Students can get very confused when they hear the word “assessment”. They automatically think quiz or test, in which case they get nervous and start to panic. However, students need to know why teachers need to assess them. It is not to put them into a state of panic, but to help further their growth in the education process. An assessment is just a way to produce evidence in which teachers can evaluate students and help them attain a higher academic level. Teachers give these assessments to help their students monitor their progress.
This will help students to see what they need improvement in. Teachers should explain the reasons for the assessments – which they are not meant to make the students miserable, but to help them in their future educational careers. Having a group conversation or an individual conversation with the students can help them see what they excel at or what they need improvement on.
There are different types of assessments that as teachers and parents we should know. The three that stand out are that of diagnostic, formative and summative assessments. What is the difference? When students are first starting out at a new school, or for instance when they take an entrance exam to get into a particular college, these are diagnostic assessments in which they assess what the student already has knowledge on. Performance-based tasks are what students should be able to do and be able to show their teachers that they are proficient in. For example, these tasks should be connected to an actual problem-solving activity that is also taught through daily instruction and is to be considered that of a formative assessment. Lastly, summative assessments are those given towards the end of the lesson as a wrap-up tool to check for understanding and to make sure that each student grasped the concept. If they did not reach the level that the teacher is satisfied, then the teacher may want to do a reteach lesson so they do not fall behind. Implementing new activities in the class through observation or surveying the students the teacher should be able to determine whether or not the activity should be used again.
Hanuri Learning is located at 27674 Newhall Ranch Road, Suite 10 in Valencia. For more information, please call 844-READ-SCV (732-3728).