Chapter
Chapter
Chapter
Objectives
Commentary
Assessment for learning is one of the most distinct purpose of assessment. Teachers
trying to improve student performance and instructional strategies and plans adapt
assessment as a tool for gathering required information. Assessment for learning serve
this purpose. In this chapter you will be studying to make planning decisions for
assessment FOR learning. You will be learning how to gather evidences of students
learning and how you would be giving better quality feedback to students based on the
evidences. You would also be looking at the strategies that could be used in assessment
for learning.
Think about an example of assessment for learning in your own teaching and try to
develop it further as you read this chapter.
What Is Assessment for Learning?
Source: Rethinking Classroom Assessment with Purpose in Mind (Earl, L and Katz, S, 2006).
Throughout the learning process assessment for learning can take place. It helps the teachers
to understand the level of students’ understanding, so that the teachers can bring the
necessary changes to help the students’ progress. The learning patterns and ways of student
learning are different. Each student have their own way and pattern of learning yet there are
predictable patterns of connections and preconceptions that some students may experience as
they progress in the continuum from emergent to proficient. Teachers use assessment for
learning as an investigative tool to gather information as much as they can about the students’
knowledge, abilities and skills abilities. It is also used to identify the weakness, gaps and
areas that needs improvement and help. The information that were collected about students’
learning processes gives a basis for deciding the next step that needs to be taken to help the
students to progress and improve the classroom instruction.
Assessment for learning also helps students to understand their level of performance as a
form of descriptive feedback. This enables teachers to enhance motivation and commitment
to learning that the students show. It helps to bring a favourable change to classroom
environment, when teacher used assessment as a tool for learning.
Why am I assessing?
All the work that the teachers do for the assessment is intended to improve students’
learning. Assessment for learning helps to understand the prior knowledge of the students,
what the students believe is true, gaps and the learning styles. For structuring the strategies
for differentiated instruction these information is used. This help to build and reinforce the
learning in a productive manner. It also helps to challenge ideas and beliefs that create
problems. To provide constructive and descriptive feedback these information can be used.
What am I assessing?
Curriculum is the most important tool that is used as the beginning point to decide
what to be assessed, teachers can focus on why and how students gain their understanding.
The curriculum dictates the broad learning goals and objectives that the students need to
achieve. Ongoing or continuous assessment is required by the assessment for learning to
achieve the curriculum objectives that will lead to intended learning. By using assessment
for learning teachers help the students to expose students’ thinking and skills in relation to the
intended learning, concepts and ideas.
1. Reliability
Reliability of assessment will be the prime concern in setting any assessment. ‘Reliability
depends on the accuracy and consistency of teachers’ description of the learning’ (Earl, L and
Katz, S, 2006). Since it depends on teachers’ description, the assessment should be focused
on the nature of students’ thinking and learning. If the pictures that is gained from the
assessments are clear and give proper understanding of how student are thinking and what is
understood by the students and what is not, those assessment can be considered reliable. A
single assessment hardly gives sufficient information to understand detailed picture of
students’ learning. To overcome this issue teachers can use a range of assessment of different
types like oral, visual, active and written assessments. It is also important to make assessment
a continuous process to develop a rolling picture of each student’s progress. Understanding
status of each student is important, because the assessment to be reliable, it is important to
gain clear descriptive understanding of how much each student has understood a particular
concept or knowledge.
Collaborative work with other teachers can give more chance to gain reliable insight of how
student think and learn. Sharing the views about students’ work and the nature of their
learning in relation to curriculum outcome will give more room to improve teachers in
describing the students’ learning and performances and teachers will be more confident about
their final decisions and will be surer of the next step of instruction.
2. Reference Points
Learning outcomes of the curriculum and learning outcomes of individualized educational
plans are the reference points for assessment for learning. It act as a guide for teachers in
providing feedback to students and plan instruction for next step. Clear and detailed learning
outcome and expectations with examples and criteria that differentiate the quality and the
changes along the learning continuum, will help the teachers to draw a clear picture of each
student’s performance with the criteria and expectation.
3. Validity
If the assessment can provide more help on students’ understanding and gain the learning
outcome prescribed in the curriculum and instructional plan and if the teaches can use the
information that is gained from the assessment for planning next step of instruction, the
assessment can be considered as valid assessment in assessment for learning. Validity of the
assessments given can be judged by continuous monitoring of the students’ progress in
comparison with the prescribed outcomes in the curriculum.
4. Record-Keeping
Record keeping is one of the most important task in ensuring quality in assessment for
learning. By keeping detailed notes will help to provide individualized descriptive feedback
to improve students’ leaning. It also helps the teachers to understand how students have been
performing in given period of time. This will enable teachers to bring necessary changes in
the instructional plan.
2. Differentiating Learning
Assessment for learning gives information about students gained knowledge, abilities
and skills. This helps teachers to design the most appropriate instruction for the next step of
learning. Assessment for learning helps teachers to focus on doing continuous comparison of
students’ progress in relation to the curriculum expectation for each individual students. This
enables to adjust differentiated instructions, grouping practices and providing resources. This
enables the teacher to provide materials, support and guidance that individual students need
to progress. This can reduce confusion, frustration, misunderstandings in their learning.
3. Reporting
In assessment for learning reporting is built on
open, regular communication with students and parent
about student performance. The method used in How have you used
assessment to determine the
differences in your students’
learning needs?
How did this influence the
instruction that followed?
reporting ensures smooth progress and showing a way to move forward. With the reporting
parents and teachers can help the students to move forward in their learning continuum with
minimal confusion and misunderstanding. A single outcome in a more often series, or cluster
of outcomes are focused when reporting in assessment for learning.
