Lesson 17 Assessing Learning

Objectives
• Demonstrate understanding and appreciation of assessments

• Differentiate formative and summative assessments

Introduction
A very important concern that demands urgent attention is the assessment specifically the classroom
assessment which should be within the K to 12 Basic Education framework and aligned with the learning standards
of the enhanced curriculum. Due to the need, the Department of Education issued the DepEd Order No. 8, s. 2015,
which is the Policy Guidelines on Classroom Assessment for the K to 12 Basic Education Curriculum.This lesson will
help you understand assessment and how it is used in the classroom.

Think
Assessment is defined as a process that is used to keep track of learners' progress in relation to learning
standards including that of the development of 21st century skills which is part of the new K to 12 education
framework. Thus, assessment should be aligned with curriculum standards and on the 21st century skills assessment
framework. Every assessment you give must be aligned with the objectives of the lessons to which the assessment
was made for. This way, you are sure that you are testing what you intended for the students to learn.

The process of assessment is anchored to the framework of Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) of
Vygotsky. In the center of the process is the nature of the learner. Assessment shall recognize the diversity of
learners inside the classroom which requires multiple ways of assessment measures of their varying abilities, skills,
and potentials. The ZPD assessment framework put premium consideration on the recognition of learner's zone of
proximal development at the heart of the assessment.

A learner-centered assessment supports the learner's success in moving from guided to independent display
of knowledge, understanding, and skills, as well as assimilation of these in future situations. The ZPD adheres the
learning and teaching within a degree that is not difficult yet challenging for the learner. It facilitates the ultimate
objectives of the K to 12 program that each learner is to develop higher-order thinking and 21st century skills. From
this view, there is unity between instruction and assessment. Instruction is assessment, and vice-versa. And
assessment is not delimited to written examinations; it is part of the day-to-day lessons and classroom activities and
transcends to real-life setting.

The enhanced curriculum of the K to 12 basic education is standards-based. The assessment measures shall
be anchored on the attainment of these standards and competencies. Assessment is aimed at helping learners
perform well in relation to these learning standards. There is a recommended type, component, period, and
approach of assessment for each learning standard lifted in the policy guidelines of the Department of Education.
Principles of Assessment
1. Assessment should be consistent with the curriculum standards.

The teacher should make sure that the assessment measures the attainment of the learning objectives set at
the beginning of the lesson or unit.

2. Formative assessment needs to scaffold the students in the summative assessment.

The results of formative assessment are not graded but it is important to keep documents of these to study
the patterns of learning demonstrated by learners to prepare them in taking the summative assessment.

3. Assessment results must be used by teachers to help students learn better.

The teacher must seek ways to use assessment to help the students want to learn and feel able to learn.

4. Assessment is not used to threaten or intimidate learners.

The main purpose of assessment is to improve learning, not increase anxiety among learners.

Experience
There are two fundamental types of assessments -the formative and the summative assessments.

Formative Assessment can be viewed in two lenses. It is an "assessment for learning" on the lens of the
teacher while an "assessment as learning" on the lens of the learner. Formative assessment can be given at any time,
before, during, and after the lesson; it also not confined within the classroom because any interaction with learner is
opportunity to assess the learner's abilities. The UNESCO Program on Teaching and Learning for a Sustainable Future
defines formative assessment as an ongoing and closely related to the learning process. It is characteristically
informal and intended to help students identify his or her strengths and weaknesses in order to learn from the
assessment.

Formative Assessment as-"assessment for learning"-provides teachers the evidence about what the learners
know and can do. Teachers observe and guide the learners in their task through interaction and dialogue-in the ZPD
framework, thus, gaining insights and evidence about the learners' strengths, weaknesses, progress, and needs. The
results of these will help the teachers to design instructional activities and to make decisions so that it is suited to
the learners' situations and needs. The evidence in the formative assessment shall be documented or recorded in
order to track and monitor the learners' progress systematically. But the formative assessment results are not
graded, hence not included in the computation for marking or ranking.

Formative Assessment as-"assessment as learning"- provides the learners of the immediate information on
how they perform on the learning process. The assessment provides information on which areas learners do well or
which areas do they need help. This can be through feedback from anyone around them especially from teacher or
any individual who is considered more knowledgeable. Formative assessment should also be a learning opportunity
which enables the learners to take responsibility for their own learning.

A formative assessment is effective when instruction is embedded in it to promote learning (McMillan,

2007). The steps begin in giving orientation about the learning goals (black arrow). The detailed steps after
orientation of the learning goals are to determine the current status of learners or evidence of prior understanding,
next is providing clear, specific and on-time feedback, next is instructional corrections/ adjustments based on the
needs of learners, next is move the learners close to the goals/learning standards, next is evaluate the learners'
progress, lastly, again to provide feedback of the learners' status

In a case where learner is highly self-regulated, the process begins with the orientation of learning goals,
next is determine the status/prior understanding of learners, next it to provide feedback, next is instructional
corrections/adjustment, next is evaluation of student progress, lastly, the processes end in the same step which is to
provide feedback after evaluation of student progress. These processes omit steps 4 and 5 for learners who are self-
regulated
 The DepEd guidelines provide the assessment purposes before, during, and after the lesson. Examples are
given which teachers may utilize but shall not be limited to:

