Assessment(complete)
- 1. ASSESSMENT GMT UNIT # 6 1 ASSESSMENT Definition of Assessment: The term “Assessment” is derived from the Latin word “assidere” which means “to sit beside.” According to Cambridge English Dictionary: “The act of judging or deciding the amount, value, quality, or importance of something, or the judgment or decision that is made.” Assessment in Education: In education, the term assessment refers to, “A wide variety of methods or tools that educators use to evaluate, measure, and document the academic readiness, learning progress, skill acquisition, or educational needs of students.” (The glossary of education reform) “Assessment is the process of gathering and discussing information from multiple and diverse sources in order to develop a deep understanding of what students know, understand and can do with their knowledge as a result of their educational experiences; the process culminates when assessment results are used to improve subsequent learning.” “Assessment is the systematic collection, review, and use of information about educational programs undertaken for the purpose of improving student learning and development” (adapted from Marchese 1987). Assessment; A Continuous Process: Assessment, done properly, is a continuous process. The information gathered is used to remove obstacles to learning, improve instruction, and enable students to progress to increasingly complex work. The teacher who is assessing learning uses a diverse array of methods, including tests. It is unlikely that a student enrolled in a class where the teacher understands the process of continuous assessment will sit in a classroom very long without learning. “Assessment is not an end in itself but a vehicle for education improvement” It is the process of gathering and interpreting evidence to make judgements about student learning. It is the crucial link between learning outcomes, content and teaching and learning activities. Assessment is used by learners and their teachers to decide where the learners are at in their learning, where they need to go, and how best to get there. The purpose of assessment is to improve learning, inform teaching, help students achieve the highest standards they can and provide meaningful reports on students’ achievement.
- 2. ASSESSMENT GMT UNIT # 6 2 Components of Assessment: Assessment is a process that includes four basic components: 1) Measuring improvement over time. 2) Motivating students to study. 3) Evaluating the teaching methods. 4) Ranking the students' capabilities in relation to the whole group evaluation. Purpose of Assessment: For Students: 1. Assessment informs students of their progress: Effective assessment provides students with a sense of what they know and don’t know about a subject. If done well, the feedback provided to students will indicate to them how to improve their performance. Assessments must clearly match the content, the nature of thinking, and the skills taught in a class. Through feedback from instructors, students become aware of their strengths and challenges with respect to course learning outcomes. 2. Motivate Students: Research shows that students will be motivated and confident learners when they experience progress and achievement, rather than the failure and defeat with being compared to more successful peers. 3. Helps students set learning goals: Students need frequent opportunities to reflect on where their learning is and what needs to be done to achieve their learning goals. When students are actively involved in assessing their own learning, they take steps to accomplish their goals. Purpose of Assessment For Teachers: 1.Assessment informs teaching practice: Reflection on student accomplishments offers instructors insights on the effectiveness of their teaching strategies. By systematically gathering, analyzing, and interpreting evidence we can determine how well student learning matches our outcomes / expectations for a lesson, unit or course. The knowledge from feedback indicates to the instructor how to improve instruction, where to strengthen teaching, and what areas are well understood and therefore may be cut back in future courses.
