Where Are We Going?

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

“Reliability of assessment refers … [to] when an assessment provides an accurate and precise measurement of student learning [as] it will yield the same, consistent result regardless of when the assessment occurs or who does the marking” (Griffith University, 2016a, para. 1).

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

Assessments are integral parts of instruction, they determine whether classroom goals have been achieved, and help teachers know what areas they should focus on and maybe reteach. They are great tools for developing lesson plans and answer questions such as; “do my students possess full understanding of the material?” There are many ways of assessing students’ learning, one of which I have personal experience with are on-the-spot assessments.

As a counselor I am responsible to make sure assessments are reliable and valid so the information taken from tests can be used to identify academic strengths or concerns in students and to help teachers to develop realistic goals for their students. Wells and Wollack believe test reliability has two components, the first belief states reliability provides a measure of the extent to which an examinees score reflects random measurement error (Wells and Wollack, 2003). The closest to the whole number 1.0 means the test is reliable, this is important to look at when examining a test because a reliable test will provide the best information needed from students. Wells and Wollack believe the second reason to be concerned with reliability is that it is a precursor to test validity, if test scores cannot be assigned consistently, it is impossible to conclude that the scores accurately measure the domain of interest (Wells and Wollack, 2003). The data from test scores must represent student knowledge and provide accurate information for instruction in the classroom. According to Wainer and Braun, test validity is

Assessment is a valuable tool to measure students learning and achievement. It is an essential element for teacher to reflect on what and how they teach. To assess students is to collect evidence of their learning. Teachers use the information to modify their lesson plans and adjust their instructional methods; students need feedback on their performance to concentrate on their vulnerable areas. Assessment is necessary for parents to reinforce their children strength and assist them where extra attention is required. The data collected will inform school

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

Assessment is carried out to ensure that learning has taken place. It measures the learner’s knowledge and skills in their 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 to the standards of the awarding body.

Assessment is defined as the gathering of information in order to make an informed decision (Charlesworth & Leali, 2011, p. 373; Puckett & Black, 2000, p. 9). Assessment should support learning, and be an integral part of it. Assessment should be ongoing and part of the daily routine, as opposed to something that is done to students at the end of the instruction (Charlesworth & Leali, 2011, p. 374). The assessment should support the mathematical learning that is taking place and provide valuable information not only to the teacher but the student as well (Charlesworth & Leali, 2011, p. 374). Macmillan (2012, pp 169 -170), describe assessment as either formative or summative. Formative assessment is continuous focusing on what the children are

Validity refers to how well a test measures what it is supposed to measure (Center for Public Education, 2006). Reliability is necessary but also needs to be valid. For example, if I weigh myself in a scale that is off by five pounds, the scale will read my weight everyday with an additional of 5 pounds. The scale is reliable because it consistently shows me the same weight every day, but it is not valid because the scale is not showing my real weight. The same can be said with the assessments in the classroom. If an assessment was provided to the students to measure their achievement and ability in a particular subject, but instead the assessment measures concepts; then, the assessment is not valid (Education Portal, 2014).

“INEZ…well, he be me!” a male voice shouted suddenly from behind, and before Phillip could turn himself around he found himself grasped from behind and then spun and ultimately placed up against a nearby wall as a scrawny, long haired man held him tight to it.

Assessment processes are an essential part of everyday classroom practice and involve both teachers and learners in reflection, dialogue and decision making. Teachers require the professional knowledge and skills to: plan for assessment; observe learning; give feedback to learners and support learners in self-assessment. A review by peers is very

Assessment had been driving learners’ behaviors (Frederiksen, 1984) in learning for many decades. In my training school, assessments have been an important aspect in driving what were taught during lessons. The general concept of having an assessment in my training school is to affirm that learning had taken place. In general, summative assessments have been the key choice of appraisal because of the large numbers of attendee in the courses that the school handles and the ease of managing the assessments. Summative assessment is also chosen due to the nature of the skill knowledge transfer of the course.

Assessment is a process of analyzing, evaluating and interpreting student’s learning for the future planning. Godinho (2011) believed that accurate assessment of student learning is fundamental to making informed decisions about lesson planning. It requires the teachers to have an understanding of the different tools of assessment such as formative and summative. The standard also requires teachers to know how to interpret the collected data, which informs the further teaching practices. In addition, the teachers are required to continuously provide feedback to students on their learning through different methods, for example, verbal, written, in the form of report. Further, teachers are expected to write reports on students’ achievements

Good assessment requires minimizing factors that could lead to misinterpretation of results. The criteria for meeting this requirement are reliability, validity, and fairness. Reliability is defined as "an indication of the consistency of scores across evaluators or over time." An assessment is considered reliable when the same results occur regardless of when the assessment occurs or who does the scoring. There should be compelling