How would I define assessment?
How would I define assessment?
Assessment is part of the process of teaching and learning and needs to be built into the planning of teaching. It involves making informed judgements about student's achievements and progress and can take place on an occasion when students express themselves, intentionally or other wise, in relation to a learning objective. Assessment is based on evidence of what students know, understand and can do and is a means of monitoring continuity and progression in student's achievements. Assessment is usually made by the teacher, but may include judgements made by the students themselves. It implies a contract of trust between teachers and students where both parties recognise, accept and value this partnership as a means of making progress. Finally assessment is a subtle art, not an exact science.
Assessment is a form of communication, to the student, feedback about their learning, to the tutor; feedback about their teaching, to the external examination bodies; feedback on the curriculum, and to employers; information about the qualitiy of their applicants. To ensure that communications are as honest as possible assessment must be reliable - in that the same results would be achieved if the assessment were repeated, and valid - in that it tests a relevant skill or ability.
Types of assessment
Teacher assessment of students should be drawn upon every day teaching activities, this is, through talking to students, listening and observing them at work, enabling teachers to draw conclusions about what students have learnt. There are four different types of assessment:
Formative assessment is a judgement about achievement made in such a way, that a student is encouraged to take the next step in learning. They receive feedback on what improvements can be made. Activities to provide evidence of assessment can be formative, as can the discussion of achievement between teacher and student to form a judgement.
Summative assessment is a judgement made at the end of the course or period of time with the intention of summing up achievement of the student to that point. It is commonly used for progression and/or external purposes, given at the end of the course to judge the students' overall performance. It generally provides a concise summary about the students' abilities which the general public can easily understand such as pass/fail or A, B, C, D, E... However it is not useful for communicating complex data about a students' abilities. Formative allow a more detailed opinion of their abilities which can be used to inform further study.
Diagnostic assessment is a judgement which precisely indicates what aspects of learning a
Evaluative assessment is a judgement about the extent to which the learning opportunities are balanced and effective in achieving the objectives.
Effective assessment is a central tool in raising achievement and, as such, must form part of the curriculum planning.
"If teacher assessment is to support and not inhibit teaching and learning, opportunities to make, observe, listen and discuss must be built into work as it is planned." (SEAC 1991)
"Teacher assessment lies at the heart of the learning process." (SEAC 1993 para. 1:3)
What to assess? This will depend on the aim of the lesson and also the age of the students.
When to assess? Assessment should take place whenever students express ...
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Effective assessment is a central tool in raising achievement and, as such, must form part of the curriculum planning.
"If teacher assessment is to support and not inhibit teaching and learning, opportunities to make, observe, listen and discuss must be built into work as it is planned." (SEAC 1991)
"Teacher assessment lies at the heart of the learning process." (SEAC 1993 para. 1:3)
What to assess? This will depend on the aim of the lesson and also the age of the students.
When to assess? Assessment should take place whenever students express themselves in relation to the aim and/or during a lesson, after a lesson and at the end of a topic. Evidence should be gathered during the assessment. The opportunities will often be found during activities which have not specifically been set up for assessment purposes, therefore teachers need to be flexible.
Why do we assess? Assessment assists students in their learning, identifying their strengths and weaknesses and to see an overall picture of their performance and progression. It also allows teachers to reflect on how well they have taught and any information collected is to be use in supporting future planning and learning.
I believe the key purpose of assessment is to move students on in their learning. Continued monitoring of each student's progress gives a clear picture of what each student is doing. It is important that the teacher knows what has been remembered, what skills have been acquired, and what concepts have been understood. This enables teachers to reflect on what students are doing and informs future planning. The outcomes of our assessments will help students become involved in raising their own expectations. Such attainment needs to be compared with the student's previous work, but also against students in the cohort, against the LEA and the National. Our assessments will also provide information for others including; parents to show progression/concerns, and involve them in the teaching process; Other teachers and staff to help them plan and gain informed views; Outside agencies can be provided with evidence of attainment.
How do we assess? The four forms of assessment discussed earlier are examples of different approaches which could be used. All students need a variety of opportunities to show what they know, understand and can do in order.
Whom/for whom do we assess? Assessments are mainly for students and teachers to see their performance and progression in their learning and teaching, respectively. Assessment is a positive process for the students promoting self-esteem and enhancing motivation. Assessment needs to fully involve the student and should serve every individuals needs and be differentiated. Through assessment, clear learning intentions can be identified shared and communicated.
More concisely a general principle:
"TEACHING, LEARNING AND ASSESSING ARE INTER-RELATED. ASSESSMENT SHOULD FORM A NATURAL PART OF TEACHING AND LEARNING ACTIVITIES." (SEAC 1990.9)
The Changing Face of Educational Assessment
The last decade has witnessed a growing recognition of the need for significant changes in educational assessment practices (Archbald and Newmann 1988, Shepard 1989). The calls for reform are directed not only at large-scale, standardized tests but also at classroom assessment practices. At least two factors have contributed to the demands for assessment reform: the changing nature of educational goals and the relationship between assessment and teaching and learning.
