Analyze the Purpose of an Assessment

|assessment as a process of making judgments of learners’ knowledge, skills and competence against set criteria |

Assessments are the way to find out if learning has actually taken place. Enabling us, as tutors, to see if objectives have been met.

Assessment plays a significant role in the learning experience of students. It determines their progression through their programmes and enables them to demonstrate that they have achieved the intended learning outcomes. It is assessment that provides the main basis for public recognition of achievement, through the awarding of qualifications and/or credit.

In my point of view assessment is a testing tool by which a teacher or assessor can use to detect the outcomes of teaching, learning or assessment process with the learners by

The term ‘formative assessment’ is used to describe the activities and processes used by teachers and learners to gather information that informs future teaching and learning. Assessment becomes formative if the information gathered is used as feedback to adapt and modify teaching and learning (Black and Wiliam, 1998, p.2). There are a variety of different methods and techniques that can be used by teachers and learners that can contribute to enhancing learner progress. These include

Assessment, both formative and summative, plays a significant part in the learning experience as it determines progression and enables learners to demonstrate that they have achieved their desired learning outcomes.

Haydn (2009 cited in Capel et al 2009 page 329) defines assessment as "all those activities which are undertaken by teachers, and others, to measure the effectiveness of teaching and learning".

Assessments are used to track not only learner but tutor progress. Below I have documented some utilised in my everyday teaching life:

Assessment is carried out through formative (checks throughout the course), ipsative (to test against previous marks), and/ or summative (at end of course) activities to help the learner see their development whilst allowing the Assessor to give valuable feedback when appropriate. It’s purpose is to measure the learners understanding of the subject against the anticipated outcomes set by the criteria.

1.1 Assessment is about judging if, how and what level of learning has taken place. An assessor's function is to decide if a learner has developed skills, knowledge, understanding and competence in a particular field as well as if the learner is showing the attitude required for the application of the learning within that field. Assessing is not the same as evaluating. Rather than the focus being on the programme or course the learner is on (evaluation), the focus is instead on the learner and their development.

Assessment is used to make a specific educational decision and is the process of evaluating the extent to which participants in education

Assessment is carried out to ensure that learning has taken place. This is used to measures the learner’s knowledge and skills in their chosen area of learning. Assessment can be used to encourage learners to ask questions on anything they have not understood, learners at some point will have to know that they will have to prove their knowledge and understanding to the standards of the awarding body.

The function of assessment in learning and development is to provide a measurable way of planning and supporting students’ progress. Assessment is carried out by means of checks and tests carried out throughout the course. Assessors should provide feedback throughout ensuring that learning is occurring and the learner is at the correct level. It is also important that assessor’s decisions are also consistently reviewed and internally and externally verified.

Assessment is often thought of as a punitive exercise. But the purpose of assessment is to ensure that students meet specific standards of progress and to rectify learning deficits before a child falls too far behind. Assessment can also identify a child's strengths as well as his or her weaknesses. As well as comparing the child's performance with his or her peers, the teacher can assess specific learning needs, learning styles, interests, aptitudes, and other critical components of the child's developing learning personality.

“A formative assessment is a planned process in which assessment-elicited evidence of students’ status is used by teachers to adjust their ongoing instructional procedures or by students to adjust their current learning tactics.” (Popham, 2017) A teacher focuses on their students by evaluating their learning to be able to give the students a framework for a grade on a specific subject. This evaluation, or assessment, helps a teacher come to a result on if the student has mastered a specific skill or subject concept. There are two types of assessments, the summative assessments are conducted after a unit or certain time period to determine how much learning has taken place and what progress the students have achieved. Formative assessment is intended to modify teaching and learning in order to find the best strategy or alternative strategies to help students become better learners and to help teachers improve their instruction for sure student success. Though it is important to use the assessments for grades and deciding where that student is at educationally, teachers really need to remind themselves and focus on using the formative assessment for learning.