Responsive Literacy Assessment: Are we listening?

During an instructional walk this week in 1st grade, I sat next to a student working on his real narrative. This was the first piece he had taken to publication. “Would you want to read it to me?” He agreed.

As he read, I listened while also trying to take notes. At the end of his story, the teacher stopped by and asked me, “Didn’t you love that description, ‘dripping with sweat’, in his writing?” I must have looked confused because the teacher had the student go back and reread it to me.

I missed that wonderful line the student had written because I was busy documenting the classroom experience. That is the challenge of many assessment practices. We get so immersed in capturing the learning that we sometimes forget about the reason for this process in the first place: to celebrate what’s going well, to affirm people’s efforts, and to notice areas for possible growth.

This was a good reminder for me: that while documentation is important, bringing our whole selves and full attention to the teaching and learning experience is the priority.