Running head: PHILOSOPHY OF ASSESSMENT

Philosophy of Assessment
Susannah Reel
Chaminade University
ED408: Classroom Assessment



























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As educators, we will be continually called upon to assess students in a variety of ways. It
is important to understand the purpose for our assessments before instruction begins. If done
correctly, assessment can be a useful tool to teachers and students throughout the educational
process.
One of the most essential purposes of assessment is that it will guide instructional
practices. Stiggins (2012) focuses on this purpose of assessment stating, Assessment is, in part,
the process of gathering evidence of student learning to inform instructional decisions (p. 3).
Decisions about instruction will be greatly influenced by the assessment results we attain from
our students.
Teachers must gauge the base of student knowledge before beginning instruction. It is
critical that teachers do not assume student knowledge without proper evidence. Through the use
of high-quality assessment, teachers can gain evidence of student comprehension. As we gain a
better idea of what students know, we must also check for understanding. Educators should
recognize that students may know the basic facts, but without a deep understanding and ability to
transfer, it will be challenging to build upon the students shallow base of understanding.
Teachers should consistently be looking for ways to improve instruction. A variety of
assessments is the best way for educators to evaluate their own effectiveness within the
classroom and we must be aware of the times when we are failing to provide quality instruction
to our students. Rose (2011) emphasizes this idea by stating, Student achievement can be raised
only if teachers can manage the task of teaching more effectively. There may be times when
assessments are given and a majority of students performed poorly, this is an indicator that a
teacher must evaluate their method of instruction to improve student understanding. We may be
given students at the beginning of the school year that come from many school districts or a
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variety of former teachers, but it is our job to gauge their level with proper assessment and
decide the best way to proceed.
Classrooms will be full of diverse learners, each with unique learning styles, in order to
adequately address the needs of the students, educators will need to learn where to begin and the
goals for instruction. Rose (2011) states, Teachers have to manage complicated and demanding
situations, balancing the personal, emotional, and social pressures of a group of 30 or more
students while activating the conditions for academic success. We may find that our instruction
will need to be modified to meet the needs of all learners, which can be challenging but is crucial
if we want to ensure full comprehension for each students.
Another key purpose of assessment is for student use. Stiggins (2012) highlights the
importance of student-involved assessment by inserting, Students who participate in the
thoughtful analysis of quality work to identify its critical elements or to internalize valued
achievement targets become better performers (p. 20). As students are involved with
assessment, they will become more aware of what quality products look like and understand
what success entails.
Allowing students to be a part of assessment will provide learners with a variety of
benefits. They should be aware of the goals and expectations of an assignment and be able to
evaluate their own work consistently. Students will be able to self-assess and become sensitive to
their strengths and weaknesses. Teacher and peer feedback will also be a useful tool for students
to discover new ways to improve their quality of work.
The hope would be to instill a sense of self-efficacy within our students that they would
believe in themselves and set challenging goals within the educational careers. Stiggins (2012)
reinforces this idea by stating, So our aspiration is to keep students feeling in control of their
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own learning success. We want them confident that they probably will succeed if they try and
that trying will enhance that probability (p.16)
As students become more focused on the expectations of their work, they will
automatically find ways to continually progress. Assessment is also useful to students when they
are able to compare a before and after products of an assignment. Learners will be encouraged by
their own progress and gain confidence to consistently find methods of improvement. Involving
students in assessment will provide learners with motivation to succeed.
Educators and students should be acutely aware of the difference between understanding
and knowledge. As mentioned in the importance of assessment for the purpose of guiding
instruction, students must have a base knowledge but also a deeper understanding. Assessment
allows educators to check for both understanding and knowledge through formative and
summative assessments.
Stiggins (2012) goes into detail about the uses of formative and summative assessments.
A summative assessment allows assessors to see if the student has learned after an event. These
are assessments OF learning. Comparatively, formative assessments are used throughout an
event to check in on students for teacher use and student use (p. 24). Both types of assessments
are helpful in gauging student knowledge and understanding. It is important that assessors focus
on the concept of transferability.
The ability of a student to transfer knowledge to new ideas and concepts, allows an
assessor to check for understanding. Wiggins and McTighe (2005) declare, Transferability is
understanding revealed (p. 156) If a student has the ability to apply their knowledge to real-
world scenarios and novel situations using problem solving skills, then educators will have the
evidence supporting student understanding beyond rote knowledge. More importantly, our
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assessments must be authentic in allowing students to apply their knowledge in this manner.
There will be times for selected response assessments that gauge student memorization and there
will be an even greater need for varied assessments that allow students to perform and produce
evidence of a deeper understanding.
As we continue to assess students on a day-to-day basis, teachers must be deeply
sensitive to the needs of diverse learners. A key purpose of assessment is to guide instruction and
with that educators will be able to gain ideas on the different learning styles found within the
classroom.
Assessments will also provide insight into why students struggle. We should continually
be mindful of underlying learning disabilities that need to be addressed to help students succeed.
Appropriate assessments are important as younger students and/or English language learners
may struggle with reading an exam and thus perform poorly.
Our instruction will be modified to meet the needs of each individual student and our
assessments will require adaptation as well. Implementing a balanced use of the four methods of
assessment matched with the five achievement targets, will allow teachers to gain a broad
perspective on the strengths and weakness of all students.
Authentic, high-quality assessments are vital to student achievement. Assessment will
provide educators with a guide to forming instruction. Allowing students to be a part of
assessment will encourage learners to stay motivated and set learning goals for themselves, thus
promoting self-efficacy. Assessment also permits educators with a better idea of student
knowledge versus student understanding. Both the student and the educator must use assessment
to gauge student learning and teacher instruction.
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Assessment is an important part of ones educational career. It is up to the educator to
provide students with authentic assessments that provide students with the opportunity to
succeed. Problem solving and transfer should be greatly encouraged and providing students with
clear expectations is essential. Assessments are an ongoing process that we must continually
improve and adjust for the needs of unique learners.


















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References
Rose, A. (2011, March 23). Teaching vs. learning: How assessment informs instruction.
Retrieved from http://www.allthingsplc.info/wordpress/?p=1952
Stiggins, R., & Chappuis, J. (2012). An introduction to student-involved assessment for
learning. (6th ed.). Pearson Education.
Wiggins, G., & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by design. (2nd ed.). Assoc. for
Supervision & Curriculum Development