ABSTRACT
This chapter, hopefully, answers some of Michelle’s questions about metacognitive assessments.
As the bell rang to end the school year, Ms. Whalen, at St. Mary of the Mills School (Baltimore, MD), said good-bye to her fifth graders. Jeanette was the last to leave. With tears in her eyes, she said she would miss Ms. Whalen, and she handed her this note:
Dear Ms. Whalen,
I liked how you tested my reading comprehension. You always asked me what I wanted to learn next. I liked the new metacognitive tests. Because of them, I have read four times as much as I used to. I think that we should stick with these kinds of tests. This is the best class I’ve had in all my 5 years at Saint Mary’s School. I love you,
Jeanette Montgomery
Can comprehension be better assessed? This question has been asked for several decades. Many assessment issues arise in classrooms everyday. “How often does Roberto imagine?” “Can Mariettalynette infer?” “How often does Peggy engage effective metacognitive processes before, during, and after reading?” “How motivated is Charles to overcome his confusion as he reads?” “How can I be sure that my students are applying what they learned in this text to their lives?”
