EFFECTIVE ASSESSMENT
INTRODUCTION
Effective assessment is critical to teaching because it provides teachers with
information about pupils’ understanding and needs, but what exactly makes
assessment effective?
DISCUSSION
An assessment is a task that is carried out by a teacher to work out the level a student
is working at. It can also be something that is used to assess where a child is
exceeding and where they may need a little more support.
Types of Assessment
Formative assessment - Formative assessments are regular, informal assessments that
are used by teachers to assess student understanding and inform teaching strategy.
Summative assessment - Summative assessments are any method of evaluation
performed at the end of a unit or term, allowing teachers to measure a students'
understanding against standardised criteria.
Diagnostic assessment - an evaluation made of a child’s knowledge and skills in
learning, so that a programme of support can be put in place to help them.
Self-assessment - Self-assessment is a method of encouraging students to evaluate and
assess their own work. It’s extremely important for students because it allows them to
reflect on their own work to help them to improve and develop.
Peer-assessment - Peer assessment is a method of assessing students’ work where
students look at a partner’s work and assess it.
Teachers may develop their own formal assessment tasks that are specific to their
learning domain and the context in which they are teaching.
Examples:
Assignments
role plays
and simulations
Wherever possible, you should make use of externally validated materials, used
in controlled conditions when required to make summative assessments.
Effective assessment tasks are transparent so the learner knows the purpose of the
task, what is expected and how the task will be assessed. The type of assessment
task set depends on the purpose of the task. Sometimes there is an emphasis on
tasks that are authentic, open-ended and require deep understanding of an area of
content. In other circumstances administering a simple multiple choice
assessment will provide the practitioner with useful information.
An effective assessment is always appropriate to its purpose and able to be
readily administered by the practitioner. In selecting an appropriate assessment,
consideration is given to these characteristics:
Reliability
Validity
Inclusivity
Objectivity
Practicality.
Teachers provide learners with the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge,
skills and understanding if the assessment tasks:
directly relate to the learning intentions or particular learning outcome
are explicit about what learners are required to do
are time efficient and manageable
include clear and explicit assessment criteria
provide challenge for the full range of learners being assessed
are fair to all students including those with additional needs
are scored or marked based on transparent rubrics
are appropriate to where learners are in their learning
Learners can effectively demonstrate what they know, understand and can do if
they are provided with the assessment criteria for an assessment task. Effective
assessment criteria:
are known to the learners
are clear and explicit
focus on the important criteria and substance of the task (not every tiny detail)
allow learners to achieve at a high level
provide for a range of quality in the work
Informing learners about the materials or activities they are expected to submit
for an assessment task ensures they have the opportunity to demonstrate their
knowledge, skills and understanding in the form expected by the practitioner and
that all elements of a task are completed. Learners should be provided with:
stimulus material, case study, problem
questions/activities to be completed
assessment criteria or rubric
list of what must be submitted
CONCLUSION
An assessment task is a tool, device or constructed situation that creates the
opportunity for learners to demonstrate or display the nature and depth of their
learning. Effective teachers design assessment tasks that require students to
demonstrate knowledge and skills at man levels.
Tasks will include lower order processes like comprehension, and higher order
processes like synthesis and evaluation. When teachers explain the connections
between learning goals, learning activities and assessment tasks, then the students can
use learning goals to monitor and progress their learning.
