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Essays on understanding the principles and practice of assessment
Essays on understanding the principles and practice of assessment
Essays on understanding the principles and practice of assessment
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Guidelines for sound assessment practice of undergraduate medical students 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, …show more content…
This is referred to as formative assessment. Second, it is used for certification for progress; and third, as a tool to determine who is granted a privilege such as board certification or graduation and thus serves the role of accountability or quality assurance to stakeholders. The stakeholders involved in the context of undergraduate medical education include patients, general public, healthcare employers, professional and regulatory bodies, training organizations, universities, medical schools, the examinees and individual teachers (Amin et al. 2006). The second and third purposes of assessment are included under summative assessment. Thus, assessment provides us with the opportunity to ‘discover the worth’ and to ‘improve the quality’ of education. The process of achieving these two goals of ‘discovery of worth’ and ‘improvement of quality’ constitute sound assessment practice which must meet the following criteria: validity or coherence, reproducibility or consistency, equivalence, feasibility, …show more content…
the relationship between an assessment and the construct (“personal psychological characteristic that cannot be observed directly but which is assumed to exist”) it purports to measure; and the interpretations of the test scores based on the assessment- the so-called validity argument. This has been likened to the process of presenting evidence in a legal argument by a lawyer to a judge or jury in order to arrive at a decision of conviction or acquittal. Usually, such argument consists of numerous fragments of evidence, individually incomplete but collectively sufficient to convince the jury in arriving at a decision. The decision will be hinged on the strength, completeness and relevance of the evidence, the organisation and persuasion of the attorney’s reasoning, and the personal feelings of those rendering judgement. The educator then develops a plan to test these assumptions and inferences. Finally, guided by this plan, he or she collects empiric evidence from multiple sources and organises this evidence into a validity
Kassin, Saul, and Lawrence Wrightsman (Eds.). The Psychology of Evidence and Trial Procedure. Chapter 3. Beverly Hills: Sage Publications, 1985. Print.
Validity refers to ability of an instrument to measure the test scores appropriately, meaningfully, and usefully (Polit& Beck, 2010). The instrument has been developed to serve three major functions: (1) to represent a specific universe of content, (2) to represent measurement of specific psychological attributes, (3) to represent the establishing of a relationship with a particular criterion. There are three types of validity; each type represents a response to one of three functions
Assessment has been the greatest challenge in my development as a professional. My coursework as supported my growth in this area, especially in understanding the broad range of assessments used to support students’ growth and development. My courses have also supported my understanding of how ongoing observational assessment and standards-based measures can be used to inform instruction and support the cycle of observation, reflection and planning. Coursework
Our Session Long Project (SLP) for Module 1 transforms the evaluation essay into a job evaluation. The type of job evaluation used in this SLP identifies the responsibilities of the job and bases the individual’s performance on these responsibilities. What does this mean to the employee; it means that if they understand the responsibilities of their job they are better able to perform it to the satisfaction of the evaluator. However employees who are not informed of their responsibilities can invalidate your evaluation process very quickly and wreck havoc in any organization.
In the context of education, testing refers to “a method to determine a student’s ability to complete certain tasks or demonstrate mastery of a skill or knowledge” (Danuri 2012). Assessment is “the process of gathering information to monitor progress and make any decisions necessary” regarding curriculum and teaching (Danuri 2012). Assessment is a process that measures growth over time whereas testing is a form of evaluating what a student knows at...
The last challenge that a beginning teacher may face is designing appropriate assessment to assess students’ critical reasoning. It is not easy to assess students’ critical reasoning as it is not just about having the knowledge of critical reasoning. Willingham (2007) states that “knowing that one should think critically is not the same as being to do” (p. 13). The teacher may be able teach the students critical reasoning and the students are aware of it but without the right assessment, it is hard to know if the students have actually acquired critical reasoning.
“Assessment is one of the most effective instructional strategies to increase learning.” (Edutopia)When teachers think about assessment quality, they often focus on the accuracy of the instrument itself- the scope of which the assessment item tasks and scoring rubrics produce accurate information. It is imperative to use the different testing technique to improve learning. By taking tests, students can establish that they are independently capable of expressing their understanding of the material. I will have an opportunity to analyze each student's understanding and ability to apply learned information. I can then decide whether the
To conclude changing teaching and assessment practices is a critical element if assessment for learning and formative assessment is to be progressed. There are important challenges for formative and summative assessment still to be faced. However, through teaching, learning and assessment practices the skills and dispositions needed for long-term learning must be given priority if the most important goals for future learning as well. According to me, both formative and summative assessment is essential ion the curriculum. They both play a vital role in the cognitive development of the learner; hence both should be given equal importance in the curriculum.
Assessments are according to Edglossary.org (2014), “the wide variety of methods that educators use to evaluate, measure, and document the academic readiness, learning process, and skill acquisition of students”. Assessments can be used to identify several important aspects of learning and development. First, they can be used to distinguish a child’s strengths and weaknesses as well as measure specific knowledge and skills. Assessments can also be used to demonstrate what a child has learned and what they understand (“Assessment,” 2014). My opinion of assessment has not changed; however, now I understand how to use assessments that will help ensure that I am providing the most benefits for my students.
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
In this session, we will review the outcomes of your personal assessment evaluations (Personality Dimensions® ); what knowledge was gleaned from the assessment tool? How has the new knowledge aligned with the personal goals you have set?
Assessment is one of those words that have multiple meanings, but for this purpose, it is a process that evaluates what the learner knows, understand and how they utilized the obtained knowledge. Assessment can be formative or summative. Formative assessments are those evaluations that are administered at the beginning or during the program. However, this form of testing allows for the monitoring of learning progress during instruction. Summative, on the other hand, is of a comprehensive nature and is given at the end of a course or unit of instruction. This form of assessment is used to evaluate mastery or/and assign grades. Also, assessment is not limited to the school environment; it is utilized in the professional arena as well.
Assessment is a tool used in the classroom every day. It is used to measure a student’s mastery of a skill or knowledge of a given subject. It is also what demonstrates to the teacher what the students have learned. Educators use that information to determine if they need to re-teach to a specific student, group, or the entire class. They can also use that information to determine the rate of their teaching. Assessments are important because, as teachers, we need to know what difficulties our students have and what needs to be refined for them. While I do believe in assessment and feel that it is one of the key components of teaching, I am more concerned with a child’s process of learning rather than the overall product that comes from it. This is where grades come in for me. Grades determine the students’ level of mastery on a subject, nothing more. Grades should not be the exclusive indicators that a student has learned the information that is presented to them. It is the things a student learns along the way that truly matter and sometimes cannot be measured.
In the teaching profession, assessment is one of the most important things that teachers need to know. Not only to know the assessment itself, but also the critical elements of it. Chueachot, Srisa-ard, and Srihamongkol (2013) stated that Assessment for learning in elementary classroom is a concept that aims to stimulate self-learning and development among the student via assessment model. In addition, the authors came up with a conclusion of assessment for learning in elementary school that can be divided into two stages, each with 3 steps, altogether 6 steps: First stage of assessment, The planning stage is composed of (1) define assessment objectives and what students need to achieve (2) define
I use assessments to assist me to identify and to develop their learning process. Assessment is not about the final grade, but the learning experience. I would rather have my students know how to look up information and apply knowledge than to memorize it and forget it ten minutes after the test. Learning is a life-long adventure and I want my students to know how to adjust and cope during their adventure. I want my students to have the skills for researching and finding the answer. It is not always that answer which demonstrates learning; it is in the process in which you find the answer that demonstrates learning.