Hey teacher. I know you need some quick ways to assess students because school is starting up again! Even after the longest school year ever (2020-2021, anyone?)? I know at the beginning of the school year, you are so busy and need ways to do some quick checks to know where your new students are academically. So here comes 5 quick ways to assess your students.
These suggestions are best for teachers of grades 1-4 in elementary school! For each tip, I will give an example of an already available resource that will help you get it done!
Handwriting Sample:
You definitely want to grab a beginning of year handwriting sample. You can keep it simple and just have students write their name, date and something else down, or use a template like this for third grade. Then you can refer back to the sample mid year and at the end of the year to track progress and changes in letter formation and fine motor skills.
10 Math Problems that review what students learned last year:
For second grade ,I recommend having students try 10 single digit addition and 10 subtraction problems. Here’s a sample of a third grade quick math check. You can find out right away what your class’ strengths and weaknesses are in computation.
Writing Prompt of your choice:
One of the quick ways to assess students is to give a writing prompt at the beginning of the year. You can use a prompt of your choice. My fave is ” In ___ grade, I want to learn about ___”. A picture makes it even more fun (and you can get peek at your students’ art skills).
Quick checks (short assessments) via Google Forms:
Google forms are a very quick way to get info about students’ skills. Google forms are also self-checking so students get immediate feedback. You also can create a spreadsheet and see every item and if each student got that item correct or not. So handy!
Boom Cards
Have you and your students tried Boom cards on BoomLearning? So engaging! And like Google forms, students get immediate feedback and you can get teacher data! Boom works very well on tablets!
You can make it super easy on yourself and use one of these quick ways to assess your students!
- 1st Grade Back to School Starter Kit
- 2nd Grade Back to School Starter Kit
- 3rd Grade Back to School Starter Kit
- Boom Addition Facts
- Boom Subtraction Facts
- Boom Multiplication Facts to 6
- Digital Self Grading Telling Time to the Half Hour
- Digital Self Grading Add and Subtraction within 100
- Digital Self Grading Main Ideas
If you want to help yourself get ready for school personally (your home life) – check out this post about Back to School Tips for Your Personal Life!
