Reflection on Assessing Students

 

Reflection on Assessing Students

Author: Santosh Kumar Biswa, Sr. Teacher, Damphu CS, Tsirang, Bhutan

 

Despite using the continuous formative assessment system at my school through process learning, I was not happy with what I had been doing because, at the end of the day, the assessment I utilized was content-oriented and served as a summative assessment. We have a lot of pupils, anywhere from 35 to 45 in each classroom, which makes the assessment process challenging. The time issue, which I used to think would take more time to complete, is the assessment-related worry at hand.

Do you have questions about assessing students?

Although teaching and learning are framed around a desirable set of learning outcomes, I was always concerned about the misconceptions and assumptions my students held (Weber, 2021, March 17). Will students honestly reflect on their work to improve their learning, this may be my question. Students can benefit from reflecting on their performance after an assessment, in my opinion, as it enables them to pinpoint areas that need work and recognize their strengths and limitations. I worry that students can occasionally have unpleasant emotions and ideas following an assessment, particularly if they did not perform as well as they had intended. In these situations, I ought to be advising students to place more importance on their development and growth than merely their evaluations and grades and to seek assistance and advice from classmates or teachers.

Do you have changes in mind that you would like to implement in your assessment practice?

After completing this unit, my perspective has entirely changed, and I now think that evaluation should be done as advised to ensure that the learning is successful. The reason for this is that effective evaluation enables me to gauge how well my students are understanding the subject and to pinpoint any areas where they require more help. I may decide what I am teaching, how I am teaching it, and what needs to change to better meet the requirements of their students by routinely assessing student learning. Additionally, by evaluating my students, both my students and I would be responsible for the learning that occurs. I can have proof of what my students have learned, which I can use to show the value of educational initiatives and to decide where to place, advance, and graduate students. Finally, because it may provide them with specific objectives and enable them to concentrate their efforts, assessment can help me inspire my students to study and pursue excellence. This course helped me understand the true meaning of assessment, a vital component of teaching and learning that serves to guarantee that my students are acquiring the material they need to know, that I am a competent teacher, and that educational initiatives are accomplishing their objectives. As a result, I have changed my mind about using assessments as suggested by Earl and Katz (2006) in my assessment practice and encouraging other colleagues in my school to do the same.

Is your school's administration open to changes in assessments?

Changes in the assessment are welcomed at my school since we think that assessment is a crucial component of instruction because it shows whether or not educational objectives are being met (Edutopia, 2008). The administration of my school voluntarily accepts change that leads to improvement and makes adjustments to new and improved techniques for evaluating student learning. They anticipate that we will employ various methods of assessment based on self-reflection, performance-based assessments, or project-based assessments, which can offer a more comprehensive picture of student learning and development. So that we can change and be in line with the requirements of students' learning, they regularly remind us of prejudice or a lack of impartiality during the evaluation process. To give students a good educational experience, my school management wants us to make sure that assessments are better linked with the aims and objectives of the curriculum and appropriately represent what students are learning. Because Earl and Katz (2006) are supportive of the idea of evaluating and changing the way that assessments are used in the classroom with a meaningful purpose in supporting student learning and development, the school management philosophy on assignments is in line with their article.

My Reflection

To reevaluate classroom tests with purpose in mind, I need to think about the assessment's basic purpose and what I hope to discover about the students and their learning. I realized that the assessment and curriculum should be in line so that I can evaluate what is being taught in the classroom using the most accurate metrics for gauging the desired learning outcomes. I should use summative and formative assessments, where summative assessments evaluate learning after a unit or course and formative assessments offer continuing feedback during the learning process. To make sure that assessments are used in ways that are efficient and relevant and that they are assisting students in realizing their potential, I should consider if the procedures employed reflect what students know and can do accurately and are free from bias or injustice. This is so that progress and upcoming stages may be reviewed and planned, and assessment supports learning and enables teachers and students to understand the depth and breadth of learning completed (Parent Zone, n.d.).

References

Earl, L., & Katz, S. (2006). Rethinking classroom assessment with purpose in mind: Assessment for learning, assessment as learning, assessment of learning. Manitoba Education, Citizenship and Youth.  https://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/assess/wncp/full_doc.pdf

Edutopia. (2008). Why Is Assessment Important? https://www.edutopia.org/assessment-guide-importance

Parent Zone. (n.d.). What is assessment, and when and how does it take place? https://education.gov.scot/parentzone/learning-in-scotland/assessment-and-achievement/what-is-assessment-and-when-and-how-does-it-take-place/

Weber, S. (2021, March 17). 5 Thought-Provoking Questions About Assessment. Teach Better. https://teachbetter.com/blog/5-thought-provoking-questions-about-assessment/