Assessment Methods

|assessment as a process of making judgments of learners’ knowledge, skills and competence against set criteria |

Assessment plays a significant role in the learning experience of students. It determines their progression through their programmes and enables them to demonstrate that they have achieved the intended learning outcomes. It is assessment that provides the main basis for public recognition of achievement, through the awarding of qualifications and/or credit.

Assessment can be defined as the systematic gathering of information regarding the knowledge and ability of learners which enables learners to obtain feedback on the quality of their learning and enables teachers or assessors to evaluate the effectiveness of their teaching/assessment.

There is a large variety of assessment methods available for assessing learners’ achievements. These include observation; questioning the learner; examining product evidence; discussion; witness testimony; looking at learner statements; recognising prior learning; simulated environment; skills tests; oral and written examinations; assignments; case studies and projects. Choosing the most appropriate assessment methods is vitally important, to help and support the learner and to ensure the job of the assessor is as straightforward, reliable and problem-free as possible.

A formative assessment provides informal feedback and information during the teaching process. This assessment measures student progress and performance thus allowing further improvement and development. It can also assess the teacher’s progress as an instructor, enabling the teacher to evaluate the effectiveness of their teaching methods.

“Assessments should be a regular process; it might not always be formalised, but you should be observing what your learners are doing, asking questions and reviewing their progress throughout their time with you”.

Assessment is carried out through formative (checks throughout the course), ipsative (to test against previous marks), and/ or summative (at end of course) activities to help the learner see their development whilst allowing the Assessor to give valuable feedback when appropriate. It’s purpose is to measure the learners understanding of the subject against the anticipated outcomes set by the criteria.

1.1 Assessment is about judging if, how and what level of learning has taken place. An assessor's function is to decide if a learner has developed skills, knowledge, understanding and competence in a particular field as well as if the learner is showing the attitude required for the application of the learning within that field. Assessing is not the same as evaluating. Rather than the focus being on the programme or course the learner is on (evaluation), the focus is instead on the learner and their development.

There are many reasons why we assess learners. Assessments enable tutors to measure learner’s progress towards their goal. And feedback can be given to help them such as outlining their strengths and weaknesses. Feedback is used to help learners learn and improve, and is the most important aspect of formative assessment. This can be given in various ways such as written, oral, in the form of graded/marked assignment etc. When giving feedback it is good practice to bear in mind the following points. It is important to give immediate feedback if possible; turn negative comment into constructive comments such as what to improve on before the next assessment; make assessment criteria clear, accurate and available; feedback to be clear, accurate and recorded; praise learner on achievement; encourage positive attitudes and make further suggestions. Learners can be encouraged through communication of how well they are doing and what skills and knowledge they are developing.

The function of assessment in learning and development is to provide a measurable way of planning and supporting students’ progress. Assessment is carried out by means of checks and tests carried out throughout the course. Assessors should provide feedback throughout ensuring that learning is occurring and the learner is at the correct level. It is also important that assessor’s decisions are also consistently reviewed and internally and externally verified.

Assessment provides information to support the planning of effective learning experiences. By assessing my students I will understand better what they know and can do, so I can further extend their learning where they are already accomplished or I can support the areas which need work. Assessment is also useful as a diagnostic tool (McConney 2015 pp1) when it comes to learning problems and also giftedness in students, so that they can then be better provided for.

The primary types of assessment are formative and summative assessments. Formative assessments take the form of

The intent of this paper is to discuss assessment based instruction, how it has changed over the last 20 years, how it has improved instruction, and what may be the anticipated challenges using this type of instruction in future goals. In order to be able to analyze this type of instruction there is a need to define it first. The best way to define this type of instruction is to break it down so there is a clear understanding. Assessment refers to different strategies or tests that consider whether a student is learning and achieved the goals set out by the curriculum (Assessment of Learning, N.D.).

Assessment collects key information about a learner. It is a way of understanding what level of knowledge that learner already has, and a way of monitoring what learning has taken place. It begins right at the start of the teaching and learning cycle (see Figure 1), with Initial and diagnostic assessment, as observed in unit 401 and continues with formative and summative assessment.

Assessment is more of a progress - collecting data as students progress along. Evaluation is a review of the whole journey, a summary of what students have achieved, and what can be improved and altered to fit and cater to students. Assessments are goal-oriented, objectives have to be reached, and achieved. To effectively evaluate, educators have to have sufficient