Pros and Cons of Assessments
Pros and Cons of Assessment
Assessments are an everyday occurrence in classrooms around the world. There are many different types of assessments, which generally fall into formal and informal. There are advantages and disadvantages to both. The major importance is selecting the right assessment. It is up to the teacher to decide what information is needed and how that information is collected.
Formal Assessments
Formal assessments are a way of observing and recording information in a highly structured manner. It typically requires a large amount of preparation and training. There are many different forms of formal assessments to choose from. Two examples are standards based test and national norm-referenced test.
Standards Based Test
Standards based test are used to measure students’ and schools’ progress in reaching standards put forth by the state. Many students take a multiple choice test, towards the end of the school year, which assesses many things, including reading comprehension and grammar. One of the positive advantages of this type of assessment is the accountability factor. All teachers must make an adequate attempt to teach the information needed for the students to show success. Standards are typically provided for each grade level, so students know what they need to learn for the following year. Students and schools are also able to gauge their progress with other schools throughout the country. Standards based tests are known for their reliability. There is very little room for error and has a standardized grading system. The standards based tests insure that curriculum for that grade level is being taught, no matter where the test is given in the country. Now with this being said, a disadvantage to this test is that low economic status is not taken into consideration. Another disadvantage is that teachers are not ‘allowed’ to teach to the test. However teachers feel that they need to focus on preparing the students for the test
Assessments are an everyday occurrence in classrooms around the world. There are many different types of assessments, which generally fall into formal and informal. There are advantages and disadvantages to both. The major importance is selecting the right assessment. It is up to the teacher to decide what information is needed and how that information is collected.
Formal Assessments
Formal assessments are a way of observing and recording information in a highly structured manner. It typically requires a large amount of preparation and training. There are many different forms of formal assessments to choose from. Two examples are standards based test and national norm-referenced test.
Standards Based Test
Standards based test are used to measure students’ and schools’ progress in reaching standards put forth by the state. Many students take a multiple choice test, towards the end of the school year, which assesses many things, including reading comprehension and grammar. One of the positive advantages of this type of assessment is the accountability factor. All teachers must make an adequate attempt to teach the information needed for the students to show success. Standards are typically provided for each grade level, so students know what they need to learn for the following year. Students and schools are also able to gauge their progress with other schools throughout the country. Standards based tests are known for their reliability. There is very little room for error and has a standardized grading system. The standards based tests insure that curriculum for that grade level is being taught, no matter where the test is given in the country. Now with this being said, a disadvantage to this test is that low economic status is not taken into consideration. Another disadvantage is that teachers are not ‘allowed’ to teach to the test. However teachers feel that they need to focus on preparing the students for the test