scholarly journals Juxtaposing the Primary School Assessment Concepts and Practices in Singapore and Malaysia

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (3.21) ◽  
pp. 552
Author(s):  
Mazidah Mohamed ◽  
Mohd Sallehhudin Abd Aziz
Keyword(s):  
Formative Assessment ◽  
Classroom Assessment ◽  
Assessment For Learning ◽  
Assessment System ◽  
Educational Systems ◽  
Medium Of Instruction ◽  
Assessment Practices ◽  
School Based ◽  
History Of ◽  
Standardized Exams

The assessment practices in schools have moved from the traditional way of assessing students, which is too exam oriented and relies heavily on standardized exams, towards a more holistic assessment which involves the integration of Central Assessment and School-based Assessment. This paper aims to review the relevant studies on Central Assessment, School-Based Assessment, Formative Assessment (FA) and Assessment for Learning (AfL) in Singapore and Malaysia. It begins with a brief history of assessment in Malaysia and Singapore. Then, it critically reviews the concepts of Formative Assessment and Assessment for Learning as practiced in both countries. From the review, some differences and challenges between the two educational systems particularly with regard to the implementation of classroom assessment are identified. These differences include the medium of instruction, the assessment system and the average class size. Despite the challenges, School-based Assessment, Formative Assessment and Assessment for Learning should be duly implemented regardless of the increased workload and the level of the teachers’ skills in assessment. It is found that these factors do not adversely affect the practices of Formative Assessment and Assessment for Learning by the teachers.  

Classroom Assessment to Support Teaching and Learning

2019 ◽  
Vol 683 (1) ◽  
pp. 183-200 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lorrie A. Shepard
Keyword(s):  
Formative Assessment ◽  
Standardized Tests ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Classroom Assessment ◽  
Assessment Practices ◽  
Learning Support ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Grand Theory ◽  
Fine Grained ◽  
Proposed Model

Classroom assessment includes both formative assessment, used to adapt instruction and help students to improve, and summative assessment, used to assign grades. These two forms of assessment must be coherently linked through a well-articulated model of learning. Sociocultural theory is an encompassing grand theory that integrates motivation and cognitive development, and it enables the design of equitable learning environments. Learning progressions are examples of fine-grained models of learning, representing goals, intermediate stages, and instructional means for reaching those goals. A model for creating a productive classroom learning culture is proposed. Rather than seeking coherence with standardized tests, which undermines the learning orientation of formative assessment, I propose seeking coherence with ambitious teaching practices. The proposed model also offers ways to minimize the negative effects of grading on learning. Support for teachers to learn these new assessment practices is most likely to be successful in the context of professional development for new curriculum and standards.

scholarly journals Principals’ views on the implementation of grade-free middle schools in Norway: justifications, challenges and opportunities

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 21-38
Author(s):  
Astrid Gillespie ◽  
Tony Burner
Keyword(s):  
Middle Schools ◽  
Student Involvement ◽  
Assessment For Learning ◽  
Assessment System ◽  
Assessment Practices ◽  
National Assessment ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Current Assessment ◽  
Depth Interviews

This article reports on four principals’ views on the implementation of so-called grade-free middle schools, i.e. schools that drop all grades on students’ performances except the two required by the national assessment regulation, as part of their work with Assessment for Learning (AfL). More specifically, we were interested in the under-researched area of how principals justify introducing and implementing grade-free schools, and what their experiences are regarding challenges and opportunities that have arisen during and as a result of the implementation. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were used to collect data. Findings suggest that principals rely on research and unsatisfying assessment practices when justifying a change to grade-free schools. However, they do not find the involvement of students, nor the information directed at parents about the implementation, to be sufficient. They also mention challenges related to the current assessment system, which they believe underpin a behavioristic understanding of learning. The article calls for more research on trust among various stakeholders and student involvement when implementing grade-free schools.

scholarly journals REFORM IN ASSESSMENT: TEACHERS’ BELIEFS AND PRACTICES

2019 ◽  
pp. 501
Author(s):  
Juliana Othman
Keyword(s):  
Classroom Practice ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Pearson Correlation ◽  
Assessment System ◽  
Assessment Practices ◽  
Beliefs And Practices ◽  
School Based ◽  
Teachers Beliefs ◽  
Pearson Correlation Analysis ◽  
The Relationship