The Changing Nature of Educational Goals
The "back to basics" movement of the 1970s led to an emphasis on low-level functional skills and the proliferation of minimum-competency tests. The reform movement of the 1990s, however, is directed toward more sophisticated educational goals and higher standards. In response, subject-area groups began charting a set of national curriculum standards to provide greater specificity about what students should know and be able to do in each of the content areas.
In short, educators are increasingly seeing the need to identify standards for both traditional discipline knowledge and outcomes that relate to lifelong learning. A broad array of both academic and non-academic competencies are necessary for the modern workplace, including:
* creative thinking
* decision making
* problem solving
* learning how to learn
* collaboration
* self-management
Although educators have acknowledged the importance of reinforcing standards and outcomes like those listed above, they have quickly recognized that current assessments do not adequately address these standards and outcomes. For the most part, standardized tests require students to recall or recognize fragmented and isolated bits of information. They rarely ask students to apply that information, and they almost never require students to exhibit proficiencies in the "higher forms" of cognition, such as complex reasoning and self-directedness (Marzano and Costa 1988). Lauren Resnick characterizes the problem in this way:
Many of the tests we do use are unable to measure what should be the hallmark of a "thinking" curriculum: the cultivation of students' ability to apply skills and knowledge to real-world problems. Testing practices may in fact interfere with the kind of higher order skills that are desired (Resnick 1987, p. 47).
These shortcomings make it clear that new approaches to assessment are needed if we are to satisfactorily assess students' ability to meet the lifelong learning standards.
The Relationship Between Assessment and Teaching and Learning
A second factor contributing to the need for assessment reform involves the relationship between assessment and the processes of teaching and learning. Behavioural theories that characterise learning as the accumulation of discrete skills have given way to a conception of learning and teaching based on cognitive psychology. Lori Shepard summarizes this shifting conception of the learning process:
The notion that learning comes about by the accretion of little bits is outmoded learning theory. Current models of learning based on cognitive psychology contend that learners gain understanding when they construct their own knowledge and develop their own cognitive maps of the interconnections among facts and concepts . . . . Real learning cannot be spoon-fed one skill at a time (Shepard 1989, pp. 5-6).
As Shepard's comments imply, this cognitive view calls for an active, constructive approach to learning in which the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. If learning occurs in a holistic fashion, then assessments, too, should be able to provide holistic information, not just bits of information.
Conventional selected-response test formats (e.g., multiple choice, true/false, matching) are quite narrow in their focus. They provide only a snapshot or a "one moment in time" picture of learning. Although such sampling may have certain uses, it is generally incapable of revealing in any comprehensive way what students know and can do. Moreover, the conditions of such tests are often highly controlled. Students complete the work within inflexible time limits and have restricted access to resources and limited opportunities to make revisions. These kinds of tests also sacrifice authenticity, since they differ markedly from the ways in which people apply knowledge in the world outside of school. Despite these limitations, the results of such one-time measures are frequently used to make significant decisions, such as whether a student should be admitted to or excluded from special programs and what final grade a student will receive in a class.
What we now know about learning indicates that assessment and learning are closely and intimately tied. The importance of changing assessment practices so they mirror the learning process becomes clearer when one realizes that many students learn what they know they will be tested on. Most students choose to ignore those things on which they are not tested. And teachers tend to consciously or unconsciously focus their instruction on the materials that are prescribed and tested. In effect, then, assessment has both a direct and an indirect effect on learning. Assessment directly affects learning in that it provides the necessary feedback for effective learning. It indirectly affects learning in that instruction is commonly skewed toward what is assessed; and, obviously, what is taught affects what is learned.
Use the Results to Improve Student Performance and/or Instruction.
Virtually all assessment methods can provide useful information about students' learning. The important point is how you take that information, analyse it, and use it to help your students learn and to impact your own teaching practice.
Using Results to Improve Student Performance
When you analyse the results of student assessments, you should be able to identify those areas of knowledge and skills that students mastered and those that need more work. If only a few students scored poorly on a given area, you can group and re-teach them and/or offer assignments to help them master those standards. You can also disaggregate (pull apart) your results to see whether, for example, boys performed better than girls, only students who had previous experience (e.g., computers in the home) did well, and so forth.
If many students fail to demonstrate their mastery, you know that you need to re-examine the instructional delivery strategy to see what went wrong.
When you deliberately and systematically examine your practice and the effects it has on your students' abilities to learn, you are engaging in action research.
Questions to Consider
. Did students understand their expectations? Did they meet high performance standards?
2. Were students engaged in this assessment? Did they express an interest in follow-up exercises?
3. Did some new learning goals for future or follow-up lessons emerge during instruction?
4. Were you able to evaluate the products students created?
5. Did the assessment provide authentic and meaningful feedback for improving student learning and instructional practice?
The involvement of pupils in assessment is particularly important in information and communication technology (ICT), especially where the resources offer the opportunity for them to improve their skills continuously. Students should be encouraged to show how their work has developed and to assess their own work as well as that of others. Students' involvement in their own assessment works best where they understand what is expected of them and can use this to assess their own progress. Students do best when they are made aware of examination requirements and gauge their progress through clear guidance and the use of exemplars of previous work
