Assessment of students achievements:
Assessment is the process of observing a sample of a student’s behavior and drawing inferences about the student’s knowledge and abilities.When we are looking at students’ behavior, we typically only use a sample of classroom behavior.
• Assessment instruments do not dictate the decisions to be made.• Teachers, administrators, government officials, parents, and even students interpret assessment results and make decisions based on the results.• Assessments are tools that allow us to make informed decisions about how best to help our students learn and achieve• Assessment interpretation can be abused.
There types of assessment:
There are three main types of Assessment.
• Summative Assessment
• Interim Assessment
• Formative Assessment
Summative Assessment:
Summative Assessment takes place at the end of a large chunk of learning, with the results being primarily for the teacher's or school's use. Results may take time to be returned to the student/parent, feedback to the student is usually very limited, and the student usually has no opportunity to be reassessed. Thus, Summative Assessment tends to have the least impact on improving an individual student's understanding or performance. Students/parents can use the results of Summative Assessments to see where the student's performance lies compared to either a standard (MEAP/MME) or to a group of students (usually a grade-level group, such as all 6th graders nationally, such as Iowa Tests or ACT). Teachers/schools can use these assessments to identify strengths and weaknesses of curriculum and instruction, with improvements affecting the next year's/term's students.
Examples: Standardized testing (MEAP, MME, ACT, Work Keys, Terra Nova, etc.); Final exams; Major cumulative projects, research projects, and performances.
Interim Assessment:
Interim Assessment takes place occasionally throughout a larger time period. Feedback to the learner is still quick, but may not be immediate. Interim Assessments tend to be more formal, using tools such as projects, written assignments, and tests. The learner should be given the opportunity to re-demonstrate his/her understanding once the feedback has been digested and acted upon. Interim Assessments can help teachers identify gaps in student understanding and instruction, and ideally teachers address these before moving on or by weaving remedies into upcoming instruction and activities.
Examples: Chapter test; extended essay; a project scored with a rubric.
Formative Assessment:
Formative Assessment occurs in the short term, as learners are in the process of making meaning of new content and of integrating it into what they already know. Feedback to the learner is immediate (or nearly so), to enable the learner to change his/her behavior and understandings right away. Formative Assessment also enables the teacher to "turn on a dime" and rethink instructional strategies, activities, and content based on student understanding and performance. His/her role here is comparable to that of a coach. Formative Assessment can be as informal as observing the learner's work or as formal as a written test. Formative Assessment is the most powerful type of assessment for improving student understanding and performance.
Examples: a very interactive class discussion; a warm-up, closure, or exit slip; an on-the-spot performance; a quiz.
PURPOSES OF ASSESSMENT:
• To promote learning
• In order for assessment to promote students’ learning and achievement, it should:
1. Provide specific & concrete feedback
2. Act as a learning experience, letting students know what they have and have not mastered
3. Act as a motivator—students should know what to study and when
4. Act as a review mechanism
5. Influence cognitive processing
6. To guide instructional decision making
7. To assist in the diagnosis of learning and performance problems
8. To promote self-regulation
9. To determine what students have learned
