ASSESSMENT TERMINOLOGY IN
INTERMEDIATE PHASE AND HIGH SCHOOL
The intermediate phase introduces parents and learners
to many terms that might be unfamiliar or confusing. The
various terms are explained below.
Formative assessments
Formative assessments refer to informal assessments
completed as part of the learning experience. They may
include activities from the textbook or additional exercises
aimed at helping the learner practise the work they learnt.
Formative assessments do not contribute towards the
learner’s term mark.
Summative assessments
Summative assessments refer to formal assessments
completed throughout the year. These include tests (FATs)
and assignments, investigations and projects (CASS).
Summative assessments contribute towards the learner’s
term mark. The various types of summative assessments will
be explained below.
Formal assessment task (FAT)
The formal assessment tasks (FATs) refer to the formal tests
written each term, as well as the formal examinations written
at the end of each semester. The FATs are marked internally
and formally recorded for the purpose of advancing to a
new grade. All FATs are subject to moderation to ensure high
academic quality and to maintain appropriate standards.
Continuous assessment task (CASS)
The continuous assessment tasks (CASS) refer to assignments,
investigations and projects completed by the learner
throughout the term. The final, overall mark of these tasks
contribute to the learner’s term mark along with the final
FAT mark. The learner’s term mark consists of 60% of the
FAT mark and 40% of the CASS mark. The difference among
assignments, investigations and projects are explained below.
a. Assignments
Assignments refer to tasks that test a learner’s understanding
of the learning material by posing questions that require
factual or interpretive answers. Assignments could be a
collection of basic questions from the textbook but should
still be challenging as resource material may be used.
Assignments have the following elements:
• The task is well defined (and familiar).
• Expectations are clear – the learner knows what to do.
• The estimated time taken is well-defined as in a class test.
• There is a memorandum – the answers are precise.
From 2019, learners in the intermediate phase and high
school will complete one assignment per term.
Investigations refer to tasks that promote critical and creative
thinking. Learners are often posed with questions or
problems that they would need to answer/solve by applying
their knowledge or by gaining new knowledge throughout
the course of the investigation. Where assignments may
sometimes be completed at home, investigations should be
done during class time.
Investigations have the following elements:
• The task is well-defined (not necessarily familiar).
• The expectations are unclear – it is not obvious to learners
how to start and they will need to try various problem-
solving strategies to investigate the situation.
• The estimated time taken is longer than an assignment, but
not as long as for a project – a few days at most.
• There can be a memorandum – the answers are mostly
precise (depending on how open-ended the investigation
is), although there may be a rubric providing credit for the
different attempts and descriptions of the process.
From 2019 the learners in the intermediate phase and high
school will complete two investigations throughout the year.
c. Projects
Projects refer to tasks that assess a range of skills and
competencies and generally stretch over a long period
of time. Learners may have relative freedom over the
development and outcome of the project, or there might
be a specified outcome with freedom of development. The
assessment criteria should be clearly indicated on the project
specification. All projects should be completed during class
time, whether individually or in groups.
Projects have the following elements:
• The task is well defined.
• Expectations are clear – the learner knows what to do.
• The estimated time taken to complete the project is longer
– could be several days or weeks.
• Completing the task will typically require:
- - the building of something;
- - the gathering of data, and/or
- - the observation of a phenomenon to develop a model
or hypothesis.
• There can be a memorandum although a rubric describing
the required features of the result/final product is generally
provided.
Learners in intermediate phase and high school complete
one project, usually a data-handling project, per year.
b.Investigations
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