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Importance Of Assessments In Education
Characteristics of formative assessment
The importance of assessment in education
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Assessment serves the purpose of ‘learning’ in education. Formative assessment is a procedure through which teachers and pupils assess learning in a daily classroom environment. “…formative assessment aims to gain insight into learning processes that can be used to support learning through tailored instructions and targeted feedback” (Stobart, as cited by Heitink, M. C., Van der Kleij, F. M., Veldkamp, B. P., Schildkamp, K., & Kippers, W. B., 2016). Instead of determining grades and marks, formative assessment determines the path towards a course of further and long-term learning. To identify pupil’s learning and understanding needs in the classroom, frequent and interactive assessments should be carried out. Formative assessment takes various …show more content…
This talk could be between teacher-pupil, pupil-pupil and more effectively a whole classroom talk. Alexander (2006) has used the terms of ‘Dialogic talk and Dialogic teaching’ in which he has emphasised on the idea of improving ‘the talk’ in classrooms. Children talk and listen to each other effectively, they do mistakes and learn from them so it’s the talk main that initiates further learning towards correction of mistakes and developing confidence. One can say that this type of assessment helps in exploring ideas and extending learning, as Mercer, N., Dawes, L., Wegerif, R., Sams, C. (2004) take this idea forward by naming it ‘Exploratory Talk’. Talk can specially encourage children with special needs to participate in the dialogue and move towards positive progression. Talk can encourage pupil to be good writers and assists them share their ideas with their peers and …show more content…
Goal setting feedback is more effective than the outcome feedback which simply tells students where they have gone wrong (Earley, as cited by Hattie, J., & Timperley, H. 2007). Feedback should focus on student success and achievement of long term goals aimed towards the development of pupil’s thinking and approach. Feedback plays a vital role in enhancing pupil’s achievements. It mainly focuses on improvement suggestions and closing the gap between current and desired
Elwood, J. (2006). Formative assessment: possibilities, boundaries and limitations. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 215-232, doi:10.1080/09695940600708653
Throughout my practice, I have found that this mix is essential in order for children to engage with lessons. Alexander (2004) suggests that dialogical teaching includes traditional types of talk such as rote, recitation and instruction/exposition. It should also include discussion and dialogue (Alexander, 2004). These types of talk can occur in different situations: whole class, group discussions and paired talked. Mercer (1996) carried out a research project concerning the quality of talk in the classroom. His findings supported ‘…the conclusion that talk between learners has been shown to be valuable for the construction of knowledge’ (Mercer, 1996: 362). He disputed that not all kinds of exchange are of educational value (Mercer, 1996: 362). This point validates the importance of teachers understanding what type of talk makes their teaching genuinely dialogic.
This article, initiated by the Assessment Group of the British Educational Research Association, focuses on how improving formative assessment raises standards and how there is still room for improvement. It discusses the importance of self and peer assessments and effective teaching. They also identified four ways to implement classroom policies to improve formative assessment.
Formative Assessment is used in any classroom to check students understanding of a topic. The type of formative assessment used in each classroom is different, depending on the teacher and the student’s needs. Teachers should incorporate a variety of formative assessments to truly see if students are learning. Dixson and Worrell describe formative assessment as gathering data to improve student learning. They are correct but teachers also need to provide students with feedback. Feedback gives students a better idea of what concepts they need to work on in class. There are many ways to integrate formative assessment and feedback into the classroom.
Assessment is defined in the Merriam – Webster Dictionary as “the act of making a judgement about something” and thus connotes a worthwhile activity based on sound, careful thought. In Education, assessment has been variously defined as “any systematic method for obtaining information from tests and other sources, used to draw inferences about characteristics of people, objects or programs” (AERA, APA, & NCME, 1999, p.172); “any purported and formal action to obtain information about the competence and performance of a candidate’ (Schuwirth & van der Vleuten, 2014. p.243). Generally, assessment has three purposes. First, to determine what students do and do not know,
Assessments have always been a tool for teachers to assess mastery and for a long time it was just to provide a grade and enter it into the grade book or report card. Through resources in and out of the course, there has been a breath of new life into the research on how to use assessments. They take many forms and fall within the summative or formative assessment category. Sloan (2016) addresses how formative assessments has traditionally been used by teachers to modify instruction, but when we focus on a classroom that is learner-centered “it becomes assessment for learning as opposed to assessment of learning” (slide 4). The fact is, the students are the ones that should be and are the ones using the data we collect through assessments, since it is our way of providing feedback in order
Teachers use formative assessments in the classroom to help determine when and how to modify adapt lessons to better serve students. Some examples of formative assessments are questioning, discussions, exit/admit tickets, bell ringers, homework, and quizzes. Formative assessments can be graded, but they are typically ungraded and do not effect a student’s grade. When ungraded they are for the sole purpose of monitoring student progress. It is important to be able to determine whether or not students understand a concept. Do you need to back up, try a different approach, or is it time to move on? Formative assessments
Regular use of formative assessment improves student learning as instruction can be adjusted based on students’ progress and teachers are able to modify instructions to cater to students’ individual needs (Black & Wiliam, 2010; Taylor-Cox, & Oberdorf, 2013). Various forms of informal and formal formative assessment methods are conducted as learning takes place, continuously through teacher observations, questioning through individual interactions, group discussions and open-ended tasks (McMillan, 2011). tests can tell us a lot about students and be used to inform and guide teaching, rather than simply to determine grades. Teachers can learn a lot from test results if they analyse the data generated to inform their teaching and learning programs (Perso, 2009). However, high stakes tests may result in students becoming stressed, leading to misreading questions, careless working and incomplete answers (Booker et al., 2010).
