Criteria and Validity
Assessment is fundamental for the learning process. It is the only way that teachers can see the internal learning process in order to improve or develop the learner’s understanding. However assessment needs more than validity. Another important element is the use of criteria in the assessment.
Criteria in the assesment means to guide the judgment of the student performance. Assessment set the learner in a specific degree of understanding but criteria guide the degree in order to improve and identify strenghts and weakneses of a student.

There are many different types of assessment but some of them need the construction of ribrics. For example the objective assessment is simple, questions has a one correct answer. But subjective assessmen needs rubric construction. In the rubric construction we need to apply criteria. The idea is get evidence of student’s understanding but in different aspects. For example a student is good at english grammar but his or her weakneses is the ability of infer information. A reading comprehension test must show evidence of understanding in different aspects such us aplication of grammar, comprehension, identify the plot, etc. Consequently a rubric with the appropriate citeria will show evidence of aspect which are strong or weak in his or her student performance.

In addition an analytic rubric unpack the student performance and the feedback will be reliable and meaningful for the student. The learner will identify what aspect must improve and what others are easier for him or her. Because the student will get an overall impression of his or her performance.If we want to get understanding of a student we have to expose him or her in many academic situations as possible. However teachers have to desing the appropriate criteria for each aspect of a student.

To sum up we need to recognize the importance of criteria in the rubric design. Criteria applied in the rubric will get valid and reliable results of studnet performance. Criteria will show very clear our tecahers desicion in order to improve the learning process of our students. the results are not just evidence of the student learnig process also the teachers’ work is exposed. Finally criteria in assessment contribute to improve student and teacher performance in order to increase the understanding level of the student.

Gaining clarity on our goals

There are many facts that a teacher must consider at the moment of teaching. First point is content, a lot of knowledge and short effective learning periods of time. Second it is difficult to consider different students’ needs in the lessons plan but we have to. Also teachers and students must understand that learning goes beyond memorizing information. The answer is in the lesson plan. We have to identify big ideas and core task these two concepts refer to recognize what to teach and what is useless. Then teachers have to transform abstract information to meaningful knowledge.
The key is in the understanding, if a student understand, he or she is going to be able to see the importance of his or her new knowledge. However before student understanding, the teacher must give the right tools to students to get the core of the knowledge. So in the lesson the teacher must connect the information with other subjects, real issues, develop debates, discussion, oral presentation and many others useful activities in order to internalize the topic. The most significant evidence of learning is when students are able to apply the information in different circumstances of their lives. Representative ideas (Phenix, 1964) it relates two important concepts in the learning process effectiveness and efficiency. For example an English teacher is teaching about technology; the teacher must connect the topic to students’ reality. So the teacher asks how many of them have blogs. What is the student relationship with technology? Can you imagine yours lives without computers? And others questions that help catch student attention. To sum up the real challenge for the teachers is transmit knowledge but students reflect on their understanding of the knowledge. It is a hard pattern but we can develop critical thinkers if we use the right tools. For this reason it is so important to have objectives as clear as possible. This way student is going to identify his or her learning goals.

Understanding the understanding

Understand the understanding is fundamental for everyone. Understanding seems complex but necessary. Every normal person can learn something but understanding is totally different.
First it is necessary to understand the difference between understanding and knowledge. A person can know something but understand goes beyond that. So Understanding is the second step of knowing something. This step is the ability to connect the learning in multiple situations. Also the learner must show evidence of his or her learning and to do specific things with the knowledge. Then the knowledge is meaningful for the student and he or she can read between the lines. This expression means the learner finally can infer information. As a result the learner can create new information and uses it for different purposes.
As a teacher the challenge is help students through different tools to construct student’s understanding. However many teachers believe that knowledge is enough and they do not give the right tools for the real enlighten.
The evidence of understanding is fundamental. For this reason assess is needed but the assessment must be valid. First teachers have to know very well what specific things student must do with the new knowledge. Then the teacher creates a standard test and students got a specific figure. The figure shows the degree of understanding’s level of the student.
To sum up the understanding process is very important in people lives. The understanding is applied in multiple situations in an effective way. Human beings who really understand the understanding build up efficient ways of resolving problems, developing strategies and they become in critical thinkers. So as future teacher energies must be focus in the importance of the student understands and give meaning to the knowledge. Meaningful knowledge means knowledge with a purpose in the real world. So knowledge becomes useful and the understanding grows up in student’s mind.