Validity Of Assessment In Education

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.

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".

Aim: The aim of this unit is to assess the knowledge and understanding a learning and development practitioner requires for the internal quality assurance of assessment. “Practitioner‟ means anyone with a learning and development responsibility as the whole or a part of their role.

The class I chose to observe was an eighth grade ELA class. There were twenty students in this class, eight of the students were English language learners. The ELL students’ overall WIDA scores ranged from 3.9 to 5.6. A review of the WIDA data indicated that speaking and writing scores for these six students were weaker skill areas in comparison to their overall score, ranging from 3.4 to 4.6.

My personal philosophy of assessment consists of several components. The first component is that both formative and summative assessment belong in the classroom. The second component is that, although teachers should teach what is on the STAAR tests, they should try to avoid just “teaching to the test” the entire year. I also believe that different forms of assessments should be used throughout the year. Finally, I believe that assessments should always be structured in a way that is fair to the students, and addresses all learning styles. Overall, tests belong in the classroom, but should not be the focus of instruction and should be fair for all students.

The school system do not take in consideration that ELL students not only have a language barrier that prevent them from performing on the standardized tests, but that they are transitioning from a completely different learning environment. ELL students are also classified as poor academic performers because of their language barrier. This language barrier explain the academic achievement gaps between ELL students and native english-speaking students. The test scores are not sufficient proof to argue that ELL students have a gap in academic achievement. This is questionable to the validity of the standardized tests on ELL students.(Youth)

What is an assessment? Alan Rogers (1994, p172) defines assessment as collection of data on which we base our evaluation. According to Reece and Walker (2008, p5) assessment consists of tests and observations that we, as tutor, use to determine how well the students has achieved the objectives. Geoff Petty (2004, p449) writes that “Assessment measures the breadth and depth of learning”. Assessments are used in all areas and domain of everyday life, whether formal or informal, ranging from taking a written or practical driving test to claims for income support or acquiring life insurance on-line.

The reliability of an assessment in a perfect situation should produce the same results if marked by another tutor or if that examiner unknowingly receives the same paper again. If different marks are given the assessment is consequently unreliable and proves that this assessment is subjective.

1.1 Explain the function of assessment in learning and development To meet timely a required predetermined standard with evidenced learning. Unlike the course work we were required to do at school which when marked showed the standard we had achieved. Assessment learning breaks down the required knowledge into bite size pieces which are topic specific, when completed and assessed each piece must contain all the required criteria to evidence the learners understanding. In my experience timely assessment during this period gives feedback to learner and assessor on progress, giving confidence to the learner that they will meet the assessment standard.

The roles of the assessor may not be strictly that of a teacher but more of a mentor guiding a Learner to there eventual goal of gaining the qualification by giving appropriate feedback.

You should make sure that all your records are legible, and keep them confidential unless you have permission otherwise.

In the society of today, there are various educators who believe in assessment as proper method to measure the performance of a child in school as well as the overall achievement of a specific school system. The assessment may be presented in the form of verbal, written, or multiple choice, and it usually pertains to certain academic subjects in the school curriculum. Recently, many educators began to issue standardized tests to measure the intelligence of a common student body. (Rudner, 1989) These standardized tests were initially created to reveal the success in institutional school programs, and exhibit the abilities of students today. The standardized tests can reveal the strengths and weaknesses

The goal of educational assessment is to record, evaluate and enable improved student learning. The monitoring of student work, through developing understanding of key subject concepts and their achievement of syllabus objectives requires comparison against outcomes and standards. These outcomes and standards help define the criteria which is considered essential and relevant for assessment. Through correct implementation, integration, and reliability and validity, all forms of assessment should enable improved student learning when teaching is targeted towards syllabus outcomes, objectives and through highlighting gaps in student knowledge.

Stressing the first point, incidentally, Phakiti, Hirsh and Woodrow (239) found in their empirical study that “motivation, self-regulation, self-efficacy and English language proficiency were significant learner factors explaining not only English language learning but also academic achievement.” This is also supported by an empirical study conducted by Cho and Bridgeman (421) which attested that there is a clear relationship between TOEFL scores and academic performance, which is measured by GPA, in as far as American universities are concerned. Hence, without English proficiency that can be ascertained by TOEFL, the overall comprehension of materials and other learning tools will affect the holistic learning of an individual, thereby diluting one’s learning from its maximum or optimal level.