Discussion Forum 4: Assessment Essay

For this task you are required to determine the risk context associated with establishing a new business outlet, within the existing business structure. They will be required to review internal and external environment factors and liaise with all stakeholders to generate a list of risks.

Having assessed the student’s knowledge base the teacher can then proceed to the next stage of the assessment process - ongoing formative assessments. These ongoing formative assessments help ensure that students are able to demonstrate progressive understanding of the learning objectives; which are set for each teaching session. This stage of assessment would usually take the form of a combination of formal and informal assessment, including observation of practical activities and/or group exercises during sessions; cumulative project or coursework to form a final portfolio; essay writing; extension work, and a learning diary. All of these aspects of assessment form the basis from which feedback can be provided to address the learners’ performance, as well as acting as a tool to gauge each individuals strengths and weaknesses. These ongoing forms of assessment, along with tutorials to discuss progress are aimed to boost confidence, motivate and reassure learners that their understanding of the subject matter is moving forward, and address what can be done if improvements are necessary.

Educators in present education systems are constantly acquiring essential information about the academic strengths and weaknesses that their students possess. In order to gain information that will be beneficial for students’ learning, educators must evaluate the academic performance of their students as a means to improve learning in content areas. Ultimately, at the heart of education lies assessments. Educators use assessments as a means to further understand the learning process of their students as well as to address concerns or areas that need improvement, with concepts like instruction, in order to help students reach full academic potential within the classroom. To acquire additional information pertaining to how educators use assessments within their classroom, I interviewed Mrs. Beth Vondran, an Kindergarten educator at St. Mary’s East Primary School in St. Mary’s Ohio. Mrs. Vondran is currently in her 29th year of education and has years of experience using assessments to monitor academic student achievement as well as using those results to alter her instructional practices to benefit her students. It should be noted that through The Ohio State University Education Program, I am currently observing and educating in Mrs. Vondran’s Kindergarten classroom in order to complete my Junior Level field work requirements. Therefore, being involved in the classroom, I have been given the opportunity to witness first hand how multiple assessments administered to students

Assessing is a crucial component of education that informs teachers on individual development and understanding (Booker, Bond, Sparrow

As a Middle School Language Arts teacher, I have found that assessments are a daily part of our job. Everything that my students do in the classroom ultimately ends up being assessed in some sort of way. I must admit that it can at times be overwhelming for assessments to be such a huge part of our curriculum; I understand the necessity of each one. I haven’t always been focused as intently on assessments. I really didn’t consider the importance of assessments as much. As I gained experience and knowledge I realized that assessing my students provides me with information that makes my job more successful. I believe to effectively teach my students, I must understand and implement the right assessments properly. My assessment philosophy is that to be able to ensure our students are learning and that we are teaching the right way we must include proper assessment for validation. With that being said it is very important to use different forms of assessments to gauge student performance. One of the outstanding features of studies of assessment in recent years has been the shift in the focus of attention, towards greater interest In the interactions between assessment and classroom learning and away from concentration on the properties of restricted forms of test which are only weakly linked to the learning experiences of students (Black 2015) This research supports the idea that assessments

Therefore teachers’ knowledge, skills and competencies in classroom assessment practices are very important (Koloi-Keaikitse, 2012). As teachers play a major role in student achievements and preparing them for future, it is essential for them to understand how to assess and evaluate students’ learning outcomes (Koloi-Keaikitse, 2012). For this reason, Reynolds, Livingston, & Willson, (2009); McMillan, (2008); Nitko, (2001) maintain the common argument that because AFL plays a vital role in teaching and learning related activities teachers should master basic assessment competencies. Without this ability the type of assessment will be useless for the future learning of the students. For example, most common type of assessment provided in the classrooms are pen and paper tests taken at the end of a unit, the result from this is never used to improved student learning as teachers perceive the topic as completed and done with. Vandeyar and Killen (2003) argued that regardless of educational setting, high-quality assessment practices should satisfy essential principles such as validity, reliability, fairness, discrimination, and meaningfulness. For Vandeyar and Killen (2003), if teachers have a clear understanding of these principles; they can have an informed framework of using assessment results to make better-informed decisions from assessment results. When teachers misunderstand these principles, their assessment practices are more likely to generate worthless information and this might hinder them applying various classroom assessment strategies and form to assess and evaluate the students. Therefore in order to be more competent and knowledgeable in AFL; teachers are in need of professional development in order to foster effective AFL in in their classrooms. In addition, another factor that will increase an awareness of classroom assessment

