Lessons from the Deep

So at our November staff meeting we discussed the “educational sweet spot” of Formative Assessment.  We talked about how there’s almost nothing you can do to get more “bang for your buck” in the classroom than to frequently formatively assess your students, and make informed instructional decisions based on the formative assessment. 

            As I’ve been reflecting on this, I’ve been struck by how important it is that we don’t just formatively assess our students, but that we DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!  It kind of reminded me of the story of Captain Smith of the Titanic.  I’m sure you’ve all learned everything you need to know about the Titanic from Leo and Kate, but just in case you didn’t see it (like me!), the captain of the ship was a guy named E.J. Smith. 

            Now, if we wanted to do a study on the fixed mindset, Captain Smith would be a great place to look.  Unfortunately, his fixed mindset cost a lot of lives! One famous quote from the Captain shows this mindset perfectly.  In 1907, several years before the sinking of the Titanic, he proclaimed that he could not “imagine any condition which would cause a ship to founder.  Modern shipbuilding has gone beyond that.”  How ironic that he would become the captain of the most famous shipwreck in history?!  A lot can be learned from that.

            My point isn’t to specifically discuss Captain Smith’s fixed mindset; it’s to point out that when we get feedback, it’s important that we do something about it.  What we know from the night the Titanic sunk is that the Captain and his crew received numerous warnings about ice in the North Atlantic.  However, the Captain and crew choose to do nothing about the warnings.  We’ll never know if they had heeded the warnings if the ship would have been safe, but we do know that without doing anything with the information they were given, the results were deadly.

            I would propose that although no one will physically die if educators don’t use the data they get from formative assessments, it’s no less important that we do something about it.  When we get information or data from formative assessments, but don’t do anything about it, we’re not responding to the needs of our kids.  When we don’t respond appropriately to the needs of our kids, year after year, we don’t achieve our mission.  We don’t help them to acquire and apply the skills they need to reach their dreams, and to me, that is tragic!

            So, as we charge through this busy holiday season, don’t forget to not only give frequent formative assessments, but more importantly, do something about it.  I love how Doug Lemov puts it,

“Effective Check for Understanding equals gathering data constantly and acting immediately.  The second part is both harder to do and at least as important.  All the recognition in the world won’t help if it does not result in action.”