Sharing Good Practice
SETTING THE STAGE FOR GOOD ASSESSMENT IN THE NEW ACADEMIC YEAR
By Debbie Hamilton Bogues starting point, it provides a launch pad for you to plan effectively for your class to go forward.
Depending on your school, within the first few weeks, you should be collecting grades for each student in your class, this can be in the form of quizzes, tests etc and this data is called formative assessment. This information will tell you how much progress your students have made or whether they have attained or not attained, by comparing your formative assessment data with your baseline data. These will assist you in planning and you will be able to modify your teaching and learning activities.
Another school year has dawned on us! The fun and frolic of the summer have now become a distant memory.
Welcome back to reality!
As educators we also spent some of our precious time reflecting on the previous academic year and did one of two things: shrugged off what transpired as unimportant; it has passed and it is gone and I cannot change it or we did some real soul searching and have at least made a mental map of what we will never do again or we said to ourselves, that I will definitely do this again! And the more adventurous among us, will try something new.
Some of us will be remaining with the same class from last year, while others will assume a new challenge. Whatever your position is, you will have to assess your current position and plan.
The idea of assessment is a daunting one for many educators... it conjures up ideas of tests, marking, writing reports and parents conferences. But it also includes guiding learners toward a goal. However, assessment outcomes are a blessing and a great treasure.
Assessment Assumptions
If you are continuing with your class from last year, do not take for granted that the content that was taught last year is held in mind by your students, they have long forgotten many things and you will have to recap and in some instances reteach some information in order to continue, an old saying:“ two steps forward one step back” or is it?. The advantage you have is that, you have had previous experience with the class and you might be more confident to move on quickly. On the other hand, the‘ newbies’ might think they are totally left in the dark... however you are not! You have( should have) assessment marks from the previous class / grades.
Baseline Data
New teachers and returning teachers now have what is called baseline data; these are grades / marks from last year, that provide you with information about the‘ current’ performance of your students: their areas of strengths and areas for development, but keep in mind that some information / content might have been forgotten, but can easily be retrieved with revision prompts. Baseline data gives you a
At the end of term / semester you will be asked to produce grades again and these will be produced from an exam that will cover all the topics that were taught throughout the term / semester. These grades are called summative assessment. This information gives you a clear picture of what your students have learnt over the period of time. This summative assessment is very important, in that you will be sharing this information with your line manager, Heads of Department or Vice Principal and with parents.
Depending on where you are, on the education spectrum, the summative assessment will provide vital information for the next step, grade or class, for middle or senior school, secondary, college or university. The process of assessment is linear. This summative assessment will become the baseline data for the next step. So don’ t be daunted whenever you hear the word assessment; be confident!
Happy assessing!
Reference
Black, P.; Harrison, C.; Lee, C.; Marshall, B. & William, D.( 2003). Assessment for
learning: putting it into practice. Buckingham, UK: Open University Press.
Debbie is an experienced international educator, who has spent almost 30 years in education in the Caribbean, USA, UK and the Middle East. She has a passion for students with special education needs.
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