ASSESSMENT

1. Why does assessment matter?
What is assessed → Becomes what is valued → What is taught
It is a truism that assessment enjoys hegemonic control over entire
curricular and teaching-learning process.
Teachers often ‘teach to the test’ and students often select specific
content areas – ‘curriculum magnets’(Popham, 2009)- for studying
towards their assessments.
Assessment that is explicitly designed to promote learning is the single
most powerful tool we have for raising standards and empowering life-
long learning (Assessment Reform Group, 2002: 2).

2. Interactions among aspects of the whole
curriculum
“What we teach is influenced by how we teach, and what and how we
assess influences both how and what we teach” (Harlen, 2013).

3. Current trends in assessment….
• Product-oriented assessment tasks often reinforce rote memorisation
disregarding the process of scientific learning.
• Emphasis on reproduction of scientifically correct information rather
than understanding learners’ worldviews.
• Students’ misconceptions are either not revealed or go unnoticed.
• Little attempt is made to identify the gaps in student understanding.

4. What needs to be done?
• A need to move away from product-oriented to process-oriented
science assessment is called for. It requires a shift in assessment
paradigm.
• A move away from Assessment of Learning (AoL) → Assessment for
Learning (AfL).

5. ASSESSMENT PARADIGMS
ASSESSMENT OF LEARNING
Formal tests/examinations/ high-stakes
 It aims to ‘discover whether the
learner knows, understands or can
do a predetermined thing’.
 Teachers adopt a judgmental view
of learners
 It is product-oriented with teacher
performing the inspectorial role
during examination
 It is placed in behaviourist views of
learning.
ASSESSMENT FOR LEARNING
Formative Assessment/ alternative assessment
 It aims at discovering ‘what the
learner knows, understands or can
do’.
 Teachers adopt a diagnostic view
towards learners’ problems.
 Is a jointly accomplished process
both by the teacher and the
students with teachers acting as
facilitators
 It is located in socio-cultural views
of learning.
Source: Stern and Ahlgren (2002)

6. Requirements of planning assessment:
• Learning Goal
• Lesson content
• Bloom’s Taxonomy
• Who are your learners
• Timing
• Resources
• Analysis and Use

7. Bloom’s taxonomy
When setting activities, tests and examinations, you need to ensure
that you address levels in Bloom’s taxonomy.

9. What is Assessment?
• Continuous & Planned process
• Identify, gathering, interpreting and diagnosing
• Learners’ performance
• Generating and collecting evidence
• Evaluate the evidence
• Use the information to understand and assist learners’ development and
teaching process.

10. • It is the process used to identify, gather and interpret information and evidence
against the required competencies in a qualification in order to make a
judgement about a learner’s achievement
• School-based assessment and examinations are designed to address the
content competencies, skills, values and attitudes of a subject to provide
stakeholders with results that are meaningful indications of what the learners
know, understand and can do at the time of the assessment
• It is therefore paramount that school-based assessment tasks, must be reliable.

11. Purpose of Assessment
• Serve to support teaching and learning
• Provide information about learners, teachers and the school
• Act as a selection and certifying device
• Act as an accountability procedure
• Drive curriculum and teaching

12. Principles of Assessment
• Validity – where assessment measures what it sets out to measure,
where procedures, methods, instruments and materials are appropriate,
useful and meaningful, and where there is validation- activities to
ensure validity. There must be a match between content to be assessed,
learning outcomes, and purpose of assessment, where the assessment
relates to its stated purpose, learning outcomes, and assessment criteria
(Content and construct validity).
• Reliability – where measures produce similar results under consistent
conditions; where to a great extent, similar assess – related judgements
are made across similar contexts in consistent ways

13. Principles continued…..
• Integrity – where there is honesty in every part of the assessment
process
• Transparency – where learners and educators have clear
understanding of the relevant processes
• Accountability – where all role-players in assessment processes
acknowledge and account for their areas of responsibility
• Fairness – where learners are assessed on what they know and have
been taught, and the purpose of assessment is to enhance learning
• Absence of bias – where assessment practices do not, in any way
advantage or disadvantage particular learners or groups of learners

14. Continued…..
• Sensitivity to language – where care is taken to ensure that language
does not become a barrier to learning
• Credibility in the form of supportive administration procedures –
where physical and other conditions under which assessment is
conducted do not unfairly prejudice assessment activities and
outcomes
• Assessment range – where the full range of relevant competencies
needed for a qualification is assessed.

