Assessment – overview
Effective assessment
Informally, assessment is happening all the time. You will be keeping an eye on how your learners are progressing. They will be doing the same, maybe by comparing themselves with others. But it will be most effective when it is a planned, comprehensive and transparent process that involves you and your learners in:
- working out where they are starting from and what they want to achieve (initial assessment)
- reviewing their progress and agreeing what they need to do to move forward (formative assessment); and
- assessing whether or not they have achieved their goals or have achieved the standards for their chosen qualification (summative assessment).
Why plan?
Working out your assessment strategy in advance will help you to:
- gauge the right starting point for each learner
- negotiate individual or group learning goals and outcomes
- adapt your planned teaching strategy
- assess strengths as well as weaknesses
- provide the feedback and guidance learners need to be able to improve
- identify where learners are struggling and work out what further support or learning opportunities they need
- plan and design further, relevant learning activities
- provide the right level of challenge for them; and
- gauge their progress towards planned learning outcomes and personal learning goals.
Learners benefit, too. A planned process will help to motivate them by:
- giving them information that confirms whether or not they are on the right course or guides them to a more appropriate course
- establishing realistic expectations of themselves and the course
- giving them a realistic picture of their progress
- helping them understand how to build on their strengths and overcome their weaknesses
- involving them in shaping the learning programme
- giving them an active role in improving their rate of progress
- clarifying what achievement will look like for them at the various stages of their learning; and
- enabling them to recognise and celebrate their progress towards achieving planned learning outcomes and personal learning goals.
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