I suppose this question seemed simple to me at first. I know if a student is learning if they can apply the knowledge to solve a problem. For instance they have learned how to add if they can tell me what 4+6 equals. Or they can do 8 digit addition after only being shown how to do addition up to 4 digits. It is about applying the knowledge that lets you know if you have truly learned something.
But then I started thinking about on the fly. How do you know if the student is learning right now? How do you know if they are learning this class period? Or this day? That can be more difficult because our means of instant assessment can only determine if they have in the short term held onto the information. It doesn't let you know if they have truly learned and stored the knowledge. I suppose there is no way to truly assess if a student has learned something right then and there. The true test of if something is learned has to come after the short term to see what is now a part of the student.
I thought the same thing until I thought about my spelling tests in second grade. I can give my students weekly words and they will know them for the test. However, if you ask them how to spell the word two weeks later some struggle. Yet they still get an A in spelling because they passed the test. Does this seem effective? It seems we learn for a short while but to really know that students are truly learning goes beyond the normal assessment.
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