ASSESSMENTS

Students Assessments and Record Keeping

Students Assessments and Record Keeping

Introduction

The assessments of the students are the major issue in the education. Student assessment is a significant part in the development of the students. These assessments evaluate the student's performances and what they have learned in the class. Evaluation is a crucial element of the learning process. In schools, assessments are the most directly visible summative. They are used to measure what students learned at the end of a training unit, to get students from one class to another to ensure they have the required level for graduation or to access certain positions or to select students entering higher education.

Record keeping is also an essential job of the school. It is important to keep track of the students, their performance, their curricular activities, their past records etc. An effective record keeping helps the school, as well as the students as the whole records of the students are organized, and students can attain the records when they transfer to different schools or need them for college or universities.

Types of Assessments

Following are the three types of student's assessments:

Formative Assessments

The formative assessments are done during the semester period. These assessments like assignments, class tests, presentation etc helps in evaluating the students. This helps the teachers to improve and shape up the student's learning process accordingly. Usually, the instructors or teachers use the formative assessment process to make sure that the students achieve and learn the learning outcomes of the courses effectively (Gravells, 2007).

Formative assessment refers to frequent, interactive progress and student achievement to identify needs and adjust teaching accordingly. Teachers who use methods and techniques of formative assessment are better prepared to respond to the diversity of needs of students - differentiating and adapting their teaching to raise the level of students and equity of outcomes (Gravells, 2007). Teachers who use formative assessment methods accompany students in the development of personal skills "learning to learn" - skills that the rapid obsolescence of knowledge in the information society makes it increasingly necessary.

Summative Assessments

The summative assessments process is implemented at the end of the course or semester. This assessment provides a final evaluation of the performance of students. These evaluations like final exams, unit exams etc provide the teachers or instructors with the overall performance of the student in the entire course.

A summative assessment is periodically given at a certain time to evaluate the amount of knowledge the students have gained. Many people make the association of summative assessment with the standardized assessments like the state tests (Stiggins, 2005). However, this assessment is used in different programs of classrooms and holds a significant position. The summative assessments in a classroom or district level are considered as accountability measures, which are usually, the grading process part. Summative assessments are of various types. Following are some of the summative assessments:

State assessment

Interim assessments or District benchmark

Chapter tests or End-of-unit tests

Semester examinations or End-of-term examinations

Interactive Assessments

Interactive assessment is very helpful for teachers and instructors to evaluate how ...