University of the People

Educ-5440: Assessment and Evaluation

Assessment in my Educational Institution

February 7th, 2024

 INTRODUCTION

Assessing students’ performance is a very dicey and fragile task. An educator could make the

mistake of giving a student a misfitting evaluation as a result of wrong assessment methods or

strategy. This is very common in a primary school setting where the students a not yet fully

expressive.

Reflecting on the information gathered from the readings of Earl, L., & Katz, S. (2006), the

traditional approach to assessment which is usually as follows: the teacher teaches a material and

the students are tested based on the material taught, has been brought under strict scrutiny as

expectations of schools have changed grossly.

What has Changed

In time past, only a few privileged students were taught beyond the basic and fundamental

primary knowledge of things. But now, high school graduation is considered a necessity for all,

and proficiency in complex critical thinking, problem-solving, and effective communication to

meet demanding societal, economic, and technological challenges is now the in0demand

minimum for graduates, Earl, L., & Katz, S. (2006). Learning and assessment is a lot more

constructive and built with already known and new knowledge rather than in atomised bits over

time. Students are given high expectations and encouraged to build confidence in their projection

of success at assessments, rather than comparison with other students been the set standard for

assessment.

These changes in classroom assessments give more attention to skills like critical thinking,

resilience, collaboration, inventiveness, and other 21st century skill that are needed for successful

living in the community.

When classroom assessment is properly applied with students at the centre of the assessment

purpose, there is a high chance of improvements in the overall performance and well being of

students. Students construct knowledge through gathering and synthesizing information and

integrating it with the general skills of inquiry, communication, critical thinking, problem solving

and so on. Huba, M. and Freed, J. (2000). Approach is compatible with interdisciplinary

investigation and teacher and students learn together.

Students are better motivated when they see marked improvement in their assessments, they are

encouraged to work harder. When differentiation in classroom assessment is properly applied,

comparisons reduces and students are allowed to grow in their knowledge and confidence level

over time.

The purpose for classroom assessment can be summarised as follows according to Earl, L., &

Katz, S. (2006).

1. Assessment for learning is designed to give teachers information to modify and differentiate

teaching and learning activities. It acknowledges that individual students learn in idiosyncratic

ways, but it also recognizes that there are predictable patterns and pathways that many

students follow.

2. Assessment as learning is a process of developing and supporting

metacognition for students. Assessment as learning focusses on the role of the student as the

critical connector between assessment and learning. When students are active, engaged, and

critical assessors, they make sense of information, relate it to prior knowledge, and use it for new

learning. It occurs when students monitor their own learning and use the feedback from this

monitoring to make. It requires that teachers help students develop, practise, and become
comfortable with reflection, and with a critical analysis of their own learning.

adjustments, adaptations, and even major changes in what they understand.

3. Assessment of learning is summative in nature and is used to confirm what students

know and can do, to demonstrate whether they have achieved the curriculum outcomes, and,

occasionally, to show how they are placed in relation to others.

In my milieu, I can give the following information on assessments.

a) Name of school- Zera-El Homeschool

Location- Nigeria
Range of grade levels,- Primary 1 to Primary 6.

b) Analyze the assessment practices in your school.

In my school, the assessment practice is a mix of formative and formative type. As children

learn, the teacher helps them to connect previous knowledge with the hew content and the

students look forward to reaching the targeted success criteria via various means like

experiments, discussions, in-class and out of class projects etc. all these various means of

assessing the knowledge gained by the children is done over a period of time with different

weighted grades assigned to each aspect. For instance, experiments and projects carry about

half of the weight of the grade, discussions and short quizzes carry about a quarter of the

entire weight of the grade, and a final test at the end of the term carries the other quarter. In

doing so, premium is given to the students’ experiences through real life projects and

experiments.

b) Examine whether assessment in your school is used FOR learning, AS learning, or

OF learning?
Assessment is used AS learning in my milieu. We allow the students’ involvement to play a

critical role in the assessment strategies and outcomes. The students’ success is seen as a

reflection of the teacher’s success. Differentiation in assessment is also very key in achieving

students’ uniqueness in assessments.

c) Examine whether there is a need for change in the assessment practices in your
school.
As it were, there is no need to change the assessment methods in my school. Apart from the

children’s academic success, it reduces pressure on parental expectation from the teachers.

Results of the students’ learning are evidenced even before a final summative evaluation, so

parents follow students’ involvement and improvements in a progressive manner.

References

Earl, L., & Katz, S. (2006). Rethinking classroom assessment with purpose in mind: Assessment
for learning, assessment as learning, assessment of learning. Manitoba Education, Citizenship
and Youth. https://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/assess/wncp/full_doc.pdf

Huba, M. and Freed, J. (2000). Comparison of teacher-centered and learner-centered paradigms.

Learner-Centered Assessment on College Campuses.