Assessment Philosophy

What is Assessment? What is its Aim?

Assessment, in the theoretical sense, , is the evaluation of something or someone’s abilities. It can also be thought of as the degree in which someone or something fulfills its purpose. In the practical sense, assessment is what the teacher decides is a just presentation of evidence of learning. This can take any form the teacher wishes. Due to the decisions being made by the teachers, there is a lot of possibility for bias to cloud the judgement of the teacher. The theoretical must influence the practical in order for the assessment to be logical and a reliable determination of learning. The aim of assessment is to quantify abilities or work into a figure that is easier to see in relation to others’ work or abilities. There needs to be some sort of quantifier of the evidence of learning in order to know how close or far a student is from hitting the goal of the lesson or the outcome in the curriculum.

What is the Relationship between Assessment, Classroom Environment, and Instructional Practices?

Assessment, classroom environment, and instructional practices are closely related because they are all centred around the student-teacher relationship. Assessment is linked to classroom environment in that it plays into the social structure of the classroom and imposes a nearly invisible social order that can dictate the manner in which the classroom functions. The type of assessment affects the way students respond to class work which can create deviations between students will different strengths, depending on the type of assessment. Further, assessment is almost one with the instructional practices of a teacher because there is an interdependence of both on the other. This mutual impact that assessment has on instructional practices and vice versa gives the teacher the ability to manipulate the classroom environment and its social order. As well, the classroom environment affects the instructional practices and the assessment being used in the classroom. The students affect the environment of the classroom as much if not more than the teacher does. This goes outside the fact that the teacher is outnumbered by the students. The students participate in an isolated society within the classroom which in some ways excludes the teacher because of the authority difference as well as a the generational difference. The interpersonal relationships between students can affect the instructional practices depending on whether the social interactions between students are positive or negative. An example would be the use of group work or partner work. If there is a student who is excluded from the collective group of the classroom, because of other students or themselves, there is potential for further exclusion is there is group work imposed as an assignment. This situation affects assessment as well due to the social aspect of a group project or partner work.

What is Important to Keep in Mind When Designing Assessment in the Classroom?

As touched upon above, there are multiple aspects of the classroom that are linked to assessment and as such, the teacher needs to be aware of what is going on socially in the classroom when designing assessment. Mainly the things that need to be kept in the mind of the teacher when creating assessment are consistency, transparency, and redeem-ability of assessment. An assessment should be consistent in that it has the same level of expectations of the students in relation to the demands on the students, not that there should be the same type of assessment over and over. Transparency in this context translates into the teachers openness about what is expected by the assessment. Giving students the tools for success in their assignments and learning gives them more agency in their learning. Along with transparency, the need for redeem-ability in assessment in order to give students the option and opportunity to redeem failures. This quality shows students that there isn’t just one shot at assignments and there are options.

Assessment in the classroom needs to be evidence of learning that accurately documents what was attempted to be taught in that lesson or that unit. The teacher needs to be aware of their own biases, their own experiences and understandings of what assessment means and how it can be done in the classroom.

“Education is not to be viewed as something like filling a vessel with water but, rather, assisting a flower to grow in its own way”

Bertrand Russell