Parts of the Purpose Examples of Assessment

lesson For the learner For the teacher Method
Before 1. Know what s/he knows about 1. Get information about what 1. Agree/disagree
Lesson the topic/lesson the learner already knows and activities
2. Understand the purpose of the can do about the new lesson 2. Games
lesson and how to do well in the 2. Share learning intentions and 3. Interviews
lesson success criteria to the learners 4. Inventories/checklists
3. Identify ideas or concepts s/he 3. Determine misconceptions of skills (relevant to the
misunderstands 4. Identify what hinders learning topic in a learning area)
4. Identify barriers to learning 5. KWL activities (what I
know, what I want to
know, what I learned)
6. Open-ended questions
7. Practice exercises
Lesson 1. Identify one's strengths and 1. Provide immediate feedback 1. Multimedia
Proper weaknesses to learners presentations
2. Identify barriers to learning 2 identify what hinders learning 2. Observations
3. Identify factors that help 3. Identify what facilitates 3. Other formative
him/her learn learning performance tasks (simple
4. Know what s/he knows and 4. Identify learning gaps activities that can be
does not know 5. Track learner progress in drawn from a specific
5. Monitor his/her own comparison to formative topic or lesson)
progress assessment results prior to the 4. Quizzes (recorded but
lesson proper not graded)
6. To make decisions on whether 5. Recitations
to proceed with the next lesson, 6. Simulation activities
re-teach, or provide for
corrective measures or
reinforcements
After Lesson 1. Tell and recognize whether she 1. Assess whether learning 1. Checklists
met learning objectives and objectives have been met for a 2. Discussion
success criteria specifies duration 3. Games
2. Seek support through 2. Remediate and/ or enrich 4. Performance tasks that
remediation, enrichment, or with emanate from the lesson
other strategies appreciate strategies as needed objectives
3. Evaluate whether learning 5. Practice exercises
intentions and success criteria 6. Short quizzes
have been met 7. Written work

Summative Assessment is the assessment of learning. This assessment is always given at the end of a particular
unit or toward the end of a period because it aims to measure what learners have acquired after the learning
process as compared with the learning standards. The results will be used for decisions about future learning or job
sustainability. For UNESCO, the judgments derived from this assessment is more beneficial for other than to the
learner.

The role of summative assessment is to measure if the learners have met the standards set in the curriculum
guide. The teacher shall use a method that deliberately designed to measure how well the students learned and able
to apply their learning in different contexts. The results of the summative assessment are recorded and reported on
the learners' achievement. The results are part of the computed markings and to be reported to parents/guardians,
principal/school head, teacher on the next grade level, and guidance teachers.
 For reiteration, the formative assessment should prepare the learners in taking the summative assessment.
And teachers shall provide sufficient and appropriate instructional interventions to ensure that learners are ready to
take the summative assessments.

The summative assessment measures the different ways learners use and apply all the relevant knowledge,
understanding, and skills. Learners synthesize the knowledge, understanding, and skills during summative
assessment and the results will be used as bases for computing the grades. The summative assessment is in the form
of unit test and quarterly test, it must be spaced properly over the quarter. It has three components, namely,
Written Work, Performance Test, and Quarterly Assessment. These components are the bases of computing the
grade and different learning areas have unique ways to assess these components and set different percentages for
each component.

COMPONENTS PURPOSE WHEN TO GIVE

Written Work 1. Assess learners' understanding of concepts At the end of the topic or unit
and application of skills in written form
2. Prepare learners for quarterly assessment
Performance task 1. This can be individual or At the end of the lesson about a
collaborative over a period of time particular topic/skill
2. Provide opportunities for learners to
demonstrate and integrate their knowledge, Several times within a quarter
understanding, and skills about topic or
concept learned to apply in real-life situations.
through performance
3. Provide opportunities for learners to design
and express their learning in diverse ways
4. Encourage learners' inquiry, integration of
knowledge, understanding, and skills in
various contexts beyond the assessment
period
Quarterly Assessment Synthesize all the learning skills, concepts, and Once, every end of the quarter
values learned in a quarter

The DepEd Guidelines provide a list of assessment tools per learning area. Shown below is for Mathematics.

Learning areas Components

Written Work (WW) Performance Task (TT)
Math A. Unit/Chapter Tests A. Products
B. Written output 1. Diagrams
1. Data recording and analyses 2. Mathematical Investigatory projects
2. Geometric and statistical analyses 3. Models/ making models of geometric
3. Graphs, charts, or maps figures
4. Problem sets 4. Number representations
5. Surveys B. Performance-based tasks
1. Constructing graphs from survey
conducted
2. Multimedia presentation
3. Outdoor math
4. Probability experiments
5. Problem-posing
6. Reasoning and proof through
recitation
7. Using manipulatives to show math
concepts/solve problem
8. Using measuring tools/ devices
Assess
Answer the following questions to verbalize your understanding of assessment in mathematics.

1. What does the Zone of Proximal Development say about assessment?

2. Fill in the Venn diagram below to compare and contrast formative and summative assessments.

Challenge
The following questions will test your critical thinking skills as it presents an issue in education that has been a cause
of debates in recent years.

1. What are your thoughts about graded assessments? Are they necessary?

2. Research about journals and articles related to graded assessments. Do these literatures support your thoughts?