- 3. ASSESSMENT GMT UNIT # 6 3 2. Assessment drives learning: What and how students learn depends to a major extent on how they think they will be assessed. Assessment practices must send the right signals to students about what to study, how to study, and the relative time to spend on concepts and skills in a course. Accomplished faculty communicate clearly what students need to know and be able to do, both through a clearly articulated syllabus, and by choosing assessments carefully in order to direct student energies. High expectations for learning result in students who rise to the occasion. 3. Assign Report cards and Grades: Grades provides parents and other stake holders of education with summary of information about students’ learning. Role of grading in assessment Grades should be a reflection of what a student has learned as defined in the student learning outcomes. They should be based on direct evidence of student learning as measured on tests, papers, projects, and presentations, etc. Grades often fail to tell us clearly about “large learning” such as critical thinking skills, problem solving abilities, communication skills (oral, written and listening), social skills, and emotional management skills. Purpose of Assessment For Other Stakeholders of Education: • Parents and families can be kept informed of next plans for teaching and learning and the progress being made, so they can play an active role in their children’s learning. • School leaders can use the information for school-wide planning, to support their teachers and determine professional development needs. • Communities and Boards of Trustees can use assessment information to assist their governance role and their decisions about staffing and resourcing. • The Ministry of Education can use assessment information to undertake policy review and development at a national level, so that government funding and policy intervention is targeted appropriately to support improved student outcomes. Assessment practices in schools in Pakistan: Historical background of the examination system in Pakistan: Examinations in Pakistan are a legacy of the past, inherited from the British system. Following the model of the University of London, an external final examination, called matriculation was instituted at the end of the high school stage in the 1880s (Shirazi, 2004)
- 4. ASSESSMENT GMT UNIT # 6 4 Post-independence (after 1947) In 1947 there was no Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education in the country. Later on in 1950 Karachi BISE was established and in 1954 the Lahore BISE (Shirazi, 2004). By the late sixties, ten BISEs were conducting their examination assessments without trained personnel and other facilities (Shirazi, 2004). The Sharif Commission (1959) introduced the internal examination and assessment system in schools but it did not impact positively on students‟ performance due to inadequate teachers‟ training in examination and assessment. In Pakistani Schools, assessments are usually held annually, and they are the main criteria to promote the students to higher grades or to retain them in the same grade. However, recently, a system of automatic promotion up-to grade-III has been introduced in some primary schools but not officially implemented. In the primary schools, assessments are conducted by the respective schools for each grade (I-V). However, at the end of the fifth year of the primary stage, a public examination is conducted by the Education Department for promotion to the next grade. Regional BISE conducts the examinations for the assessing of secondary and higher secondary students. Secondary schools begins from grade VI to X (most of the high schools cover middle and secondary education) and students are required to pass a national examination. Upon completion of grade IX, students are expected to take a standardised test in each of the first parts of their academic subjects. They again conduct these tests of the second parts of the same courses at the end of grade X. At the successfully completion of these two examination assessments; students are awarded a Secondary School Certificate (SSC). This is known as the 'matriculation certificate' or 'matric' for short. Deficiencies in Assessment practices in Pakistani Schools and its solution: Examinations in Pakistan involve high stakes because they open a gate to move to the next grade, profession and other permanent work. Since passing examinations is a goal of the Pakistani education system rather than assessing knowledge, all instruction in the schools is geared to that objective (Erfan, 2000). Therefore, the assessment system suffers from multiple deficiencies such as fostering rote- learning, and not adopting critical or analytical approaches for assessing learners. The Ministry of Education (2009: 41), has declared that student performance shall, in future, be based on assessing competence in a specialized area that requires a given skill set. There shall be periodic reviews of the assessment system. Multiple assessment tools in addition to traditional examinations shall be explored, to ensure the right balance between the uses of formative assessment approaches combined with the summative approach of high-stake examinations.
- 5. ASSESSMENT GMT UNIT # 6 5 Formative assessment: Definition: “Formative assessment is a process used by teachers and students during instruction that provides feedback to adjust ongoing teaching and learning to improve students’ achievement of intended instructional outcomes.” “Formative Assessment is used to monitor learning progress during instruction. Its purpose is to provide continuous feedback to both pupil and teacher concerning learning successes and failure. (Norman E. Gronlund) It is also called “Assessment for learning.” Formative Assessment is part of the instructional process. When incorporated into classroom practice, it provides the information needed to adjust teaching and learning while they are happening. In this sense, formative assessment informs both teachers and students about student understanding at a point when timely adjustments can be made. These adjustments help to ensure students achieve targeted standards based learning goals within a set time frame. A common simplification of this position is that as long as the results are used to change instruction, any instrument may be used formatively, regardless of its original intended purpose. Purpose of Formative Assessment: • To collect detailed information that can be used to improve instruction and students’ learning while its happening. • To identify concepts that students are struggling to understand. • To identify skills they are having difficulty acquiring. • To identify learning standards they have not yet achieved. So that adjustments can be made to lessons, instructional techniques, and academic support. Importance of Feedback in Formative Assessment: Feedback given as part of formative assessment helps students become aware of any gaps that exist between their desired learning goal and their current knowledge, skills or understanding and guides them through actions necessary to obtain the goal. The most helpful type of feedback on tests and homework is specific comments about errors and specific actions to take to fix them. Comments encourage students to focus attention thoughtfully on the task rather than simply getting the right answer.
