Assessment Practice Carla George Researcher Education Studies March 2018 Abstract. The paper explains about assessment practices adopted within the workplace and training providers to support apprentices.
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Introduction
Assessments should be designed to encourage learner development, consistency and achievement within the program. It should provide opportunities towards application of their skills and knowledge in challenging tasks. The tasks involve should promote equality and diversity to reduce disadvantages to others. Assessment methods should be reliable to allow for consistency in reasonable critiquing or judgments, so this can be used as a basis for feedback that will be used towards enhancing learner’s achievement. All assessments should include clear feedback to allow learners to improve their level of skills and understanding regarding their performance within the program or course.
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Assessment Types
A variety of assessment methods were carried out during the research. Assessment has a huge emphasis within the education sector. Assessing can determine a learner’s approach to learning and can be used as a sound basis towards evaluating the quality, design and reliability of the course. The purpose of assessment is to enhance motivation, developing learning opportunities, and provide feedback to learners and staff. Initial assessments are used as a foundation to determine learner’s needs and will be used for future purposes such as planning a session. This could be in the style of learning questionnaires or initial tests etc. Formative assessments identify strengths and weaknesses that will help staff and learners towards continuous improvement towards learning. Summative assessment identifies whether the learner has fulfilled or achieve all requirements within the programme.
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All three assessments could include the following types of assessments. Informal Assessment is based on various tasks set to judge the performance. ie. Selfassessment tests the benefit time and work load is reduced but this can lead to inconsistencies and inequality with the learners if they feel that they have been assessed unfairly. Subjective- Subjective assessment can be formal and informal. This involves using a variety of techniques designed by the teacher in order to evaluate performance. This could be within the form of problem solving tasks, projects, or tests to measure strengths and weaknesses. Quantitative- Quantitative assessment is known as a direct approach this could be within the form of exams, presentations, portfolios assigning numerical scores. Qualitative- Qualitative is an indirect approach this could be the form of open ended questions or focus groups.
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Approaches in Assessment
The learning approaches below are used today that will engage learners within the assessment process. One-to-one interactions- One-One interactions involve discussions with learners as a method of data gathering. This approach is very structured and requires skill/tact to be effective. This will allow you to gain trust, mentoring opportunities and establish working relations with the learners. Self-assessment questionnaires- Learners will be given the opportunity to assess themselves against set criteria for measurement. The rate of measurement can be self-esteem, learning styles and learning capacity. This can be used to assess areas of improvement and if additional support required. Tasks Sampling- Information will be provided as a set task, assignment or carried out as a formal or informal discussion. This will determine learner’s levels of strategies, techniques used to assess their understanding of the subject. Formal Assessment Tests- These are known as standardised tests they can evaluate learner’s knowledge and performance and can be used to compare against informal tests such as observations or group work.
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Observation- Observations can be used to assess social skills and provide information on group characteristics. They can also be used for future improvements and establishing future goals. Group Discussion- This reflects everyone’s participation within the group the assessment can be based upon communication, key points, analysis and personal effectiveness. Dynamic Assessment- This is an ongoing assessment where learners are prompted in the right direction towards accomplishing a task. This will determine how much support will be needed for learners regarding problem solving or approach to a task. The measure of performance can be determined by how often the assessor must provide hints or hard copies of information in order for the learners to complete the task.
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Peer and Self-Assessment
The Peer Review process is a very important step in any academic journal, and critical for its success and prestige. Peer and self-assessment requires constructive planning and organisation. Assessors need to take into consideration learner’s skills and abilities for effective learning so that they can set criteria’s and targets. Here are some examples of strategies that can be used to stimulate learning. •
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Combine a combination of peer and self-assessment activities by encouraging to learners to listen to responses from others providing opinions regarding presentations given in the classroom. Encouraging the learners to review each other’s work and providing feedback on areas for improvement. Learners to carry out presentations and others to provide feedback using feedback forms.
Assessment methods should be reliable to allow for consistency in reasonable critiquing or judgments so this can be used as a basis for feedback that will be used towards enhancing learner’s achievement. All assessments should include clear feedback to allow learners to improve their level of skills and understanding regarding their performance within the program or course. The assessment criteria should outline the learner’s progress towards achieving the objective and meeting the standards required. There are limitations regarding formative and summative assessments as they can be very biased and provide inconsistent feedback. Both should be included within the programme and applied appropriately assessment that will produce sufficient results.
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Summary
It is important that all Institutions provide a structure that will reduce barriers within the educational sector. This will lead to a positive learning environment for all learners from different backgrounds and sexes. Identifying the relevant barriers will lead to providing different methods that are effective and demonstrating commitment towards improving existing practices. The questions we often ask ourselves how are we going to ensure that all students will learn effectively? There are various aspects that need to be considered to aid the learning welfare of all students. Assessors needs to have a clear understanding of policies and procedures to ensure that all levels of teachings are carried out to the best standards.
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References
Morgan M Gray D (2001) Modern Apprenticeships: Filling the skills gap England’s Apprenticeships- Assessing the New System Charlynne Pullen and Jonathan Clifton (2016)
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