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Writer's pictureKatherine K

My Professional Context



I am excited to share my story with all of you! This is a record of my learning journey in assessment and evaluation.


Background


  • K-12 educator

  • 27 years public education experience

  • Classroom teacher - 9 years (taught all grades and most subjects)

  • Administrator - 18 years (16 years as principal, 2 years assistant principal)

  • High School Counselor

  • Learning Support Teacher

Various Hats and Skills

UNIQUE ROLES, SKILLS, PASSIONS
TRAINING, PD (Professional Development)

Inclusive Education Advocate

Restorative (Justice) Practice

KinderCare Advocate

NVCI (Non-Violent Crisis Intervention)

Fierce Conversations

VTRA (Violent Threat Risk Assessment)

Positive Behaviour Support

Trauma Informed Practice

Early Childhood Passion

TES (Traumatic Event Systems)

SEL (Social, Emotional, Learning)

Conflict Resolution


Assessment and Evaluation in my Role


Assessment and evaluation in education are often viewed in parallel to a student’s grade rather than seeing these results as a measure of learning or as an indicator to guide instruction. Many educators, students, and parents equate grades as a gauge of success or failure; however, I have often wondered if grades are truly correlated to learning.  Equity is an essential component for creating a framework for grading that is fair and just (Feldman, 2017), however evaluating for grades is an area that is equivalent to the holy grail. It remains mostly untouched, regardless of the shifts in inclusivity, teaching strategies, and differentiation. I emphasize this misalignment between teaching practice and evaluation for grades, as my role with assessment and evaluation has gone well beyond grading students as an indicator of success, but is an area that I believe requires intentional attention and a significant shift in mindset.


I was a classroom teacher for just under a decade and since then my positions have allowed me to embrace other assessment and evaluation opportunities. I have completed numerous librarian, education assistant, secretary, teacher, and admin evaluations. I have also mentored others as they learned how to evaluate staff or colleagues. I have worked collaboratively on a division committee to rewrite, review, create, and revise support staff evaluations. I have also gained experience in program evaluation. This encompassed learning the methodology, navigating through the evaluation process, and executing it along with post-evaluation follow-ups to inform decision-making and program validation (Spaulding, 2014; Suklani, 2023).


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