You designed your Biblical perspective assessment for your unit on short stories: “For one of the short stories you read, write a 500-word essay in which you identify a theme, analyze how the author uses literary conventions to communicate it, and evaluate it from a Biblical perspective.”
 
You prepared your students for this Biblical perspective assessment. You helped them identify themes. You gave them opportunities to analyze how authors use foreshadowing, irony, mood, plot, symbolism, characterization, and setting to communicate themes. You gave direct instruction on relevant Biblical principles and supporting verses, which you then had them apply to the short stories they were reading. And then you had your students write rough drafts, on which you gave feedback.
 
Earlier this week, you collected final drafts of the essay, used a rubric to score them, and provided written feedback.
 
Question: How can you use your Biblical perspective assessment data?
 
If you want your students to better connect what they study and what the Bible teaches, I suggest that you:

1. Give your students time in class to read your comments, review their rubric scores, and think about 1 thing they can do to make better connections.
2. Review your data and ask yourself, “How can I help my students make better connections?”

Use your assessment data. Help your students connect what they study and what the Bible teaches. Today.
 

Assessment helps your students learn. Assessment can also help your students connect God’s world and Word. Watch this video to learn 5 things about using assessment:




Want to work with your colleagues to better use assessment? If so, then purchase Use Assessment (US$25), a discussion-based kit with 7 sessions.
 
These 7 sessions will help you…

• Evaluate and improve your use of assessment to help your students connect God’s world and Word.
• Analyze and explain how assessment can help your students connect God’s world and Word.
• Identify and explain what types of assessment can help your students connect God’s world and Word.
• Make one assessment even better.
• Prepare your students for and give an assessment that requires your students to connect God’s world and Word.
• Use your assessment data to help your students connect God’s world and Word.
• Increase your commitment to using assessment to help your students connect God’s world and Word

Download a sample session.

Purchase Use Assessment (US$25). This kit is 1 of a 4-part series:

1. Help Your Students Connect God’s World and Word
2. Use Assessment
3. Use Questions
4. Meet Student Learning Needs

You can use assessment data to improve student learning. Here are 4 ways to do this:

1. Give each student his/her assessment data. Provide students with class time to reflect on the data and to write down 1-2 action steps they want to take to improve their performance.
   
2. Use the data to modify your unit plans.
   
3. Talk about common assessment data with teachers at your grade level and/or in your academic department. Collaboratively develop a team action plan for improving student learning.
   
4. As a faculty, tabulate assessment data in terms of schoolwide outcomes. Use the tabulated data for setting learning targets for increasing student achievement of the schoolwide outcomes.

Use assessment data to improve student learning. Today.

You want to help your students increase their understanding and application of a Biblical perspective. Using a rubric can help. How?

1. Use a rubric to clarify expectations: When assigning a Biblical perspective assessment, review the rubric with your students. This will help your students better understand your expectations.
   
   
2. Use a rubric to provide feedback: Make a copy of the rubric for each student. Use the rubric to score the assessment, marking on the rubric to indicate how each student is performing. When returning the assessment, give each student a marked-up rubric. (Before returning the rubric, tabulate overall class performance for each rubric line to determine how many students performed above, at, or below standard.)
   
   
3. Use assessment data to increase learning. Ask each student to use his/her assessment data to develop an action step for increasing understanding and application of a Biblical perspective. For yourself, use the assessment data to modify your instruction.

Use a rubric on your next Biblical perspective assessment.