This document discusses assessment in education. It defines assessment as making judgements about students' skills, knowledge, potential and progress. There are different types of assessment, including initial/diagnostic assessment at the start of a program, formative assessment during a program, and summative assessment at the end to check learning. Formative assessment uses informal methods like peer and self-assessment to provide feedback and guide improvement. The document emphasizes that assessment should be for learning, not just of learning, and highlights key principles of assessment for learning like determining what students know, where they need to go, and how to get there.

1. Assessment
What is it good for????

2. Outcomes
• Define common types of
assessment
• Identify the purposes of assessment
• Outline useful approaches to assessment and
the importance of feedback

3. What is Assessment?
Assessment is making Judgements about…….
• Skills and knowledge
• Potential and Progress
Who are making the judgements
• Examiners
• Teachers
• Students

4. Categories or Types of Assessment
• Initial
• Diagnostic
• Formative
• Summative

5. Initial and Diagnostic
Initial assessment can screen students,
identify support needs or simply benchmark a
learner’s skills, knowledge and understanding
at the start of a programme.
Diagnostics should take this on into the
programme giving further insight into skills,
knowledge and understanding throughout the
programme.

6. Summative (Assessment of Learning)
Summative assessment is
performed at the end (of unit,
term, year or sometimes
one session) to check on learning.
Summative assessment methods tend to be
more formal and include……
 Exams
 Demonstration of skills
 Assignment
 Project
 Oral questions
 Observation
 Computer based
questions
 Others?

7. Formative (Assessment for Learning)
Developmental and ongoing assessments. We
use these methods constantly. Formative
assessment methods tend to be more informal
and may include……….

8. Some Quotes……….
“Assessment makes teaching into teaching. Mere
presentation—without assessment of what the
learners have made of what you have offered
them—is not teaching.”
ATHERTON J S (2010) Learning and Teaching; Assessment [On-line] UK: Available: http
://www.learningandteaching.info/teaching/assessment.htm Accessed: 5 October 2010
“Assessment procedures to gauge student learning
should be as varied as the teaching strategies used
to teach them.”
Read more at Suite101: What is Assessment: Assessing Student Learning http://www.suite101.com/content/what-is-
assessment-a149777#ixzz11Tz9E04h

9. Assessment for Learning
Inside the black box (1998) is a
summary of the main findings arising
from 250 assessment articles
(covering nine years of international research)
studied by Paul Black and Dylan Wiliam. Its
findings still provide a touchstone for other
researchers, advisers and teachers.
Assessment for Learning is the approach to
formative assessment which has developed from
this……

10. Defining Assessment for Learning?
(A4L)
“The process teachers and learners use to decide:
• where learners are in their learning
• where they need to go
• how best to get there.”
Paul Black Co-author of “Inside the Black Box.”, “Working inside the Black Box.” and “
Assessment for Learning: Putting it into Practice.”
10

11. Peer and self assessment
Peer and self-assessment have an
important role in A4L.
Key elements are...
• Students using the assessment criteria to
assess and set own targets for improvement.
• Students make comments about their own
strengths and weaknesses before
hearing/receiving other people's views .
• Teachers and others demonstrating examples of
what is required. (Did I hear someone say
“modelling”?)

12. Peer and Self Assessment
Task...
• Discuss in what ways teachers
can use peer and self assessment.
• Identify the successes and pitfalls in using these
methods.
• If you seldom use these methods, identify the
barriers to there use in your teaching.

13. Assessment - what is it good for?
• To diagnose faults and support progression
• To give us feedback on how our learners are progressing and
how our teaching is going
• To guide improvement and motivate students
• To provide statistics for the course, or for the institution
• To enable grading, exam classifications and final degree
classifications
• To add variety to students’ learning experience, and add
direction to our teaching
Race (2001) The lecturer’s toolkit

14. Or put simply.......
Assessment is
for
learning

15. Classroom Activities

16. First can you peer assess this
teacher……..
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxPVyiept
wA&feature=related

17. Feedback
What feedback would you give
this teacher…..
What if you were told this was his first ever
teaching session……
What if you were told it was his eighth and final
observation within a teacher training course?

18. What about our video clip of a
teacher shown earlier…….
In your feedback did you indicate….
• where he was with his teaching
• where he needed to go
• how best to get there
If you did you were apply the principles of
A4L

19. An assessment tool
With a partner, discuss….
• What types of assessments was the
assessment tool used for?
• Can you suggest anything similar?
• What are the key features of good
assessment?
Video