Assessment Is “Sitting Beside”

Teachers all have stories of “sitting beside”. We don’t have time, on a daily basis, to sit beside every kid, but when we do, we learn lots about them. It could be that their words lay bare a misconception they have about a concept. It could be that they make a breakthrough on a mathematical topic, right as they are talking to you.

According to Evangeline Harris Stefanakis (2002),

“The word assess comes from the Latin assidere, which means to sit beside. Literally then, to assess means to sit beside the learner.”

You won’t be able to sit beside everyone today, but perhaps you don’t need to. Pick one or two or three kids, and make time to sit beside them and talk to them about what they are working on. Record what they say, but talk to them, most of all, talk to them. Want to know what I understand or don’t understand? Just ask me.

Assessment is a conversation. It is an ongoing dialogue, that is never finished.

My favourite recent story of “sitting beside” concerns this multiplication chart. Note the skipcounting errors, and the commonly forgotten or tricky facts in the middle. Now consider what you might have said if you were sitting beside the kid who did this.

What would you want to learn about this piece of work?

What misunderstandings are evident?

How can you help with those misunderstandings?

Which times table facts is this kid comfortable with?

Which ones are sticky?

What will you do next, to help them?