15. Formal and Informal Assessment
Formal Assessment
• Regular feedback should be provided to learners in
order to enhance learning experiences
• Involves: the use of specific assessment strategies to
determine the degree to which students have
achieved the learning outcomes
• Assessment strategies including: essays, exams,
reports, projects, presentations, performances,
laboratories or workshops, quizzes and tests, journal
writing, portfolio, examinations
• Individual and/or collaborative tasks that usually
attract a mark (group work may include both an
individual and group component).
Informal Assessment
• Regular feedback should be provided to learners in
order to enhance learning experiences
• Involves: systematically observing and monitoring
students during in class learning and teaching
experiences
• Interacting with students to gain a deeper knowledge of
what they know, understand and can do
• Circulating the classroom and posing questions, guiding
investigations, motivating and quizzing students
• Providing opportunities for students to present or report
upon their learning and teaching experiences
• Collecting, analysing, and providing feedback on in and
out of class work samples (e.g. how their group work
projects are progressing).

16. Types of assessment practices:
• Baseline Assessment
Is assessment usually used at the beginning of a phase, grade or learning
experience to establish what learners already know
Is often undertaken at the beginning of a unit of study to assess the skills,
abilities, interest, experiences, levels of achievement or difficult of an individual
student or a whole class
Can involve formal measurements (e.g. Aptitude tests, fitness test) that are used
to establish a starting point or baseline or informal measurements (e.g.
observation, discussions, questioning).
Assists educators with the planning of learning programmes and learning
activities
Informs programming and planning, and learning and teaching methods used, as
well as assessment choices.

17. • Formative Assessment
Also called “ assessment for learning”
Purpose of this type of assessment is to improve learners’ ability to learn
Is the practice of building a cumulative record of student achievement
Is planned so that it provides information about learners that they can use to
deepen their understanding and the teacher can use to shape future learning
Usually takes place during day to day learning experiences and involves ongoing,
informal observations throughout the term, course, semester or unit of study
Is used to monitor students’ ongoing progress and to provide immediate and
meaningful feedback
Information must be used by both teacher and learner in a process of reflection and
self-assessment.
It improves teaching and learning by giving teachers direction and enables them to
adapt to learners’ needs
Assists teachers in modifying or extending their programmes or adapting their
learning and teaching methods is very applicable and helpful during early group
work processes.

18. • Diagnostic Assessment
This type of assessment is often used to determine barriers to learning
Its application will always lead to some form of intervention or remedial
action or programme.
Shows either learners’ strengths and weaknesses or inappropriate
teaching methodology
It is different to baseline assessment in that it is not necessarily always at
the beginning of a learning experience, it may occur in the middle or near
the end of a learning experience

19. • Summative Assessment
This type of assessment is used at the end of a learning sequence, and
is used to determine the learner’s level of ability at the end of a certain
time frame.
All the knowledge, skills values and attitudes are normally assessed as a
summative assessment
Assessment of learning

20. • Continuous Assessment
This is on-going assessment of various types.
It is generally prescriptive to the minimum requirement and the type of
task to be submitted as the learner’s evidence of achievement.
• Systemic Assessment
Systemic assessment occurs at the end of a qualification e.g. the end of
Grade 9 or Grade 12. This assessment is a national assessment based on
the exit outcomes of a qualification.

21. Forms of Assessments:
Investigation activities
Presentations
Functional writing
Research Performance based assessments
Tests Simulations
Translation tasks
Questionnaires
Concept mapping Projects
Role-play
Brainstorming tasks Assignments
Practical
demonstration Case studies
Interviews Mind mapping

22. Assessment methods:
• Self-assessment – here the learner assesses his/her own work. Self-
assessment could be used in the classroom with great advantage. One of
the big advantages of allowing learners to assess their own work from time
to time, is that the learners ‘discover’ their own mistakes and
misconceptions. Learners learn how to monitor their own performance,
and that can be very motivational. It stimulates motivation and taking
responsibility for own learning.
• Peer assessment – here the learner is involved in the assessment of
another learner’s work. This is based on a shared understanding of what is
being assessed, how it is being assessed, and why it is being assessed.
• Group assessment – a group of collaborative learners are used to assess
another group of learners’ work
• Teacher assessment – here the teacher assesses learners’ work

23. Assessment tools
• Memo
• Rubrics
• Checklist
• Criteria list
• Observation schedule

24. Assessment instruments
• Checklists
• Memoranda
• Rubrics
• Portfolio assessment – what is meant by portfolio assessment? A portfolio
is a file or folder in which the learner includes assignments, photographs
of projects, comments on learning activities, etc.
• What is a portfolio? – Portfolio are collections of the written work of
learners and other material, which could include their reading, writing,
listening, and calculation abilities.