Linn (2010) suggests that if assessments are to be valid, they must support and inform instruction, provide information about what students know, and measure student progress against state standards. One of the difficulties teachers face, when looking to understand student strengths and weaknesses, is the diversity of learners within their classroom (Pellegrino & Quellmalz, 2010). Student background knowledge, in part, will determine the success a student will have on a particular assessment (Popham, 2008). Previous learning, background knowledge, and personal experiences all play a role in their mastery of content (Haertel, 1986). One test cannot account for all variables (Linn, 2010). Tests that adapt to the learner by asking questions based

For ongoing assessment, student understanding assessed through the use of observational checklists, anecdotal records and analysis of contributions to class discussions. Students are given opportunities to demonstrate their knowledge, skills and understandings through a range of assessments and ongoing feedback to children on their learning. Students produce a variety of work samples, including designated assessment activities. These should be evaluated to determine students’ level of achievement and understanding.

Evaluating student achievement through assessments is used to help teachers know exactly where students are. This practice is vital to the growth and development of a child. Good teachers have always judged and monitored their students' progress through written assessment observations, experiments, written assignments, and research projects. Assessments provide comprehensive information about students’ progress including strengths and weaknesses.

Assessment is an important part of instruction, as it determines whether or not the goals of education are being met. “Are students understanding the lesson?” “Do I need to re-teach?” Assessment affects decisions about grades, placement, instructional needs, and curriculum.

Assessments play an integral part in the classroom. The book, Content Area Reading states that an assessments purpose is to “gather and synthesize” information about a student’s learning. Teachers utilize a variety of assessments in the classroom to gauge a student’s strengths, weaknesses, and gains. Assessments exercised in the classroom are in several formats: performance-based, formative, and summative. However, assessments must be authentic to be effective in the classroom. An authentic assessment “successfully engages students in instruction with personally meaningful real-life contexts.” The information obtained through an assessment provides teachers with a better “understanding and insight” on ways that can effectively teach and

6). Essentially, we are taking an approach from two fundamental functions of the assessment – an assessment that measures what has been learned and an assessment that is administered prior to learning. An assessment that is administered for what has been learned most assuredly will be part of the instructor’s design; however, when it comes to the later of the two, assessment administered prior to learning, we need to ensure this is “well aligned to the values and practices of differentiated instruction” (Powell, & Powell, 2009, p. 6). The central concern now focuses on the way students learn. It is important to remember that both differentiation and the various forms of assessment administered prior to learning both place emphasis on building student strengths and skills to accentuate learner self-direction, self-reflection and self-management.

Comprehensive assessments provide evidence of student learning. There are three instrumental ways to adapt instruction to improve student learning; challenging and meaningful assessment, feedback and motivation (Vega, 2014). First, assessments should be challenging and

Assessment is a vital part of education and can be very influential in regards to the success of a student as well as the teacher. In order for successful learning to take place, a student must know their strengths, where they need to improve and how to move forward or their next step. This is accomplished through informative and descriptive feedback; feedback must have the goal of enhancing students’ metacognition, curricular comprehension and understanding how they learn best and how to be effective. I have learned many things about assessment including how integral assessment is to instruction because it determines if the goals of education are being met. I never realized how much assessment affects decisions about grades, instructional needs and curriculum. I also learned how important it is to have students involved in their own learning and assessment. It allows students to take charge to understand their own learning style, process and see how they are doing and how they can improve; it additionally can give students an idea of what they would like to learn next or more of.

Assessment is “the process of collecting, synthesizing, and interpreting information to aid in decision making” (Airasian, 2000, p. 10). Similarly, Payne (2003) defines assessment as “the interpretive integration of application tasks (procedures) to collect objectives-relevant information for educational decision making and communication about the impact of the teaching-learning process” (p.9). This means that assessment is a form of collecting data which has meaning when making judgments on students’ learning. It is an effective way to assist students’ learning, identify their weaknesses and strengths and also to recover the effectiveness of curriculum programs. On the other hand, Moon (2000) suggests that assessment is “a way of