognize that for the teacher and the student, assessing student work is a critical part of the process of education. Is it possible for the assessment process to be something the student learns from? Benefits from? What information does the teacher really need to get, and how to they get it?

The truth is that tests, expectations, and grades have a way of setting agendas for teachers without them even realizing it, and if you want to be a great teacher, you’ve got to align your method of assessment with the rest of your practice. It’s hard, unsexy work, but it’s critical.

Fortunately, Jason Buell is hosting the conversation on how to do it over at Always Formative. This is a great blog for teachers about a topic we all need to spend a little more time on.