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Roles of Assessment
Roles of Assessment
Roles of Assessment
Assessment
determines how students will approach the learning task and what study behaviors they will use
“What and how students learn depends to a major extent on how they think they will be assessed.” (John Biggs,
1999)
provides valuable information about student learning
tells what students learned, how well they learned it, and where they struggled
a lens for understanding student learning and identifying invisible barriers
help professors to improve their teaching approaches
Four Roles of Assessment
1. Placement Assessment
used to determine a learner’s entry performance
pre-tests are used by teachers
done at the beginning of instruction
also used to determine if students have already acquired the intended outcomes
2. Formative Assessment
mediates the teaching and learning processes
learner-centered and teacher-directed
context-specific
some examples are muddiest point and knowledge probe
1. Learning progression
2. Learning goals and criteria for success
3. Descriptive feedback
(Insert Figure 2.2)
4. Self- and peer- assessment
5. Collaboration
3. Diagnostic Assessment
intended to identify learning difficulties during instruction
can detect commonly held misconceptions in a subject
not given at the start of instruction
used to detect causes of persistent learning difficulties
not used as part of a student’s mark of achievement
Positive Consequences of Diagnostic Assessment
give teachers an incentive to work with their students to find out what individual students already know
about the topic at hand
improves the quality of the classroom environment by creating intrigue about a topic if a student does
not know the answer to a question
4. Summative Assessment
done at the end of instruction
used to determine the mastery of concepts and skills the student have attained
an example is the written examination given at the end of the school year
give teachers a strong incentive to provide instruction that helps their students improve their abilities
evaluates the teacher’s achievement and spur teachers to continually find better ways to instruct students
has the same purpose as formative assessments, but were given periodically throughout the school year
instructional, predictive, and evaluative kind of assessments
examples are college entrance/ admission test and national achievement test
Understanding the Role of Assessment in Learning. (n.d.). Retrieved August 9, 2019, from
http://www.queensu.ca/teachingandlearning/modules/assessments/04_s1_01_intro_section.html
Lobo, T. (2019, January 10). Positive Consequences of Assessment of Learning on Teachers. Retrieved August 12,
2019, from https://www.theclassroom.com/positive-consequences-assessment-learning-teachers-7973022.html