So why do it?

I know, I know... you're saying but I do use assessments, they tell me if a kid knows something or not. But my stand is, what if they don't know how to do it, where did they begin to show a gap, how will I help this student understand? As adults, we like to know what we're doing right, how we can improve our learning, and know that we can get support if needed. It's the same with the students in our class.

The issue with testing (evaluation) and assessment, according to Grant Wiggins (link for website of interview is included), is that testing is a very small part of assessment, and really only gives a snap-shot of the child at that time (think EQAO). It has a role play, but as Wiggins states "a test is like an audit. You don't run your business for an audit" One of my favourite things he says is " You don't want just the snapshot. You want the whole family album" And my add-on is "warts and all"
On-going assessment for different reasons, gives us that whole picture of how the student learns, where there are misconceptions in their learning, and where do we need to plan and design our lessons to best support all our students.

Interview with Grant Wiggins-http://www.edutopia.org/grant-wiggins-assessment#graph1