Redefine Success

Written By Susana Boschetti

Seeing Students, Not Scores: How SALT Thinks About Assessment

I’ve spent more than ten years watching assessment either build students up or shut them down. Some kids walk into school already convinced they’re “bad at learning” because of grades that told them more about their weaknesses than their potential. Others bloom when we finally choose assessments designed to understand them, not rank them.

So here’s where I stand today after years of trying, failing, improving, and repeating. This is my evolving philosophy of assessment.

Assessment Is a Conversation, Not a Judgment

If you ask teachers what assessment is, you’ll get a long list: tests, rubrics, quizzes, exit tickets, portfolios… the list goes on.

For me? Assessment is simply how I learn what my students need next.

It’s a tool to get curious, not to get a score. Researchers say assessment should guide instruction, not label kids (Hattie & Clarke, 2019; Brookhart, 2016), but honestly, I learned that by watching students shut down over a number they didn’t even understand.

How I Decide What to Assess

I don’t start with tests. I start with clear learning goals written in kid-friendly language:

  • “I can decode multisyllabic words.”

  • “I can support my answer with text evidence.”

If students don’t understand the goal, how can they possibly hit it?

Assessment should tell us something useful, not just something reportable.

Which Type of Assessment Is Best? The Annoying Truth: It Depends.

Teachers love to debate:“Performance tasks are best!”“No, we need selected-response tests!”

Here’s the honest answer: different assessments serve different purposes (Pellegrino, 2014; Stiggins, 2018).

  • Selected-response works well when I just need a quick snapshot: phonics checks, vocabulary quizzes, math facts.

  • Open-ended questions show me how students think, not just what they know.

  • Performance tasks reveal how learning holds up in the real world, can a child do something meaningful with what they learned?

    Assessment is like baking, changing the recipe changes the outcome. You need the right tool for the right job.

Effort Grades: Helpful or Misleading?

Effort grades are the gold stars of grading systems. They reward hard work, homework completion, and participation. And yes, effort absolutely matters, especially for struggling learners who desperately need encouragement (Dweck, 2014).

But there’s a catch…

If a student tries really, really hard and still doesn’t master the standard… should they earn an A?

And if a gifted student masters the skill with minimal effort… should they get a C for not trying “hard enough”?

My Balanced View

I do acknowledge effort, but not in the same score that measures mastery.

Why? Because grades should answer the question: What do students know and what can they do?

I don’t want effort inflating mastery or mastery punishing kids who try their best.

Let Students Reflect: They’ll Learn More

I’ve seen self-assessment change the way students show up in their learning. When kids reflect on their choices, strategies, and outcomes, they become more motivated and more accurate about their own progress (Panadero, 2017).

It doesn’t need to be complicated:

  • “How did I do on this?”

  • “Which strategy helped me?”

  • “What’s one goal for next time?”

Should Students Help Create Rubrics?

YES! (when it’s guided). Research shows kids learn more when they help create the criteria (Andrade, 2019). I’ve watched students who once hated writing suddenly take ownership because they helped build the scorecard.

They aren’t just being graded: they’re understanding how learning works.

Portfolios: Letting Growth Tell Its Story

Some progress can’t be captured in a single test, and portfolios fix that.

They showcase growth over time and reveal the slow victories that matter most. For neurodiverse students, especially those with dyslexia, dyscalculia, ADHD, or anxiety, portfolios make progress visible and celebrated, not just measured (Siemens & Tittenberger, 2020).

Why We Love Them

✔ They show real learning

✔ They make conferences powerful

✔ Students feel proud, not defeated

✔ Families finally see the growth we see

Why They’re Hard

⚠ They take time

⚠ Teachers need organization systems

⚠ Some schools want scores, not stories

But I’d rather tell a story than stamp a number on a child.

Sometimes Data Needs a Picture

Visuals like graphs and tables help everyone, teachers, parents, and especially students, understand progress (Ainsworth & Viegut, 2021).

Kids love seeing pocharts. Parents love it too. And teachers? It tells us where to go next.

Assessment Should Be a Lighthouse

Whether we’re talking about standardized tests, student behavior, or parent-teacher conferences, one thing stays true:

Assessment should illuminate the path, not punish the traveler.

Standardized tests might give the 30,000-foot view, but they don’t show the full journey (Au, 2016). Data should inform instruction, not define a child’s identity.

If assessment doesn’t make learning better for students: why are we doing it?

REFERENCES

Ainsworth, L., & Viegut, D. (2021). Common formative assessments.Andrade, H. (2019). Frontiers in Education, 4(87).Au, W. (2016). Social Science Research, 55.Brookhart, S. (2016). How to make decisions with data.Dweck, C. (2014). Mindset.Hattie, J., & Clarke, S. (2019). Visible learning: Feedback.Panadero, E. (2017). Frontiers in Psychology, 8(422).Pellegrino, J. (2014). Assessment in Education.Siemens, G., & Tittenberger, P. (2020). Handbook of emerging technologies for learning.Stiggins, R. (2018). The perfect assessment system.

Susana Boschetti