Since the focus of my Kenan externship is on assessments, connecting my externship to the classroom is an everyday experience. Whether I am discussing topics with students, conducting informal classroom inquiries, developing formative assessments, or collaborating with colleagues to develop common summative assessments I am constantly considering what I have learned through my days at DPI and how I can be sure I am using that knowledge to enhance my students learning and their understanding of material. Through my fellowship I have learned what makes a good test question, how to evaluate and create good questions, and most importantly, how to break down the essential standards based on Revised Blooms Taxonomy. The ability to breakdown the standards into separate parts allows me to really consider what my students need to know and what they should be able to do as they work their way through the curriculum. The training I received has already helped me become a better teacher and hopefully will help my students have a better understanding of science and the application of the content they are learning. While I would like to think all I need to do is teach the curriculum and the kids will be ready for whatever comes their way, the reality is this generation of kids need to understand how to take what they know and put that knowledge to use to answers questions, whether it is a classroom test, district and state assessments, or the all mighty national tests, they must be good test takers to show what they know and be as successful as they choose to be.