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).

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

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 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

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

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).

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

Many people think of assessments as only assessing the student’s level of knowledge in the subject matter. However, that may be true, but assessments do so much more than just assess the learner’s knowledge. Assessments can be used for the instructor to reflect on his or her teaching practices. Many times people come to the conclusion that because a group of students do poorly on a test it is their own fault because they did not study. There are instances where that can be true, but in reality, it could be the educator that created a less than adequate assessment or the material being assessed was not covered adequately. There are many variables that can come into

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

Assessment is one of the most important tools in a teacher’s toolbox. It serves a multitude of purposes towards the educational process. According to Rust (2002), assessment serves three overarching purposes, “it determines much of the work students undertake, affects their approach to learning, and is an indication of which aspects of the course are valued most highly.” (p.1) In this manner, Rust outlines the basis of determining what students will do, how they will do it, and why they will do it. Rust goes on to further identify the appropriate steps to designing assessments in order to get the best use out of the results, first teachers must decide on the learning outcomes, what do the teachers want the students to be able to do at the conclusion? The next step is to design how the teacher would like for the students to demonstrate their ability to show that they have met the learning outcomes. The final step

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.

Assessments are essential within education because the role of assessments is to measure students’ progression. They provide evidence of students’ prior knowledge, thinking, and understanding and should be created to meet the needs of every student because every student is different and learns differently, as well as at a different pace. Assessments should reflect the objectives of the lesson being taught and the frequency of those assessments should be considered. Assessments can also help teachers to improve student learning. How assessments affect students should also be taken into consideration because assessments can create winners and losers, which is not the goal. Everyone should be a winner.

“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 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