However, all is not lost, students do appreciates the implementation of formative assessment in the classroom, and expressed that they find learning more meaningful and fun (increased student engagement). Anecdotal responses from 25 students who recently completed an alternative assessment in Biology expressed that the task helped bridge their learning between theory and real-word application (relevance and authenticity). In addition, their understanding for the topics is also extended beyond the syllabus (extension of learning).
On the other hand, students continues to face the pressure both from teachers and parents to perform well in national standardised examinations. The emphasis schools place on helping low-achieving students; and the
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Only with such mind set shift in the intent of education, can the assessment move towards the needed balance between assessment for learning and assessment of learning.
In the operational sense, government and schools needs to be willing to direct resources to the building of assessment literacy of educators, allows for the effective harness of learning through suitable assessment design. By equipping educators with the needed assessment competencies, there can be significant changes to both national standardised examinations and school-based assessments to truly assess competencies for the future. In addition, drivers of education (key personnel such principals) need be believe in the need for such reforms and actively translate this to actual implementation in schools. As with the dialectic relationship between assessment and learning, this would then change the way students learn, further reinforcing the assessment
This is a key part in schools today because it’s enforcing a higher bar of achievement for teachers and students (Catapano, 2018). Implementing standards into a school system that are internationally benchmarked means all states and countries have a way of measuring their academic performance. They can use this also as a tool to compile scores and understand the weaknesses to improve students’ knowledge. This provides teachers with various ways to assess their students more frequently through observations and informal assessments to understand the student’s comprehension level of the lesson material. It will help the teachers to strive to improve her test scores by adapting lesson materials to the needs of each
This could affect the amount of learning students are able to obtain. Another interesting conclusion I
From studying education, I have noticed how many school districts teach based upon what the students will be tested over. As a future educator, I feel as if a standardized test cannot determine what a student is capable of. The individuals creating the test often don’t realize that many students suffer from test anxiety, in fear of failing the test and what is more fearful is how the school districts pressure the teachers to stress to the students the importance of passing the test. Also, in this chapter Boaler describes assessment for learning as having three components clear communication about what students have learned, a way to help students understand where they are on their journey to mastery and where they still need to improve, and information on ways to get from where students are currently to where they need to be to meet success criteria. This chapter offered several strategies that will help students have a better grasp of where they are in the learning process and that will help them develop and maintain a growth mindset.
In Tovani’s Chapter 8, “What Do I Do with All These Sticky Notes?” Assessment That Drives Instruction, the focus is on assessment methods in the classroom. Tovani starts off by introducing a story about her students’ curiosity regarding tests, and she responds by explaining what she expects from her class. Moreover, the chapter explains an educator’s outlook on tests and how they are applied. Aside from the views, the process for selecting assessments is also mentioned.
ANALYSE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF ASSESSMENT METHODS IN RELATION TO MEETING THE INDIVIDUAL NEEDS OF LEARNERS. UNIT 2, 6.2 Race, P. (2009) says “we need a richer mix of high-quality assessment formats, and we also need to decrease the overall burden of assessment for ourselves and for our students. We need to measure less, but measure it better.' Using a variety of assessment methods gives students more scope to demonstrate their knowledge and skills across a range of contexts. By adopting a wider catalogue of assessments I can also help support students who may for one reason or another be underprivileged by the extensive use of particular assessment formats.
Introduction: Standardized testing is often seen as a necessity when attempting to compare how much a student has grown education-wise throughout the year. Because of the pressure placed on students to do well on these tests, students often result in being immensely stressed and worried. This stress is felt by students around the world, but some countries apply extremely high amounts of pressure. In many Asian countries, students’ futures rely fully on the results of these tests which lead to instances of students taking alternate methods to cope with the pressure they face. This leads to the concern of how students in different countries manage to handle the onslaught of pressure which is brought on by their education.
I think there should be an increase in formative assessment testing after each concept is taught to see if the student is retaining the information and meeting the standards for his/her level which then helps formulate a realistic and effective
(2012;2011;). The impact of high stakes testing: The australian story. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 19(1), 65-79. doi:10.1080/0969594X.2011.592972 Val Klenowski is a Professor of Education at the Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia.
Assessments are a teacher’s tool that builds a profile on student’s growth and are the “tell-tell” detectors that provide the with teacher information on a student who may need additional services in and beyond the
The issue arises, in this “solution”, the testing of the new evaluation’s effectiveness. In studying the effects of a new testing system, there would be an increase in the frequency and magnitude of testing which students would be demanded to undergo in order for the test to be deemed adequate. If the new test was not seen fit to measure academic progress, other tests would need to be imposed until a sufficient one is approved; the result of this solution is a mass-tested society. Therefore, this “solution” is not really an answer at all, but rather, another issue waiting to
Students would get better scores on tests. The benefits of getting higher scores outweighs any bad behavior associated with
Additionally, the tasks need to be constructive and interlinked and provide a challenge to the students while also acting as a motivation factor. The adopting of effective teaching to match the personal strengths of the students ensures that a student’s learning outcome is achieved Holistic assessment should be encouraged to understand what the learner has captured on a learning
Smarter Balanced Assessment: Pro or Con? Smarter Balanced Assessment, who is it truly assessing, the teachers or the students? Smarter Balanced testing contributes to the teacher’s performance, but is it beneficial or does it have unintended consequences? Students are ultimately grading the teachers by taking these tests and they are not even aware of it. The disadvantages may outweigh the benefits for this topic, but teachers must look past the disadvantages and do what they were meant to do, teach.
I incorporate this learned experience daily and learn through each success and discovered area of improvement. Addressing my students needs using a variety of assessment tools has been a beneficial practice to help guide instruction. Students have different learning styles and their strengths and weaknesses are not always apparent using the same methods of assessment. Utilizing formative, standards(goal)-based, anecdotal, observational and benchmarks has driven my instructional programs. The combination of different assessments provides me with a multi-dynamic perspective of my students allowing me to better understand their strengths, weakness and academic needs.
Artifact #1: 60 Formative Assessment Strategies By using a variety of assessment strategies, I will be provided with more accurate data about student learning. This data is essential in monitoring student progress throughout the year. The use of formative assessments, throughout student learning, will allow me to adjust my instruction so that my students can learn more effectively. (Standards 5.1, 5.2, 5.4, 5.5) Regier, N. (2012).