My Favourite Assessments!

    Recalling my days in teaching exam going students, I remember assessments as decision makers for the students that formed a judgment about achievement of their goals. They were decision makers for students’ choices of subjects and movement to the next grade. In this sense, they were very harsh on the students who would often chase me with requests for increasing their scores to come into the coveted ‘first class’, as it was called in India at that time. Assessment affected the decision of placement and advancement (Edutopia, 2008).

    However, the form of assessment that I love is the one where it affects curriculum, instructional techniques and relationships. These are formative assessments that is learning experiences, inquiry, activities and reflective feedback that aim to close the learning gaps in the students and empower them further (Looney, 2011). Formative assessment for me is an ongoing way to ascertain how much learning is happening during the classes. The focus is an ongoing improvement in teaching and learning through awareness, regular feedback and reflection (Carnegie Mellon University, 2021).

    For me the favourite formative assessment is one where students work collaboratively, I observe them, step back and enter their space only when or if needed. Collaboration in the classroom is brought using strategies such as (a) homogenous groups, (b) heterogenous groups, (c) think-pair-share and (d) projects. I find a great joy in stepping back and observing students engage with each other and learn. I learn about them much more than I would if I were just an in charge of the class. I am able to differentiate my teaching much better as I give space for autonomy where needed and scaffold where needed. The satisfaction is immense.

    Although formative is my favourite, I believe that summative and formative are both needed as a combination to drive learning. Formative also can make the students complacent while summative alone would bring in fear.

A wise balance of the two is needed to sustain enthusiasm as well as focus.

References

• Carnegie Mellon University (2021). What is the difference between formative and summative assessment? https://www.cmu.edu/teaching/assessment/basics/formative-summative.html
• Crockett, L. (n.d.). 5 great formative assessment strategies that never miss.https://blog.futurefocusedlearning.net/5-great-formative-assessmentstrategies
• Edutopia (2008, July 15). Why is assessment important? https://www.edutopia.org/assessment-guide-importance
• Looney, J. W. (2011). Integrating formative and summative assessments: Progress towards a seamless system? Education Working Papers No. 58. OECD. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED529586.pdf