After writing my post How to Create an Engaging Novel Study, I got thinking about the first day back and the usual diagnostic assessments often used. Nothing quite says, "Welcome back!" to students like a test in which you try to find out what they don't know on the first or second day of school. 

Maybe a different approach to diagnostic assessment would help you get off to a better, friendlier, more engaging start with your students and set a different tone for your school year.

If you are trying to assess writing skills, grammatical skills, vocabulary skills, or students' knowledge of literary elements, try asking a series of questions--something like the following:

1. As we start this school year together, what are the most important things I should know about you? Write a couple of paragraphs to answer this question.
2. What is your favorite book or movie? Why is it your favorite?
3. Who is your favorite character in that book or movie? What traits does that character have that you like or admire?
4. Do you have a favorite sports team, sports player, music group, or performer? Tell me a little bit about them.
5. If you had the power to change one thing about yourself or school or the world, what would it be?
6. Do you like to read, or would you rather listen or watch a video?
7. What would you most like to have happen within the next year?
8. What do you consider your best character traits to be?
9. What are some things you like to do?
10. Describe someplace you have been or would like to go using the most descriptive words and phrases you can think of, including any figurative language (similes, metaphors, hyperbole, personification, for example) you might be able to include.

Have a little discussion about each question (I would skip #1 and #8 because they are more personal questions), asking for volunteers who would like to share their answers to each. The reason for this is that students may find things in common they can talk about with other students in class, which may help to build a sense of community among your group. And, no doubt some answers may be funny, which will lighten and brighten the atmosphere in your classroom, making students feel happy or more comfortable.

Don't allow students to get away with snarky or disrespectful comments. Dissuade them in a positive way. This will set the tone for your classroom and let students know what kind of responses are acceptable to you in your class discussions.

Collect the papers and read them without grading them. The purpose of this exercise is for you to be able to assess students' skills and get to know what makes your students "tick," so you can proceed with planning appropriate activities, have points of conversation with students within and outside of class work, and build a rapport that will help students know that your class is about THEM, not just required content and grades.

It is, of course, about the content and grades in a way, but the focus is on how you can make the content relevant to them, improve their skills from where you see they are to where they need to be, and help set them up for success--successful learning and good behavior--in your classroom and beyond.

You may find out, for example, that six of your students like the same band and you could reference that band in some content examples. Half your class may obviously need help with improving their vocabularies, as evidenced by their descriptive answers on question #10. When you're working on descriptions, you could use examples from things they have indicated an interest in. And so on...connecting your content to your students.

Rather than just giving a vocabulary test, a grammar test, and a test about figurative language (for example), you have achieved your purpose of being able to assess students' skills and knowledge without setting them up for failure (after all, the "test" is to determine what they do and don't know) AND you have gained insights into what is important to your students.

You might consider "follow-up" conferences with your students, in which you meet with them in a private area and can talk about their responses one-on-one, adding to their connections with you individually as people. In the follow-up conference, you can talk with them about their answers to the questions and share your evaluations as to what skills they do well and where they may need more work through the year.  For example, if a student tries to describe Yellowstone National Park, you may talk about the park for a bit then show them how the descriptive words or phrases they chose worked well (and where they didn't) or show them how their sentence structure worked well or ways it could be improved. Give them a little summary of a few things you'll work on together to help them improve--making some goals for the year. That's just one example. Look in their answers for ways to connect with them and give them goals for the year. Make clear that you'll help them with these goals (if in fact you will).

By simply changing the way you assess students on the first days of the school year, you have opened your classroom up to success from the very first encounters you have with them. You show a personal interest in them, they find connections with other students in your class (and maybe you, too), and their first days are more enjoyable and fun (because they're talking about things that interest them). In the process, you find out a great deal about your students--their interests and skills--and have plenty of ways to connect your content to them throughout the year. That's a "win" for everyone.

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