Assignment

on
 Introduction
Definition
Definitions Authors
Principles of Assessment
Learning to Learn
Building Students Assessment Capabilities
Engagement and Motivation
Content Knowledge
Planning and Communication
Cumulative Measurement of Progress
Support for Teaching and Learning Goals
Identifying the Learning need
Feedback
Next Teaching and Learning Steps
Conclusion
Introduction:-
"The word assess comes from the Latin assidere, which
means to sit beside. Literally then, to assess means to sit
beside the learner."

Definition:-
The term 'assessment' refers to all those activities
undertaken by teachers, and by their students in assessing
themselves, which provide information to be used as
feedback to modify The teaching and learning activities in
which they are engaged. It is a test or analysis of students
and also an indirect test of teacher.

Definitions by different authors:-

Various definitions of assessment and the role it plays in
teaching and learning:
Assessment involves the use of empirical data on student
learning to refine programs and improve student
learning. (Assessing Academic Programs in Higher
Education by Allen 2004)
Assessment is the process of gathering and discussing
information from multiple and diverse sources in order to
develop a deep understanding of what students know,
understand, and can do with their knowledge as a result of
their educational experiences; the process culminates
when assessment results are used to improve subsequent
learning. (Learner-Centered Assessment on College
Campuses: shifting the focus from teaching to
learning by Huba and Freed 2000)
Assessment is the systematic basis for making inferences
about the learning and development of of students. It is
the process of defining, selecting, designing, collecting,
analyzing, interpreting, and using information to increase
students learning and development. (Assessing Student
Learning and Development: A Guide to the Principles,
Goals, and Methods of Determining College
Outcomes by Erwin 1991)
Assessment is the systematic collection, review, and use of
information about educational programs undertaken for
the purpose of improving student learning and
development. (Assessment Essentials: planning,
implementing, and improving assessment in higher
education by Palomba and Banta 1999)
 Principles of Assessment:-
Assessment for learning should enable reciprocal learning
where teachers and students share and value each others
sense-making processes. Knowledge of the learner is vital
to ensure assessment is appropriate and fit for purpose.

Learning to learn
The assessment for learning process can unlock the
approaches used by students and help them to become
more aware of not only what they are learning, but how
they are learning it. This empowers students to take
control of their own learning, by developing their skills of
self-regulation.

Building students assessment capability

Students should be educated in ways that build their
assessment capabilities, so they can take increasing
control of their own learning and, through this process,
become more effective and independent learners.

Engagement and motivation

Assessment that encourages learning promotes
motivation by emphasising progress and achievement
rather than failure. It capable students feel greater
ownership of their learning and are more likely to
attribute outcomes to factors within their control. This
engages and motivates students.

Content knowledge
Assessment for learning is dependent on knowledgeable
teachers who can interpret their observations and act on
those interpretations to enhance learning. The ways in
which teaching, learning and assessment are structured by
teachers are a direct product of their content knowledge
and beliefs about how students think and learn.

Planning and communication

Learning goals, teaching strategies and assessment criteria
should be carefully matched. Students should know in
advance what they will learn, as well as how and why they
are to be assessed. Teachers program planning should be
flexible so that they can make changes in response to new
information, opportunities or insights. Their planning
needs to include strategies to check students understand
the goals they are pursuing and the criteria that will be
applied in assessing their work.
Cumulative measurement of progress
Assessment should be valid, fair and suited to the purpose.
It should measure progress, not just achievement.
Any assessment can only provide a snapshot of
achievement on a particular day. Performance will vary
from day to day depending on:
The nature of the assessment task.
The conditions in which the assessment is
undertaken.
The purpose of the assessment.
The students preparation.
The students engagement and motivation.

Support for teaching and learning goals

Teachers need to know how a given assessment should
enhance learning, and how to check if it has. Assessment
should emphasise quality student-teacher learning
interactions and be fit for purpose.
Assessment for learning supports teaching and learning
goals in three key ways:
1. Identifying the learning need
Assessment information helps teachers and
students identify where a student is in terms of their
learning, where they want to be, and what next teaching
and learning steps can help them to achieve their goals.
2. Feedback
Feedback based on assessment is one of the most
powerful ingredients in teaching and learning, and
maximising the quality, appropriateness and use of
feedback should be a core aim of all assessment practice.
3. Next teaching and learning steps
To be effective in describing next teaching and
learning steps, assessment for learning should be linked to
some form of learning progression.

Conclusion
Meeting the learning needs of all students is a complex and
demanding task for schools. It is student achievement, or
understanding what students know and can do, is
fundamental to effective teaching and to students'
learning.