Assessment and Evaluation

Assessment involves students performing real-world tasks that demonstrate application of the essential skills and knowledge they have been taught (Mueller, 2011). Assessment takes two forms, authentic and traditional. Authentic assessment is defined as assessment that drives the curriculum and is based on backward mapping (Mueller, 2011). Traditional assessment involves students recalling information in order to complete questions (Mueller, 2011). An effective teacher will adopt a combination of these two assessments to ensure that students have various methods of demonstrating their knowledge and are engaging in real life contexts. 

Assessment can be described as formative or summative; each assessment has its own use and is invaluable for the learner and the teacher. Formative assessment is completed before and during a new unit and is used to establish prior knowledge to track students’ progress throughout the unit to ensure they understand the critical inputs of the unit. Summative assessment is used to check for learning at the completion of a unit of work on a particular topic.

During my experience at schools I have worked with teachers to analyse data from testing such as NAPLAN, QCAT and in class testing. The analysis was done to inform future teaching practices and to track student progress over time. I have also established learning goals for students in accordance with the Art and Science of Teaching written in their language to ensure students know what is expected of them. Using learning goals to track student progress and then celebrate student success.

Evaluation involves carefully assessing a topic or event to determine its success. It is a critical part of teaching and should be performed by the teacher after every learning experience with students. This is done to ensure continual improvement. Teachers should evaluate the learning experience in terms of things that worked and things that did not work. Teachers should also look at students’ participation and reaction to various activities. This is important because teachers constantly need to be improving their methods and lessons to ensure students are always progressing in their learning and moving forward in align with the expectations of the 21^st century.