However, a formative assessment is ongoing and is used to check for students’ understanding throughout a lesson. Both work samples “matched learning objectives” and I was able to identify the students’ strength and weaknesses. I was also able to “analyze assessment data to understand patterns and gaps in learning” to guide my future instructions. In the word problem assessment, I recognized where the student was struggling and gave “effective and descriptive feedback” to address the area that she needs work in.
In this paper, I will be primarily focusing on the importance of feedback in learning. Practise is important to achieve goals but it cannot act alone, in order for a student to accomplish his/her goals he/she needs to practise; while practising it is important to receive feedback. By the end of this paper, I will try to prove why “Feedback is so important in learning”?
For more than 20 years, formative assessment has been highly researched and even accredited as a critical part of a teacher’s pedagogy. In the last decade it (formative assessment has become something of a buzzword and in some cases a mandate in k-12 schools across the country. Formative assessment can be defined as a part of the instructional process intended to gather information and provide feedback for both students and teachers that allow for needed
Although somewhat vague compared to summative assessment, several key features help frame formative assessment. First, formative assessment happens while learning is taking place as opposed to at the end of content delivery. Rather, this is considered “assessment for learning,” (Chappuis, J., Stiggins, Chappuis, S., & Arter, 2012, pg. 5). The format is formal or informal, but the outcome in its use is an in-progress check of what students know and what students do not know. Chappuis, Stiggins, Chappuis, and Arter (2012) define formative assessment as, “Formal and informal processes teachers and students use to gather evidence for the purpose of improving learning,” (pg. 24). Second, this type of assessment is used to make instructional strategy adjustments. If student learning did not happen via one instructional method, the teacher must make the necessary accommodations to reteach the concept or skill. Next, it is not only used by teachers for feedback on instruction, but formative assessment is also used for providing timely, descriptive feedback to students and extends to allow for student self-assessment (Chappuis, J., Stiggins, Chappuis, S., & Arter, 2012; Popham, 2008). Formative assessment provides opportunity to provide specific feedback to students on where they are currently in their learning, and where they should be headed.
Through assessment students and teachers are able to determine the level of mastery a student has achieved with standards taught. Both formative and summative assessment should be purposeful and targeted to gain the most accurate data to drive further instruction (Ainsworth, 2010). While this syllabus does a good job of identifying the need for both formal and informal assessments, the way in which this is communicated does not provide enough detail for understanding. Simply listing assessment types does not give any insight into how these assessments fit in the learning process of this course. While some of the assessments mentioned could be common assessments chosen by the school or district to gain insight into the effectiveness of instruction, the inclusion of authentic assessments is most beneficial to students and demonstrates learning in a context closer to that of a work environment (Rovai, 2004). Unfortunately, this particular course, according to this syllabus, relies heavily on quizzes and traditional tests and essays to form the bulk of assessment opportunities. While other activities, such as formative assessments, journaling and discussions are mentioned as possible avenues for scoring, they are given a very low percentage of the overall grade. This shows that they are not valued for their ability to show progression and mastery. If this is indeed the case, this puts the students as a
Another benefit is feedback affords an opportunity for clarification of what is expected. Student performance and achievement increases as they are able to understand the expectations for the specified task or project. This process also helps alleviate frustrations one may feel when unsure of the criteria for quality performance. Feedback also helps students identify strengths and weaknesses in various content arenas. Effective feedback from the teacher assists in student identification of the level of which they are performing as compared to the desired goal.
Assessing student understanding is important but as a teacher you need to provide feedbacks to the students. During my lesson, I allowed the student to ask questions and tried to answer each individual’s answer right away. Since my students are not able to read or write I had to provide feedbacks by verbally.