Chapter 5:Tiering Assessments

This chapter makes an argument for the need to tier assessments. If a teacher tiers his or her teaching and they do not tier the assessment is the assessment an accurate picture of all the students’ grasp of the content? Tiering is adjusting the level of challenge to each student’s ability to be challenged but without overwhelming him or her. The best way to begin tiering is to start at what is expected at grade level. Then list all the skills needed to perform the particular task. Then pick one task or concept and tier that both for a lower and an upper level. The goal of tiering is to not tier at all by the end of the unit. Start the unit at each student’s level then gradually increase the challenge to the students. Another way to do this is to set up a learning contract. The student will still learn all of the tasks and concepts but at a different pace. This impacts me as a teacher by re-emphasizing how important it is that students learn and almost by whatever fair means necessary. It also helps to be a little creative and keep it interesting. This impacts my students by offering them choices and changing the pace to help them learn more effectively. Rushing through material will do nothing but offer students who learn at a slower pace the opportunity to check out. By adjusting and providing opportunities to maximize the learning environment will maximize learning.