In 2015, a concerned parent asked this question of a Year 2 teacher using the LTR Language & Literacy Program in her classroom. He was concerned that his very capable child was not doing as well as possible in weekly tests.
The teacher explained, “In LTR, we do not test for a score, but for information. Our testing is for the teacher to get information about the gaps in understanding and the student’s ability to rise to a challenge. We learn what to teach next. We don’t teach to test. We test to inform our teaching.”
The LTR Language & Literacy Program provides teachers with many different ways to assess student progress and the mastery of concepts. The cyclical teaching approach which constantly revisits concepts and builds new learning on what is already known, results in deep learning. Many of the assessment ideas are embedded in the daily classroom practice. Weekly tests are designed by the teachers to inform their teaching, to check the mastery of concepts and are deliberately challenging. The students are not daunted by errors as they understand that mistakes are a natural part of learning anything new.
For more information about the LTR Learning products and the program’s correlation with the Australian Primary School English Curriculum for Foundation/Reception to Year 2 students, click Products and Curriculum.