ASSESSMENT

FORMAL ASSESSMENT
Why should we test out students?
We may want to find out about a candidates suitability to follow a
course of study, although this is not the case in state education.
We may need to find out how a student is progressing during a
course of study and possibly identify problem areas before a course
ends.
We may want to compare a students performance with that of
other students.
We may want to find out how much a student has learned during
the course or academic year i.e. compare what students can do at
the end of the course compared with the beginning of the course.
Formal assessments
are exercises or procedures specifically designed to tap into
a storehouse of skills and knowledge. They are systematic,
planned sampling techniques constructed to give teacher
and student an appraisal of student achievement. To extend
the tennis analogy, formal assessments are the tournament
games that occur periodically in the course of a regimen of
practice.
Informal assessment is

a way of collecting information about our students

performance in normal classroom conditions. This is done
without establishing test conditions such as in the case of
formal assessment. Informal assessment is sometimes
referred to as continuous assessment as it is done over a
period of time like a term or an academic year.
INFORMAL ASSESSMENT
Firstly we need to work out what we are going to assess, as
it is obviously impossible to assess all students performance
all the time.
Then we must establish clear criteria for assessing students
and not only rely on rough impressions.
Finally it is important to link the informal assessment we do
with our formal assessment (tests) and with self-assessment
done by the students themselves.
Informal assessment is not:

Informal assessment is not a replacement for other forms of assessment such as formal or self-assessment
and should not be considered as the only way of obtaining and giving information about our students.
It is not a way of avoiding tests altogether which allows the teacher to make decisions about students
based purely on informal observation.
It is not a form of assessment without criteria on which to make judgements about students progress.
It is not a single system which can be used by all teachers in all contexts in all schools or teaching
establishments each teacher or group of teachers need(s) to find a system which is suitable to their
particular situation.
It is not a form of assessment to be considered in isolation from other forms of assessment but rather as
part of a larger, overall programme which should be a balanced system of decision-making.
FUNCTIONS OF AN ASSESSMENT
FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT
Is evaluating students in the process of forming their competencies and skills
with the goal of helping them to continue that growth process. The key to such
formation is the delivery (by the teacher) and internalization (by the student) of
appropriate feedback on performance, with an eye toward the future
continuation (or formation) of learning.
SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT
Aims to measure, or summarize, what a student has grasped, and typically occurs at the end of a
course or unit of instruction. A summation of what a student has learned implies looking back
and taking stock of how well that student has accomplished objectives, but does not necessarily
point the way to future progress.
NORM-REFERENCED TESTS

Each test-takers score is interpreted in relation to an

average score, a middle score, an extent of variance in
scores, and/or percentile rank. The purpose in such tests is
to place test-takers along a mathematical continuum in rank
order.
CRITERION-REFERENCED TESTS

Are designed to give test-takers

feedback, usually in the form of grades,
on specific course or lesson objectives.