Thursday, October 17, 2013

Charting your child’s growth to Success…

Taking into account factors such as the knowledge, skill set, attitude and opinions, Educational assessment is a process that records and evaluates these factors in measurable terms. Assessment can be of many types. It can be objective and subjective, formative and summative, formal and informal, and criterion- based and norm-referenced etc.

It is the duty of a teacher to not only teach but also evaluate correctly a student’s performance by taking various kinds of tests. These tests or examinations help to determine how much knowledge has been acquired and how much development of reasoning and analytical skills have taken place.

KINDS OF ASSESSMENT

Before a teacher starts teaching, it is imperative that he/she provide a baseline or a benchmark to determine former knowledge. Only after its establishment should the teacher proceed with the lessons and subsequent evaluation also called as Initial assessment/ Pre-assessment or Diagnostic assessments.

Educative assessment or ‘Formative assessment is done throughout the ongoing course. It is simply the provision of feedback on the student’s work. This kind of evaluation can be done by the teacher as well as the fellow classmates and can take the form of diagnostic or standardized tests.

Summative assessment is done at the end of a course or project. They are the main evaluative assessments wherein the final grades are assigned to the students, based on the performance of their formative assignments and summative test results.

Criterion-referenced assessment is done when the student’s performance is evaluated against a pre defined objective or criteria.  Norm-referenced assessment is a great way of comparing students’ performances. e.g., IQ test

A Formal assessment is a systematic evaluation usually taken written wherein a student is graded on his performance, e.g. a written test. An informal assessment is very different. It is more casual and the student is questioned in a relaxed manner.

Internal assessments are very common. Usually it’s the teacher teaching the subject who grades or marks the assignment. External assessment is the evaluation done by an examiner who is non-biased. Usually, external examiners are called from a different school or college or they can be members of your school but are not the subject teachers of the particular class they are grading.

Evaluation plays a vital role in formulating effective teaching strategies. This is why the true purpose of assessment should be that children,

  • Learn and acquire desired skills related to different subject areas
  • Acquire a level of achievement in different subject areas in the requisite measure
  • Develop child’s individual skills, interests, attitudes and motivation
  • Understand and lead a healthy and productive life
  • Monitor the changes taking place in child’s learning, behavior and progress over a period of time
  • Respond to different situations and opportunities both in and out of school
  • Apply what is learnt in a variety of environment, circumstances and situations
  • Work independently, collaboratively and harmoniously
  • Analyze and evaluate
  • Be aware of social and environmental issues
  • Participate in social and environmental projects
  • Retain what is learned over a period of time

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