Assignment 4

Assignment 4

Introduction

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 access certain positions or select students entering higher education. The Ministries of Education use summative assessment to hold schools accountable for public the quality of education they provide. Finally, international summative assessments such as the PISA, the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment of students are increasingly comparing national education systems (Darling-Hammond 1994).

However, the assessment may also serve a formative function. In classrooms, formative assessment means frequent, interactive assessments of progress and student achievement to identify needs and adjust instruction accordingly. Teachers who use methods and techniques of formative assessment are better prepared to meet the diversity of Student Needs - by distinguishing and adapting their teaching to raise the level of students and equity of outcomes. The generalization of this practice, however, faces significant hurdles, including the perceived tensions between formative assessments in the classroom and summative tests high visibility for hold schools accountable for student achievement, and a lack of consistency between the approaches to evaluation of systems, facilities and classes (Wiggins 1989).

The principles of formative assessment can be applied at the institutional level and policies to identify areas for improvement and promote a culture of effective and constructive evaluation at all levels of education systems. Greater use of formative assessment across systems can help stakeholders overcome barriers to its own dissemination in the classroom

Discussion

Formative Assessment

Formative evaluation is a process of evaluating an integrated learning. It is part of an approach to constructivist learning. It is like a coaching process that ...