Research has demonstrated that teachers’ beliefs on teaching and learning plays a part on the way they teach and assess learning. A new assessment system for schools was implemented in 2011 to set the stage for change of the Malaysian education system from centralised examination to a combination of centralised examination and school-based assessment. There is a growing concern with implementation issues pertaining to how teachers will transform their assessment practices in their school contexts. Thus, this study sought to gain insights into teachers’ beliefs about school based assessment, and examine the relationship between their beliefs and classroom practice. A survey measuring teachers’ beliefs and practices of school based assessment was administered to 174 teachers who are currently educating in Malaysian government funded schools. Findings from this study demonstrated that teachers appear to have good knowledge of assessment principles about School Based Assessment (SBA). They conducted their assessment using appropriate procedures by considering the context of teaching and assessment in which they operate. The result of Pearson correlation analysis revealed a positive relationship between teachers’ beliefs about SBA and their classroom practices.

scholarly journals ¿Por qué hago evaluación formativa y compartida y/o evaluación para el aprendizaje en EF? La influencia de la formación inicial y permanente del profesorado (Why do I do Formative and Share Assessment and/or Assessment For Learning in Physical Education?)

Retos ◽  
2018 ◽  
pp. 37-43
Author(s):  
Emilio Barrientos Hernán ◽  
Víctor Manuel López Pastor ◽  
Dario Pérez-Brunicardi
Keyword(s):  
Physical Education ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Assessment For Learning ◽  
Assessment System ◽  
Assessment Practices ◽  
Educational Beliefs ◽  
Assessment Systems ◽  
El Sistema ◽  
Current Assessment ◽  
Depth Interviews

La finalidad de este artículo es analizar si una muestra intencionada de profesores y maestros de educación física (EF) utilizan sistemas de evaluación formativa y compartida (EFyC) y/o de evaluación para el aprendizaje (EPA) en sus clases y la influencia que ha podido tener su formación inicial y permanente (FIP y FPP) en el sistema de evaluación que realizan actualmente. Se llevan a cabo entrevistas en profundidad a una muestra de 3 maestros de Primaria y 1 profesor de Secundaria, seleccionados en base a tres criterios. Los resultados señalan que la aplicación de sistemas de EFyC y/o EPA mejora la implicación y participación del alumnado en su propio aprendizaje y favorecen la regulación del proceso de enseñanza y aprendizaje; los alumnos se toman más en serio el área de EF y los maestros organizan mejor el proceso de enseñanza. Por otro lado, la FIP y FPP parecen ayudar a ir modificando las prácticas evaluativas del profesorado que busca un sistema de evaluación más coherente con sus creencias educativas, valorando especialmente la participación en actividades de FPP que les aporten experiencias útiles y aplicables en su práctica. Abstract. The study main goal is to analyze if an intentional sample of Physical Education (PE) teachers use Formative and Share Assessment (F&SA) and/or Assessment For Learning (AFL) in their lessons and, and if they have been influenced by their Teacher Education (TE) to carry out their current assessment systems. In-depth interviews were conducted with four PE teachers: three from Primary Education and one from Secondary Education, the four having been selected through three criteria. On one hand, the application of F&SA and/or AFL improves students’ involvement and participation in their own learning and regulate the teaching and learning processes; students give PE subject more importance and teachers organize the teaching process better. On the other hand, the TE seems to modify the assessment practices of the teachers. They look for an assessment system more coherent with their educational beliefs, assessing in a very positive way, the participation in in-service TE that provides them with useful and applicable experiences to their practice.

What Do Primary Teachers Take Away From Mathematics Professional Development?