- 6. ASSESSMENT GMT UNIT # 6 6 It may be particularly helpful to lower achieving students because it emphasizes that students can improve as a result of effort rather than be doomed to low achievement due to some presumed lack of ability. Examples of Formative Assessment: • A brief written summary of a lecture or a lesson. • Student- teacher conferences. • A completed graphic organizer such as Venn diagram. • A quiz, which can be scored by teacher as well as peers. • Observations during in-class activities; of students’ non-verbal feedback during lecture. • Homework exercises. • In-class activities where students informally present their results. • Question and answer sessions, both formal—planned and informal—spontaneous. Summative Assessment: Definition: “Summative assessments are used to evaluate student learning, skill acquisition, and academic achievement at the conclusion of a defined instructional period—typically at the end of a project, unit, course, semester, program, or school year.” (The Glossary of Educational Reform) Summative assessments are generally administered at the end of a unit or course. Unlike formative assessments, which may occur several times during a course or unit, summative assessments occur only a few times over the course of the academic year. A common goal of this type of evaluation is to measure the mastery of learning standards. Unlike formative assessments, which emphasize feedback, summative assessments always yield a specific grade. Grades are usually an outcome of summative assessment: they indicate whether the student has an acceptable level of knowledge-gain—is the student able to effectively progress to the next part of the class? To the next course in the curriculum? To the next level of academic standing? Summative assessment is more product-oriented and assesses the final product, whereas formative assessment focuses on the process toward completing the product. Once the project is completed, no further revisions can be made. If, however, students are allowed to make revisions, the assessment becomes formative, where students can take advantage of the opportunity to improve. Summative Assessment is also called “Assessment of learning.”
- 7. ASSESSMENT GMT UNIT # 6 7 Examples of Summative Assessment: • End-of-unit or chapter tests. • End-of-term or semester tests. • Standardized tests that are used to for the purposes of school accountability, college admissions (e.g., the SAT or ACT), or end-of-course evaluation (e.g., Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate exams). • Projects (project phases submitted at various completion points could be formatively assessed) • Portfolios (could also be assessed during its development as a formative assessment)
- 8. ASSESSMENT GMT UNIT # 6 8 Difference between Formative and Summative Assessment Dimension of Difference Formative Assessment Assessments FOR Learning Summative Assessment Assessments OF Learning Purpose The purpose of formative assessment is to gather feedback that can be used by the instructor and the students to guide improvements in the ongoing teaching and learning context. The purpose of summative assessment is to measure the level of success or proficiency that has been obtained at the end of an instructional unit, by comparing it against some standard or benchmark. Usefulness It helps students identify their strengths and weaknesses and target areas. It helps faculty recognize where students are struggling and address problems immediately. Information from summative assessments can be used formatively when students or faculty use it to guide their efforts and activities in subsequent courses. Focus of Measurement Predefined segment of instruction Course or unit objectives are assessed Nature of sample Limited sample of learning tasks Broad sample of all objectives Time of administration Formative assessments are conducted Periodically during instruction to check students’ learning and provide continuous feedback. Summative assessments are conducted at the end of course or a particular unit for assigning course grade. Item difficulty Varies with the segment of instruction Typically has wide range of difficulty Relation to Instruction Provides feedback and information during instruction Monitors student progress Occurs after instruction and sums up the teaching and learning process Determines mastery of standards Relation to Grading May not be graded - informs both teachers and students about student understanding at a point when adjustments can be made Graded – it’s an accountability measure that is used as part of the grading process. Grade shows student mastery in a numerical form
- 9. ASSESSMENT GMT UNIT # 6 9 Provides the information needed to adjust teaching and learning while they are happening Use of Result The results obtained through formative assessments are used to improve and direct learning through ongoing feedback. Results obtained through summative assessments are used to assign grades, certify mastery or evaluate teaching. Examples Observations Student conferences Evidence from work samples Paper/pencil tasks At-home projects Quick quizzes (monitors progress) Short answer responses Student groups to discover and practice activities Classwork assignment Oral presentations State assessments Mid and end of unit assessments Performance assessments Formal writing In-school projects Reading comprehension exercises Quizzes Traditional paper and pencil exercise