SBG Part 4 - The written assessment process

I have gone through many iterations of how to do assessment, but I think I've hit on something pretty good this year.  Here's how it goes:

• I assess more frequently on fewer learning goals.  This allows me to conference with every (usually) student  immediately after each assessment.
• My tests are printed in a specific format:
• they have a cover page containing only the student's name, period, and any relevant given information (formulas, constants, etc.)
• the questions are sectioned by learning goal
• at the beginning of each section, the learning goal code and description are listed along with a score box
• The first student who is done with the test comes up directly to me and I grade his/her test.  This has several benefits:
• I get to have a individual conversation with each student.  I always greet the student by name and then take the time to briefly connect with them in some way besides the test we're about to grade.
• If a student has written an answer that I am unclear about as I read it, I can ask the student right then and there to clarify their answer.  I can take that into account when score the test.
• I can give the student immediate feedback.  Not the next week.  Not in two days.  Not tomorrow.  Immediately.  This is a big deal.
• I can give specific ideas for them to remediate if necessary.
• The second student done with the test stands in the "on-deck" circle near my desk.
• The third student who is done puts their test in a wire bin, sits back down at their desk and works on whatever I have assigned students to do after the test.
• Pointing into the wire bin is an old video camera that I have permanently checked out from our media center.  It serves as a DIY document cam.
• The video camera is hooked up to the video port on my digital projector.
• Since the cover page of the of the test does not contain any test questions/answers - no problem.
• Other students who finish, put their test on the bottom of the stack in the wire bin.
• When I am done conferencing with the first student, he/she goes into the lab area to update his/her notebook:
• enters scores on unit score tracker in science notebook
• color codes scores on tracker with a colored pencil:
• 4 - green
• 3 or 2 - yellow
• 1 or 0 - red
• puts assessment into his/her personal manila folder containing all written assessments
• puts manila folder in a different wire bin
• sits down at desk, calculates new science grade using notebook grade tracker page, and then works on assignment
• When the first student leaves, the student in the on-deck circle comes up to get their test graded
• The student whose name is being projected on the board gets their test out of the bin and waits in the on-deck circle.
• The process continues until I'm done grading all the tests or the bell rings.
• If I don't get to conference with all the students, I grade those tests after school and pass them back the next day.  Since I typically don't have many to grade, I have more time to leave detailed written feedback.