Determining what students know and what they can do is a crucial part of a teacher or tutor. Like teaching as a process, coming up with a design of assessment criteria to measure such outputs is a sophisticated work (Wanner, 2018). This paper illustrates the assessment design concept that one uses to plan, write, and select viable assessment criteria for their learners.
Background
Coming up with a reliable assessment is a hectic procedure. During school days, the chances and abilities to develop probable assessment information are possible for teachers and students. Remarks from students during class sessions are an indication that some students do not understand the concepts of the lesson. When such arises, the teacher may consider organizing for another class and conduct the discussion. There are three types of assessments used for learning purposes; pre-test, a diagnostic assessment, a formative check, and a summative assessment (Houston & Thompson, 2017).
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Diagnostic assessment
It is a form of pre-assessment where teachers can evaluate their students' weaknesses, strengths, knowledge, and skills before they begin structuring their instructions. Through pre-test assessment, teachers can plan and structure meaningful and useful instructions geared at providing a learning experience to individual students. When students write the structure, it helps teachers understand the course contents that the students before the start of the course. The tool serves its purpose better when structured both at the beginning and the end of the lesson. It acts as an indicator of any potential improvements by the students in some areas.
Formative assessment
It refers to a set of tools and procedures that teachers put in place to undertake their in-progress evaluations of students. Students' needs evaluated by formative assessment include their comprehension, academic progress, learning needs units, and course. Teachers need the review to identify areas in their lessons where students struggle to understand, the skills they have difficulties in mastering, and any learning standards that the lesson has not yet achieved to make any necessary adjustments to the lesson plan and contents. The general aim of formative assessment is to obtain any useful information essential to improving instruction and student learning during the lesson. It is referred to as formative because of how the tool is used and not its design, technique, or self-evaluation.
Summative Assessments
Summative assessment is a tool used to measure and evaluate student learning, academic achievement, and skill acquisition at the end of a given specific instructional period. It is always done at the end of a semester, unit, semester, or school year. Three criteria define it.
First, tests and assignments are used to evaluate students whether they have captured what was intended. The teacher can tell if the student has learned to materials that they were taught from the criterion. The second criterion is where summative assessments being given after a specific instructional period. When applied at this stage, they serve as an evaluation method as opposed to diagnostic. They help determine learning progress and achievement while evaluating education programs' effectiveness and measuring existing programs for goal improvements. The final criteria of summative assessment are that results from lessons are always recorded as scores or grades, which are later considered in the learners' permanent levels and marks for the academic record, whether they are letter grades. Hence, summative assessment is the evaluation tool that is used for grading students.
Assessment Plan
The assessment design plan requires teachers to determine the population, purpose, and learning experience ( Shernoff, 2017). The plan should, after that, align with the identified needs and learning expectations. For instance, a teacher may decide the level of communication skills of her students. She has to identify the content that she intends to test. Therefore, she as her students to make a presentation on their topics of their choice during their class session. The following rubric was used to determine the level of understanding of the acquired communication skills.
Rubric for Oral Presentation
| Outstanding (5) | Good (4) | Marginal (3) | Unacceptable (1) | |
| Content | The material used is related to the thesis. | Most points related | Information not connected to the thesis | Thesis not clear |
| Coherent and Organization | The presentation flows well and appropriate examples used. | Logical and organized | Concepts and ideas loosely connected | No correspondence |
| Speaking Skills | The presenter is enthusiastic for the material, audible enough | Articulation is not polished, though clear. | Little eye contact, short-expression | Inaudible, no eye contact. |
| Audience Response | Has involved the audience and maximized use of materials | Audience involved through handout not perfect | Tended to go off-topic | The incoherent audience lost interest |
Strategies
During the presentations, each student must make PowerPoint slides and footnote that they will use to make their timed presentation. Personal learning assessment is achieving since every student is required to make their presentations. The teacher is, therefore, able to rate gage them individually through their presentation. Technology is essential in their assessment since the computer slides and LCD Projectors used in the presentation enhance efficient learning and understanding. As a teacher, I would organize more exhibitions to perfect students' skills in communication skills and presentation.
Data Collection Plan
Data collection on the assessment is majorly done at the pre-test level. It is a collection of facts and statistics that are important in planning. Teachers engaging students to inquire about their prior knowledge on the topic of study is a data source. The teacher can tell the missing gap and understand the specific need of the lesson. Summative assessment provides for a mechanism through which the teacher can keep track of the data collected. For instance, in the case of communication skills, when a student is poor in their performance in presentation, the teacher will know this during their engagements in class. However, evaluations and whet the test results are out.
For consistency, the teacher can use the percentage inaccuracy or results from the rubric to keep the records. Secondly, they can record the frequency by tracking the performance of each individual. For instance, keep records of marks scored in the last presentations and mistakes committed. When an average is found, and the teacher identifies recurring errors in an individual, they will take actions and take them through areas that they do not understand. From the data, like that from the case study, I will be looking at grade marks achieved by every learner from their performance, common mistakes they make, and relevance to their topics.
Conclusion
Classroom assessment is a crucial tool in learning institutions. Every teacher needs to learn the techniques and need for coming up with the best assessment designs that are result-oriented. Finally, the three types of assessments are used for learning purposes; pre-test, also known as a diagnostic assessment, a formative check, and a summative assessment, is critical in a learning environment. Any teachers should be able to understand them and how and when to apply each of them.
References
Houston, D., & Thompson, J. N. (2017). Blending Formative and Summative Assessment in a Capstone Subject:‘It’s not your tools, it’s how you use them’. Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice , 14 (3), 2.
Shernoff, D. J., Sinha, S., Bressler, D. M., & Ginsburg, L. (2017). Assessing teacher education and professional development needs for the implementation of integrated approaches to STEM education. International Journal of STEM Education , 4 (1), 13.
Wanner, T., & Palmer, E. (2018). Formative self-and peer assessment for improved student learning: the crucial factors of design, teacher participation and feedback. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education , 43 (7), 1032-1047.