2019 ◽  
pp. 340-362
Author(s):  
Christie Martin ◽  
Drew Polly ◽  
Chuang Wang ◽  
Richard G. Lambert ◽  
David Pugalee
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Formative Assessment ◽  
Mathematics Teaching ◽  
Mathematics Learning ◽  
Primary Teachers ◽  
Development Project ◽  
Assessment System ◽  
Assessment Practices ◽  
High Fidelity ◽  
Purposeful Sampling

This chapter shares the findings from a year-long professional development (PD) experience, Assessment Practices to Support Mathematics Learning and Understanding for Students (APLUS). The project provided over 80 hours of professional development to primary teachers regarding their use of an internet-based formative assessment system for their students' mathematics achievement. This inductive study used purposeful sampling to explicitly compare data for high fidelity and low fidelity teacher-participants in the professional development project. High fidelity teachers expressed beliefs that formative assessment supported their mathematics teaching, improved their students' learning, and was feasible to carry out in their classrooms. Low fidelity teachers conveyed challenges that prevented them from engaging in the program as intended. Implications for future online professional development designs are to create more activities that foster deeper analysis and reflection, identify high fidelity teachers that could serve as mentors, and provide support for low fidelity teachers.

scholarly journals Exploring Formative Assessment and Co-Regulation in Kindergarten Through Interviews and Direct Observation

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather Braund ◽  
Christopher DeLuca ◽  
Ernesto Panadero ◽  
Liying Cheng
Keyword(s):  
Formative Assessment ◽  
Phenomenological Study ◽  
Classroom Assessment ◽  
Peer Assessment ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Student Thinking ◽  
Assessment Practices ◽  
Student Agency ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
The Relationship

Formative assessment practices have been theoretically connected to the development of self-regulation with mounting empirical evidence. Co-regulation is the process whereby a more capable individual (e.g., teacher or peer) attunes the behaviours, emotions, or cognitive processes of an individual (a student) to align with goals or expectations and is being recognized as a strategy for developing self-regulation. Formative assessment practices may facilitate co-regulation, however, much of the literature has focused on older student populations. This phenomenological study explored the relationship between formative assessment and co-regulation in eight Kindergarten classrooms. Eight Kindergarten teachers and four Early Childhood Educators (ECE) completed semi-structured interviews in 2019 during two time periods with each participant completing two interviews. To supplement the interviews, 56 h of classroom observations were completed in each classroom, totaling 448 h of observations across eight classrooms. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Qualitative data were analyzed thematically. Four themes emerged: 1) Authentic assessment and self-regulation practices, 2) Feedback as foundational, 3) Formative assessment and co-regulation have shared purposes, and 4) Connections between classroom assessment and co-regulation. Participants described their classroom assessment and self-regulation practices as authentic and natural for students while also providing examples of their interactions with students as a form of co-regulation. Feedback was articulated as foundational to both classroom assessment and co-regulation. Participants illustrated examples of feedback from peers (including through modified peer-assessment). Shared purposes between formative assessment and co-regulation placed students at the centre of the learning process, encouraging agentic behaviours, and scaffolding student thinking. The final theme underlined the need to broaden conceptualizations of assessment in Kindergarten. Findings suggested student agency as the bridge between classroom assessment and co-regulation, and a bidirectional, mutually supportive, relationship between formative assessment and co-regulation.

scholarly journals Assessment - A Powerful Lever for Learning

2007 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lorna Earl
Keyword(s):  
Classroom Assessment ◽  
Assessment Practices ◽  
Policy Practice ◽  
New Findings ◽  
History Of ◽  
Changing Role

Classroom assessment practices have been part of schooling for hundreds of years. There are, however, new findings about the nature of learning and about the roles that assessment can play in enhancing learning for all students. This essay provides a brief history of the changing role of assessment in schooling, describes three different purposes for assessment and foreshadows some implications that shifting to a more differentiated view of assessment can have for policy, practice and research.

Accountability of Assessment Administration

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arsaythamby Veloo ◽  
Ruzlan Md-Ali ◽  
Rozalina Khalid
Keyword(s):  
Student Performance ◽  
Classroom Environment ◽  
Professional Education ◽  
Standardized Test ◽  
Assessment System ◽  
Assessment Process ◽  
Assessment Practices ◽  
Validity And Reliability ◽  
Integrity Assessment ◽  
School Based

