Purpose Of Assessment For Learning

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 1989 a group of voluntary researchers named the Assessment Reform group (ARG) were formed by the British Educational Research Association (BERA). The group had the task to take account of relevant research and evidence in regards to assessment for policy and practice. In 1996 BERA’s support ceased and was taken over by the Nuffield Foundation till the ARG dissolved in 2010. It was in 1996 that the foundation funded Paul Black and Dylan Wiliam members of the ARG to review literature on the use of assessment to help with learning. As a result, evidence was found that ‘formative assessment’ could help to improve learning and the findings were published under the title ‘Inside the black box’. The ARG was one of significant influences on the design of Scotland’s Assessment is for Learning (AfiL) initiative which aimed to develop assessment in learning in Scottish schools. This essay will discuss and explore how effective formative assessment of pupils’ progression can be carried out.

Effective assessment will identify individual educational needs of all children as well as informing them about their specific performances and achievements, this will then allow teachers to use approaches that are personalised to the needs of a child. Assessment can be used not only to measure learning but also to promote learning by teaching pupils how to ask questions as well as answering them, by emphasising to a child that it is acceptable to ‘have a go’ and that by giving the wrong answer is still an opportunity to learn. It further provides the student with an understanding of what levels they are working at, what level they would like to working towards, and plan on how they are going to reach that level.

A formative assessment provides informal feedback and information during the teaching process. This assessment measures student progress and performance thus allowing further improvement and development. It can also assess the teacher’s progress as an instructor, enabling the teacher to evaluate the effectiveness of their teaching methods.

“Assessment for learning is the process of seeking and interpreting evidence for use by learners and their teachers to decide where the learners are in their learning, where they need to go and how best to get there”.

Through the identification of these assessment methods, I will analyse their purpose and the role that they play in my learner’s development; and how these are used to identify learner progress and confirm their knowledge and understanding. I will explore theories and principals of assessment, covering formative and

Assessments are the process of evaluating an individual’s learning. They involve generating and collecting evidence of a learner’s attainment of knowledge and skills and judging that evidence against defined standards. Formative Assessments (quizzes and practical tests) are used to

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.

Describe and explain the ways in which assessment practice has the potential to impact students’ learning:

Assessment for learning helps to identify strengths, weaknesses and areas in which extra support may be needed. Learning assessments helps teachers create action plans and plan and prepare lessons and activities. It is important to involve the pupil with assessment for learning by asking for feedback, areas in which they may have found difficult and also praising their achievements. Giving feedback to a pupil that has met their targets is important as this helps to build confidence and self esteem. Discussing targets and learning objective with pupils prior to lesson and providing simple demonstration helps them understand gives them a clear understanding on the expectation of their work. Acknowledging the pupils achievements in the form of positive feedback and displaying their work gives a sense of achievement and acknowledgement of their efforts. Peer assessment can be useful as this helps

Assessment is a process through which we gauge a learners level and progression, ensuring learning is taking place and the learner is developing their skills and knowledge. Susan Wallace recognises the importance of assessment as more than a means of determining learner achievement but also “as an indicator of the quality of learning.” (2007: 119) discussing the need for ‘ongoing assessment’ to evaluate how receptive learners are to the lessons.

1.1 Assessment measures the learner’s progress towards or the completion of, the learning aim and criteria, and can be used at any point during the learning cycle. It can provide information to adapt the delivery to suit the learner’s needs and abilities; a learner may need more help or time on some aspects, or has progressed quicker than planned and requires additional goals. By standardising the assessment process this creates uniformity for all learners.

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