I honestly learned so much this quarter. Even though we aren't actually in the classroom yet, there has been so much information. I learned about formal vs informal observation, the different types of assessments; pre-assessment, formative, summative and self-assessment. I think the most important thing I took away from this class is the need for alignment. The purpose of assessing students is to make sure that they are learning their learning targets. Formal assessment requires the teacher to record their observations whereas informal is just for them to check on it to adjust their lesson. I also liked the portfolio that we created, it was great experience creating assessments and I found it difficult but rewarding. Again, the alignment was tough for me, the questions have to match the learning targets. I looked back on my own learning experiences and the test questions I remembered, and tried to connect them to what we had been taught. When I was in school I don't ever remember my teachers clearly stating our learning targets, or for that matter reviewing them, I think this is important when giving students an assessment so they know exactly what is expected of them. I'm really looking forward to next quarter, and learning more!