What is the purpose of
assessment? I initially had always thought that assessment was used before or
after a learning period to test students’ knowledge; naively thinking that this
was all there was to it! However by reading Rethinking Classroom Assessment with Purpose in Mind by the Western and Northern
Canadian Protocol for Collaboration in Basic Education [WNCP] (2006), I learned
more about the three purposes of assessment and how to realistically apply them
in the classroom.
In assessment for learning,
“teachers use assessment as an investigative tool to find out as much as they
can about what their students know and can do, and what confusions, preconceptions,
or gaps they might have” (WNCP, 2006, p.29). This is also known as “formative assessment” as it
involves collecting and analysing information to show what children know, can
do, and understand (SCSA, 2013). In conducting some outside reading, I also
learned that formative assessment is a crucial part of the cyclical process of
documenting, analysing and planning children’s learning to support intentional
teaching (Arthur et al., 2015; DEEWR, 2007). Formative assessment can be used
at the beginning of a learning period to determine prior knowledge or
throughout learning to check understanding (SCSA, 2013).
Assessment of learning, or summative assessment,
is usually conducted at the end of a period of time or set of lessons to assess
what the child has learned (WNCP, 2006). Tracking this development establishes the effectiveness of instruction,
and using this data to compare students’ progress can also help identify
children with special needs (Arthur et al., 2015). Like all forms of
assessment, summative assessment gives teachers vital information needed to
plan future learning (DEEWR, 2009), for example they may plan for extra
or different learning activities if gaps in expected knowledge are found.
The only assessment
tools that came to mind when I was initially learning about formative and
summative assessment were checklists and rubrics, however I soon learned that
there are so many more ways of assessment! Narrative types of assessment, such
as running records, anecdotes, learning stories and jottings (Arthur et al.,
2015, p.276), are particularly suitable for collecting formative and summative
assessments. I believe the running record in will become one of my favored
forms of assessment, as it allows the teacher can be actively involved in the
learning process whilst assessing; it is written as the event or experience of
interest happens (Arthur et al., 2015). This video also discusses how ICT can
be used in assessment.
Assessment as learning involves assessment
as a means of metacognition. Dann (2014, para.5) states that the core focus of
assessment as learning is for children to understand their own progress and
goals through a range of cognitive processes, which require them to be active
in both learning and assessment. These cognitive processes include
self-regulation, self-efficiacy, metacognition and feedback, which are
encouraged by self-assessment (Dann, 2014, para.5). This is supported by what I
learned in WNCP (2006), that assessment as learning involves students being
actively engaged in creating their own understanding, and analyze and synthesize
information. The video below assisted me in learning more
about implementing assessment as learning.
It was interesting to learn about the different
kinds of assessment and how assessment ties into everyday classroom practice.
Although I initially viewed assessment as relatively straightforward,
throughout my reading and reflection it became evident that assessment must be
understood as more than just the principles and practices, as implementing it
is much more complex. Unfortunately I believe that due to time and staffing
arrangement, certain assessment types, generally the more time-consuming and
information-rich types would be almost impossible to conduct with a whole
classroom of children. This is as issue I wish to learn about in my future
studies. However for now, I feel as though I have learned about just how important it is
to ensure that assessment is embedded in daily classroom activities.
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References
Arthur,
L., Beecher, B., Death, E., Dockett, S. & Farmer, S. (2015). Programming and planning in early childhood
settings (6th ed.). South Melbourne, VIC: Cengage Learning
Australia.
Australian
Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations for the
Council of Australian Governments [DEEWR](2009). Belonging, being and becoming: The early years learning framework for
Australia. Retrieved from
https://docs.education.gov.au/system/files/doc/other/belonging_being_and_becoming_the_early_years_learning_framework_for_australia.pdf
Australian
Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations for the
Council of Australian Governments [DEEWR] (2011). My time, our place: Framework
for school aged care in Australia. Retrieved from
http://files.acecqa.gov.au/files/National-Quality-Framework-Resources-Kit/my_time_our_place_framework_for_school_age_care_in_australia.pdf
Dann,
R. (2014). Assessment "as" learning: Blurring the boundaries of
assessment and learning for theory, policy and practice. Assessment in education: Principles, policy & practice, 21(2),
pp.149-166. DOI: 10.1080/0969594X.2014.898128
School
Curriculum and Standards Authority (2013). Curriculum
and assessment outline: Guiding principles. Retrieved from
http://k10outline.scsa.wa.edu.au/media/documents/outline_downloads/guiding_principles_k-10_outline.pdf
Western and Northern
Canadian Protocol for Collaboration in Basic Education [WNCP]. (2006). Rethinking
classroom assessment with purpose in mind: Assessment for learning, assessment
as learning, assessment of learning. Retrieved from
https://www.wncp.ca/media/40539/rethink.pdf
