Purposes of the Assessments * to assist in student learning * to identify students strengths and weakness'' * to assess the effectiveness of the instructional strategy * to assess and improve the effectiveness of curriculum programs * to assess and improve teaching effectiveness * to provide data that assist in decision making about a student's future * to provide data in order to communicate with/involve parents in their child's learning
Principles of the Assessments * a teachers responsibility to facilitate students learning and to assess progress * assessments are continuous; selection /implementation of plans/activities that require monitoring/assessing to check on progress and to change/adapt strategies * assessment is a reciprocal process; assess both teacher/student process * evidence and data for knowing how well the teacher/student are doing come from different sources/data collecting data devices * reflection/self assessment ; if students understand ownership in learning
Terms Used in Assessment: A clarification
-Assessment: process of finding what students are learning
-Evaluation: making sense of what was found out
-Measurement: quantifiable data about the specific behavior, descriptive/objective process that is free from human value judgement. Ex. a student's score on a provincial science test.
-Assessment: objective data from measurement but also from other types of information. Ex. her assignment grades on science class, being an excellent student.
-Validity/Reliability: To better understand this relationship, A test can be reliable, meaning that the test-takers will get the same score no matter when or where they take it, within reason of course. But that doesn't mean that it is valid or measuring what it is supposed to measure. A test can be reliable without being valid. However, a test cannot be valid unless it is reliable.
-Authentic