Introduction
Assessment is the process of gathering and interpreting evidence to make informed judgments about students learning. It is the crucial link between learning outcomes, content, teaching and learning activities. Assessment allows teachers to determine what stage students are in at their learning, where they need to go, and the best way in which to get there. Assessment can be both a formative and summative process, formative assessment is used to provide feedback to both the students and the teacher to promote further learning, whereas summative assessment contributes to the judgment of student learning for reporting and accreditation purposes. When used …show more content…
The features of formative assessment, or assessment for learning (AFL) can be directly linked to the Guiding Principles of Assessment of the WA School Curriculum and Standards …show more content…
It is used at the beginning and middle of an instructional period to judge student understanding. Diagnostic tools determine what students already know and where there are gaps or misconceptions. Its incorporates the notion of independent learning by students monitoring and reflecting on their progress, this not only helps the students but also provides teachers with crucial information regarding the way in which to enrich learning and make decisions to provide grounds for feedback and improvement. (Teachers Guide to Assessment, 2011) Progressively, students should create learning goals and intrinsically desire to reach them. There are five key strategies that formative assessment encompasses; (a)clarifying, sharing and understanding learning intentions and success criteria, (b) engineering effective classroom activities, (c) tasks and discussions that elicit evidence of learning, providing feedback that moves learners forward,(d) activating learners as instructional resources for one another and (e) activating learners as the owners of their own learning (Teachers Guide to Assessments, 2011). These strategies can be achieved through the implementation of techniques such as peer evaluations, rubrics, self-evaluation and anecdotal records to name a