Changes in the education system will invariably alter the modes of assessment and practices moving forward. This will demand high expectations among stakeholders who are directly involved with the accountability of assessment administration. Presently, professional education organizations have codes of conduct, principles and standards for administration assessment that outline certain responsibilities to ensure that the inherent accountability of the assessment administration system is maintained and continually improved. Accordingly, it is important that assessment administration practices are aligned with the institution’s assessment policies. Similarly, assessment administrators should collaborate with institutions to develop and unify assessment standards and practices and to pay particular attention to the accountability of assessment administration, which includes maintaining assessment security and integrity. Assessment practices are expected to be fair, equitable, and unbiased when measuring students’ performance, which is heavily reliant on the accountability of assessment administration. Assessment practices previously have been focused more on the cognitive aspects involved in paper and pencil tests based on a standardized test. Thus, not many issues concerning assessment administration have been discussed. However, there is a need to accommodate and modify assessment administration according to the needs of current assessment modes and practices, where most countries have now adopted school-based assessment. The accountability of teachers towards the student’s assessment becomes even more important within the school-based assessment system. Hence, the teachers are accountable for students’ performance in the classroom environment rests with teachers. Therefore, to overcome and address many of the challenges associated with administration assessment as we move towards the future; close attention must be paid to the accountability of how the process around the administration of assessments is administered. Assessment administrators are accountable and expected to display honesty, integrity, due care, validity, and reliability, and to ensure that fairness is observed and maintained during assessment. The assessment process can impact the teacher’s orchestration and design of assessment administration practices and in addressing the issues of fairness in the eyes of stakeholders when determining student performance. Assessment administration involves processes that need to be well planned, implemented, and continuously monitored. Likewise, there are standardized, documented rules and procedures that assessment administrators need to follow to ensure that accountability is maintained.

scholarly journals Analysing EMI assessment in higher education

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (33) ◽  
pp. e15475
Author(s):  
Ana Otto ◽  
José Luis Estrada Chichón
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Formative Assessment ◽  
Mixed Methods Research ◽  
Summative Assessment ◽  
Private University ◽  
Assessment Tools ◽  
Medium Of Instruction ◽  
Assessment Practices ◽  
Research Article

This research article reveals current English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI) lecturers’ assessment practices in a medium-sized (i.e., 12,000 students) private university in Madrid, Spain. The investigation aims to analyse how EMI assessment is conducted; what are the most popular assessment tools that EMI lecturers use; and the role that English as a foreign language plays in EMI teaching. Moreover, this is a mixed-methods research investigation in which data were obtained throughout two tools: One questionnaire (Otto, 218) and two focus groups. All in all, the study clearly verifies that EMI lecturers are not trained enough in terms of EMI teaching in general, and assessment in particular. There are no significant differences between EMI and non-EMI assessment tools, apart from the fact that summative assessment mainly prevails over formative assessment. Final recommendations are provided regarding accurate EMI assessment practices after empirical evidence was gathered.

School-Based Speech-Language Pathologists' Adherence to Practice Guidelines for Assessment of English Learners

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Virginia L. Dubasik ◽  
Dubravka Svetina Valdivia
Keyword(s):  
Professional Practice ◽  
Practice Guidelines ◽  
Case History ◽  
English Learners ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Dynamic Assessment ◽  
Federal Legislation ◽  
Assessment Practices ◽  
Speech Language Pathologists ◽  
School Based

Purpose The purpose of this study was to ascertain the extent to which school-based speech-language pathologists' (SLPs) assessment practices with individual English learners (ELs) align with federal legislation and professional practice guidelines. Specifically, we were interested in examining SLPs' use of multiple tools during individual EL assessments, as well as relationships between practices and number of types of training experiences. Method School-based SLPs in a Midwestern state were recruited in person or via e-mail to complete an online survey pertaining to assessment. Of the 562 respondents who completed the survey, 222 (39.5%) indicated past or present experience with ELs, and thus, their data were included in the analyses. The questionnaire solicited information about respondent's demographics, caseload composition, perceived knowledge and skills and training experiences pertaining to working with ELs (e.g., graduate school, self-teaching, professional conferences), and assessment practices used in schools. Results The majority of respondents reported using multiple tools rather than a single tool with each EL they assess. Case history and observation were tools used often or always by the largest number of participants. SLPs who used multiple tools reported using both direct (e.g., standardized tests, dynamic assessment) and indirect tools (e.g., case history, interviews). Analyses revealed low to moderate positive associations between tools, as well as the use of speech-language samples and number of types of training experiences. Conclusions School-based SLPs in the current study reported using EL assessment practices that comply with federal legislation and professional practice guidelines for EL assessment. These results enhance our understanding of school-based SLPs' assessment practices with ELs and may be indicative of a positive shift toward evidence-based practice.

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