Continuous Assessment
Source: Educational Quality in the Developing World (EQUIP1, 2003)
What is continuous assessment?
Continuous assessment is a classroom strategy used by teacher to assess the knowledge,
understanding, abilities and skill of the students. Continuous assessment is administered in
variety of ways across the learning period to collect information about what students know,
understand, abilities and skills. It is bases on the outcomes prescribed in curriculum and are
based on lessons taught in previous lessons. It is a part of regular teacher student interaction
and occurs regularly and frequently during a learning period. Students get feedback from
teachers based on their performance which allows students to focus on the lessons that is not
learned. During the process of assessment and feedback teaches can identify students who
need remediation and help. This also helps teachers to identify good performers who can
work on more complex tasks. Thus, result of continuous assessment aid to confirm all
pupils’ make progress in their learning continuum.
Helps to foster teacher students’ relationship: regular interaction between teachers and
students will enable the teachers to understand the strengths and weakness of the students.
This process will foster the relationship between them. Students learn that the work of
them is valued by teachers and this helps to motivate the students to learn, attend the
school regularly and work hard to achieve higher level of mastery.
A self-assessment tool: continuous assessment helps to assess the curriculum
implemented in classroom. This helps teachers to assess the effectiveness of their
pedagogical strategies in delivering curriculum objectives. Achievement of particular
level of skills, understanding and knowledge can be understood rather than just marks and
grades, using continuous assessment. This helps students to monitor their own learning
and achievement and this helps to visualise their progress towards the intended outcomes.
The assessment tools used in assessment for learning can be considered as performance
assessment through which the abilities, skills, knowledge and understanding is assessed.
Here we are going to discuss most important assessment tools that are used in assessment
for learning.
1. Anecdotal records
Anecdotal records are significant, individual pupil events and
behaviours that the teacher observe during the course of the Anecdotal records
lesson. Only significant observations which cannot be obtained are written
accounts of
from any other classroom assessment are included in anecdotal significant events
records. and behaviours the
teacher has
Teachers record anecdotal notes or comments concerning various observed in a
aspects of student learning (e.g., concept development, reading student during the
course of the
abilities, group interaction or summarizing skills). The comments lesson.
document and describe significant daily events and relevant
aspects of student activity, progress and need. These notes can be taken during student
activity or summarized at the end of the activity. Formats for collection of data should be
flexible and easy to use immediately and later for assessment purposes.
All term Ali has been quiet and passive, rarely interacting with classmates in class Record for Ali
or on the playground. Today Ali suddenly “opened up” and wanted continual
Hussian
interaction with classmates. He could not settle down, kept moving around the
room until he became bothersome to me and his classmates. I tried to settle him
down, but was unsuccessful.
Checklists
The skill of inferring requires that students create and use generalizations to
reach and express conclusions that go beyond what the data explicitly
suggests.
Rate students on the ability to apply the key skills of making inferences.
1____________________________5
1 2 3 4 5
Key Skills in Inferring
The facts and the situation are identified
and described.
Anecdotal Comments
Performance
Factors
Superior Making an Effort Needs Improvement
Formation Moves into groups quietly Moves into groups Reluctantly moves into
and quickly; stays with the quietly and quickly; groups; must be
group; accepts everyone as usually stays with the reminded to stay with
part of the group; is group; makes some effort the group; often
considerate of other groups. to accept everyone as challenges in which
part of the group; usually group he/she is placed;
is considerate of other is inconsiderate of other
groups. individuals or groups.
Participation Speaks and listens in a Usually speaks and Seldom speaks and
courteous manner; listens in a courteous listens in a courteous
encourages every member manner; makes attempts manner; objects or
to contribute; listens to encourage others to interferes when others
actively to others’ views; contribute; attempts to contribute; struggles to
displays sensitivity to
listen actively to others’ listen to others’ views;
others’ points of view;
views, but tends to ignores or refuses to
helps others to understand;
expresses support. wander; usually displays consider other points of
sensitivity to others' view.
points of view;
sometimes helps others
to understand.
Leadership Takes leadership roles; Sometimes takes Refuses to take
decides what needs to be leadership roles; leadership roles; has
done; keeps self and group attempts to decide what difficulty staying on
on task; asks questions and needs to be done; usually task; often criticizes
seeks keeps self and group on others; lacks confidence
clarification; task; usually contributes in speaking.
contributes to discussion; to discussion and shares
shares information, ideas information, ideas, and
and material; praises or material; usually praises
criticizes ideas rather than or criticizes ideas rather
people; than people; often
Demonstrates confidence in demonstrates confidence
speaking. in speaking.
Strategic Questioning
Source: Classroom questioning (Cotton, n.d)
Questions are any sentence which has an inquiring form or function. Questions used by
teachers are defined as instructional cues or stimuli that convey to students the content
elements to be mastered. What could be the purposes of questioning in any classroom
instruction? Here are some:
To develop interest and motivate students to become actively involved in lessons
To evaluate students’ preparation and check on homework or seatwork completion
To develop critical thinking skills and inquiring attitudes
To review and summarize previous lessons
To nurture insights by exposing new relationships
To assess achievement of instructional goals and objectives
To stimulate students to pursue knowledge on their own
Series of teacher’s questions elicit the student responses in a classroom. This serve the above
purposes. Sometimes a teacher reaction elicit students’ responses too. Within this process
students follow a series of steps intentionally or unintentionally in order to give responses to
the question that is posed to the class.
Increasing wait-time beyond three seconds is positively related to the following teacher
outcomes:
in flexibility of teacher responses, with teachers listening more and engaging
students in more discussions
Increases in teacher expectations regarding students usually thought of as slow
Expansion of the variety of questions asked by teachers
Increases in the number of higher cognitive questions asked by teachers.