Assessment & Grading in the Classroom Essay

Assessment is carried out to evaluate that learning has taken place. It measures the learner’s attainment of knowledge and skills in their particular learning area. Assessment encourages learners to ask questions on anything they have not fully understood, as learners know that they will have to prove their knowledge and understanding during assessment to the standards of the awarding body.

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

Questioning is a method of testing knowledge by asking the learner a series of questions related to the performance criteria. It is important that the assessor plans the questions beforehand, ensuring that open questions are used, and identifies the means of recording them, whether it be written; voice recorded or videoed. Questioning can be a very useful assessment method used alongside other methods. With observation, in particular, ‘what if’ questions can be used for evidence that might be hard to obtain, for example.

Initial assessment can be described as set of procedures we go through to determine what previous experience, skills and abilities a learner has. The process may include skills scan screening for numeracy, literacy and language as well as learning styles and skills abilities, and recognise any prior R.P.L .The results of initial assessment should form individual learning plans so that training and support are delivered that will meet the needs of each learner .Formative assessment is the on-going assessment made in order to adapt to learners needs and respond to learning. Formative assessment helps you keep record of learner’s progress and

Although standardized tests do not accurately represent a student’s performance and future, they do present the opportunity to test an individual’s general knowledge. The tests also give students the chance to test their test-taking efficiency and time management, whether or not the individual is under tremendous amounts of stress. With these assessments, students can rank their performance and improve for future tests.

The use of standardized testing to measure students’ knowledge is an inaccurate reflection of their capabilities. By being forced to take a test that does not effectively show their abilities, students become overstressed, and the tests themselves do not promote true academic achievement. Rather than learning about subjects in order to gain knowledge, students simply memorize facts and formulas to get a decent test score. Standardized tests are not an appropriate measure of student performance, only benefit certain groups of students, and do not prepare students for the real world.

Over the years one major issue of grade inflation has often come up. Teachers frequently question the importance of grades and how that data is used to compare students. Many teachers see the need to place a high emphasis on grades, thus causing stress and anxiety when students have a low performance. As a result, we have a school wide problem of grade inflation from teachers who believe students effort and work habits should determine the grade they earn. I would propose taking a deeper look into the purpose of testing. Thoughtful educators see the goal of testing as the observation of progress being made by a student. We need to begin to hold students to high standards by gathering a balanced picture of a student’s ability and mastery. In doing so we must use different forms of assessing students, and not solely test or papers. Once we can begin to utilize all forms of assessments we can begin to get parent involvement in helping children to learn and develop proper work habits and study skills, hopefully resulting in true grade

The function of assessment in learning and development is to provide a measure for the learners progress.

Assessment is all about making judgements. A major argument for involving students in self and peer-assessment is that it helps them to develop the ability to make judgements, in particular about themselves and their work. This is an important life skill as well as an academic one.

“No issue in the U.S. Education is more controversial than (standardized) testing. Some people view it as the linchpin of serious reform and improvement, others as a menace to quality teaching and learning” (Phelps). A tool that educators use to learn about students and their learning capabilities is the standardized test. Standardized tests are designed to give a common measure of a student’s performance. Popular tests include the SAT, IQ tests, Regents Exams, and the ACT. “Three kinds of standardized tests are used frequently in schools: achievement, diagnostic, and aptitude” (Woolfolk 550). Achievement tests can be used to help a teacher assess a student’s strengths and weaknesses in a

Utilizing standardized tests as a tool to test the knowledge of students outlines only a small portion of an individual's performance and creativity. The environment of the situation, creates an immense amount of stressors, such as time limits, the anxieties of doing well, or the endless pressures that the test can determine a student's future. Each individual comes with vast amounts of different abilities in which a single test cannot possibly account for all. Although the tests attempt to provide an evaluation of the student’s test taking skills, many students are smart, but it simply doesn’t show on the test due to the unaccountable external forces. In other words, there is an avoidance of the external forces, which limits the student’s proficiency because only the standard reading, math, and writing become strictly tested upon. One external force which hinders performance is that standardized testing evaluates a student’s efficiency only on that particular day, which does not account for other performances throughout the student’s overall growth. Consecutively, the students face frightening outcomes and unrealistic intelligence techniques that regulates a student's

Tests have become the most important indication of a teacher’s success and school’s performance. As a result, teachers may feel the need to ensure that the scores stay high and continue to rise. Teachers tend to cover only what is expected to be on the

Recently, whenever I hear current teachers discussing about assessing students, ‘Formative Assessment’ is sure to be highlighted. Nowadays this method (formative assessment) is becoming popular among schools and is being applied widely in schools including my own school. Loughland and Kilpatrick (2015) identified in the few past decades, formative assessment has turned out to be the main goal for teachers and educational systems. On the foundation of Loughland and Kilpatrick (2015) findings and from my experience in the field of teaching, I found out nowadays teachers and school stakeholders strongly feel that formative assessment is the best method to assess in order to enhance students’ learning. For these evident reasons, I am interested in finding

Key when it is of fundamental importance in gaining competitive advantage and is a make or break component in the success or failure of the plan.

Informal assessment allows students to demonstrate their learning in a variety of ways which can benefit all students. It can include group or individual projects, presentations, essays, experiments, or demonstrations. Each of these can allow for “knowledge that transfers from one situation to another [which] is based on students’ abilities to understand central principles, see connections and make distinctions, and be strategic in attacking problems and analyzing information” (Darling-Hammond, p. 285). A variety of assessment methods allow for this to happen and for students to use their personal strengths to demonstrate understanding of the information. “Research into students’ preferences for alternative assessments shows that the assessments that have been positively evaluated by students were more authentic and thus made learning more realistic and powerful” (as cited in Brown, Irving, Peterson, and Hirschfeld, 2009, p. 99). Students should be able to think creatively and take hold of their own education and learning because they must ideally be prepared for a rapidly changing society where they must be able to adapt and formulate their own solutions. Teachers are able to provide feedback to the children so they know what was done effectively and what needs to be modified. Rather than teachers pressuring students to show understanding through a single examination, they will have opportunities to confidently demonstrate knowledge with less