Taqa Unit 301 Essay

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

Current – does the evidence show that the candidate can perform the competence while working?

Assessment can be defined as the systematic gathering of information regarding the knowledge and ability of learners which enables learners to obtain feedback on the quality of their learning and enables teachers or assessors to evaluate the effectiveness of their teaching/assessment.

Assessment is used to make a specific educational decision and is the process of evaluating the extent to which participants in education have developed their knowledge, understanding and skills.

There is a large variety of assessment methods available for assessing learners’ achievements. These include observation; questioning the learner; examining product evidence; discussion; witness testimony; looking at learner statements; recognising prior learning; simulated environment; skills tests; oral and written examinations; assignments; case studies and projects. Choosing the most appropriate assessment methods is vitally important, to help and support the learner and to ensure the job of the assessor is as straightforward, reliable and problem-free as possible.

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.

Initially in this assignment, I intend to describe and evaluate two different assessment methods, which I use to assess the progress of my learners.

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.

Before diving into my perspective, the terms assessment and testing need to be defined. The textbook, Educational Testing and Measurement states that several people are now replacing the word testing with assessment as it does not have such a negative connotation attached to it nor does it sound as evaluative. The authors of the textbook use these terms interchangeably, and that is how they will remain throughout this paper. However, it is important to note the difference in testing/assessment and the assessment process. In most cases, testing and assessment indicate a single measure. Each play a small role in the assessment

The areas for development about this assessment is we need to keep the group focused and set a time limit; some learner may not get involved, others may take over. For example in a small group there are five learners: three teenagers, one middle aged and one sixties. When the teacher asks a question the teenagers always answer and the other two are always quiet and they let the teenagers talk. So they don’t participate or attempt to answer any of the questions. They might think that younger learners know everything. Examination is a formal assessment. Learners can have books or notes with them, the cons are some learners may be anxious and may have been taught purely to pass expected questions. (Gravells, 2012). When planning an assessment, it has to be valid, reliable, fair and ethical. For example if I am going to assess a group of learners who is different age, religion or comes from a different country, I need to make sure that the assessment is appropriate to the qualification that is suitable for the group and available to all and differentiates for any particular needs like elder, deaf, etc.