EXAMINATION ED2135 Question 2

EXAMINATION ED2135
Question 2

Explain the principles that are basic to assessing, measuring and evaluating student progress in an area of development in your main teaching area.

The central purpose of assessment is to provide information on student achievement and progress and set the direction for ongoing teaching and learning. DET

The principles of assessment for learning provide the criteria for judging the quality of assessment materials and practices. They appear below as they do in each of the syllabuses on the BOS website.

Assessment for learning:

* emphasises the interactions between learning and manageable assessment strategies that promote learning
* clearly expresses for the student and teacher the goals of the learning activity
* reflects a view of learning in which assessment helps students learn better, rather than just achieve a better mark
* provides ways for students to use feedback from assessment
* helps students take responsibility for their own learning
* is inclusive of all learners. BOS


Assessment occurs in the area of year 7-10 Visual Art as an integral part of learning and is fundermental to teaching, in keeping with the new Years 7-10 syllabuses advocating assessment for learning. We know that teacher instruction, feedback and assessment influence student learning and performance. This integrated approach helps students recognise the standards for which they are aiming (students are given explicit details of syllabus outcomes and the assessment processes to be used, including task weighting), they can set goals and improve their learning processes.
‘Assessment for learning gives students opportunities to produce work that leads to development of their knowledge, understanding and skills. Teachers decide how and when to assess student achievement, as they plan the work students will do, using a range of appropriate assessment strategies including self-assessment and peer assessment.’ -BOS
Feedback help teachers and students determine the next phase of learning, including whether further consolidation of key concepts need revision before advancing. ‘Feedback usually occurs though good teaching practice, mostly in an informal manner. Teachers should consider the effect that assessment and feedback have on student motivation and self-esteem, and the importance of the active involvement of students in their own learning’.-BOS

It is important to include a wide range of assessment stategies that are balanced, comprehensive and varied. Ideally this should engage the learner and may include performances assessment,
including everyday teaching and learning activities such as case studies, assignments, presentations. Our students create a ‘body of work’ BOW. This is essentially a portfolio of student work samples. The ‘BOW’ has a clear intent and purpose that is linked to the various syllabus outcomes. Individual checklists, including timelines and self-checklists facilitate Peer and Self Assessment strategies which contribute significantly to the learning process.The Visual Arts Process Diary, VAPD requires students to reflect on their learning and to document their art making processes. The VAPD is most effective when students are engaged in the learning process and have a clear understanding of the intended learning outcomes and how they will be assessed. Effective and informative reporting of student achievement takes a number of forms including traditional reporting, student portfolios, Basic Skills Tests, parent and student interviews, annotations on student work, comments in workbooks, certificates and awards.


As teachers progress through the programming process, it is important to reflect on previous steps and evaluate the degree to which the unit has remained focused on the outcomes. After the unit has been implemented, it is also necessary to evaluate the degree to which students have progressed as a result of the experiences and what should be done next to assist them in their learning. BOS

Student achievement progress can be reported by comparing:

* the students' work against a standards framework of syllabus outcomes
* the students' prior and current learning achievements
* the students' achievements with those of other students.

Reporting can involve a combination of these methods.

In recent years teachers in New South Wales government schools, as part of a curriculum shift to an outcomes-approach to teaching and learning, have embraced a wide platform of assessment and reporting practices. As part of the move to an outcomes-approach, schools will need to review aspects of their current assessment and reporting policies and align them with a standards framework. The norm-referenced assessment practices used in schools will need to be reconsidered and integrated with an outcomes-approach to assessment. Parents and industry have recognised that schools need to do more than merely rank students from the highest to the lowest achievers. Classroom assessment and reporting practice is a key element in an outcomes-approach to the curriculum. Schools are being asked to assess and report on what students actually understand, know and can do.

An outcomes-approach that clearly defines expected learning provides a much stronger focus for higher quality curriculum, assessment and reporting processes than we have ever had before. An outcomes-approach to assessment will provide information about student achievement to enable reporting against a standards framework. A Standards Framework involves staged syllabus outcomes against which student achievement and progress can be compared.
The assessment strategies employed by the teacher in the classroom need to be directly linked to and reflect the syllabus outcomes. Syllabus outcomes in stages will describe the standard against which student achievement is assessed and reported.-DET

References:
Principles for Assessment and Reporting in NSW Government Schools, http://www.schools.nsw.edu.au/learning/k-6assessments/principles.php
Board of Studies website,
http://www.schools.nsw.edu.au/learning/k-6assessments/principles.php