Formative Assessment
The
goal of formative assessment is to monitor student learning to provide ongoing
feedback that can be used by instructors to improve their teaching and by
students to improve their learning. Formative assessment provides feedback and
information during the instructional process, while learning is taking place,
and while learning is occurring. Formative assessment measures student progress
but it can also assess your own progress as an instructor. A primary focus of
formative assessment is to identify areas that may need improvement. These
assessments typically are not graded and act as a gauge to students’ learning
progress and to determine teaching effectiveness.
Types of Formative Assessment
§ Observations during in-class
activities; of students non-verbal feedback during lecture
§ Homework exercises as review for
exams and class discussions)
§ Reflections journals that are
reviewed periodically during the semester
§ Question and answer sessions,
both formal—planned and informal—spontaneous
§ Conferences between the
instructor and student at various points in the semester
§ In-class activities where
students informally present their results
§ Student feedback collected by
periodically answering specific question about the instruction and their
self-evaluation of performance and progress
Summative Assessment
The
goal of summative assessment is to evaluate student learning at the end of an
instructional unit by comparing it against some standard or benchmark. Summative
assessment takes place after the learning has been completed and provides
information and feedback that sums up the teaching and learning process.
Typically, no more formal learning is taking place at this stage, other than
incidental learning which might take place through the completion of projects
and assignments. Grades are usually an outcome of summative assessment. Summative
assessment is more product-oriented and assesses the final product, whereas
formative assessment focuses on the process toward completing the product.
Types of Summative Assessment
§ Examinations (major, high-stakes
exams)
§ Final examination (a truly
summative assessment)
§ Term papers (drafts submitted
throughout the semester would be a formative assessment)
§ Projects (project phases
submitted at various completion points could be formatively assessed)
§ Portfolios (could also be
assessed during it’s development as a formative assessment)
§ Performances
§ Student evaluation of the course
(teaching effectiveness)
§ Instructor self-evaluation
PURPOSES OF ASSESSMENT
The following are the different purposes of
assessing learners.
§ For
promoting to next class.
§ To
grade or rank a student.
§ To
predict success in future study and work.
§ To
provide feedback to students.
§ To motivating
students.
§ To
diagnose students strength and weaknesses.
§ To
help students to develop students self-awareness.
§ To
improve teaching.
Methods of assessment
1. Group assessment : This develops interpersonal skills and may also
develop oral skills and research skills (if combined, for example, with a
project).
2. Self-assessment : Self-assessment obliges students more actively
and formally to evaluate themselves and may develop self-awareness and better
understanding of learning outcomes.
3. Peer assessment : By overseeing and evaluating other students’
work, the process of peer assessment develops heightened awareness of what is
expected of students in their learning.
4. Unseen examination : This is the ‘traditional’ approach. It tests
the individual knowledge base but questions are often relatively predictable
and, in assessment, it is difficult to distinguish between surface learning and
deep learning.
5. Testing skills : It can be useful to test students on questions
relating to material with instead of which they have no familiarity. This often
involves creating hypothetical knowledge scenarios. It can test true student
ability and avoids problems of rote- and surface-learning.
6. Coursework essays : A relatively traditional approach that allows
students to explore a topic in greater depth but can be open to plagiarism.
Also, it can be fairly time consuming and may detract from other areas of the
module.
7. Oral examination : With an oral exam, it is possible to ascertain
students’ knowledge and skills. It obliges a much deeper and extensive learning
experience, and develops oral and presentational skills.
8. Projects : These may develop a wide range of expertise, including
research, IT and organisational skills. Marking can be difficult, so one should
consider oral presentation.
9. Presentations : These test and develop important oral
communication and IT skills, but can prove to be dull and unpopular with
students who do not want to listen to their peers, but want instead to be
taught by the tutor.
10. Multiple choice :These are useful for self-assessment and easy to
mark. Difficulties lie in designing questions and testing depth of analytical
understanding.
11. Portfolio: This contains great potential for developing and
demonstrating transferable skills as an ongoing process throughout the degree programme.
12. Computer-aided : Computers are usually used with multiple-choice
questions. Creating questions is time consuming, but marking is very fast and
accurate. The challenge is to test the depth of learning.
13. Literature reviews : These are popular at later levels of degree
programmes, allowing students to explore a particular topic in considerable
depth. They can also develop a wide range of useful study and research skills.
PRINCIPLES OF ASSESSMENT
Good principles will help those wishing to
evaluate their assessment designs or their implementations in practice. Following are the important
principles that might kept in mind while assessing performance of learners .
1.
It should be clear and has
direct link with outcomes :
The assessment strategies employed by the teacher in the
classroom need to be directly linked to and reflect the syllabus outcomes. The
methods of assessment should be planned in a very clear manner.
2. It should integrate to teaching and learning :
Effective assessment practices involves selecting
strategies that are directly derived
from well structured teaching and learning activities. These strategies should
provide information concerning student progress and achievement that helps to
inform ongoing teaching and learning as well as the diagnosis of areas of
strength and need.
3. It should be comprehensive and balanced :
Effective assessment program should give result of
performance in all areas may be in scholastic as well as co-scholastic.
Teacher should take care a balanced adoption of assessment strategies.
4. Strategies adopted should be valid and reliable :
Valid and reliable assessment strategies are those that
give results that what the teacher actually assess not only in a particular
situation but also in other situations.
5. It should be fair :
Effective assessment strategies are designed to ensure
equal opportunity for success regardless of students’ age, gender, physical or
other disability, culture, background language, socio economic status, etc.
6. It should be student centered :
The learning outcomes and the assessment process to be
used should be made explicit to students. Students should participate in the
negotiation of learning task and actively monitor and reflect up on their
achievement and progress.
7. It should be time efficient and manageable :
Teachers need to plan carefully the timing frequencies
and nature of their assessment strategies. Good planning ensures that
assessment and reporting is manageable and maximizes the usefulness of the
strategies selected.
8. It should enable to recognize individual achievement and progress :
All students must be given appropriate opportunities to
demonstrate achievement. For giving constructive feedback to the students the
assessment strategies should enable to evaluate learners individually.
9. It must ensure active involvement of Parents :
School authorities should ensure full and informed
participation by parents in the continuing development and review of the school
policy on assessment process.
No comments:
Post a Comment