"Children are like wet cement, whatever falls on them makes a lasting impression."


 This is such a true statement. I would like to thank all of my classmates for bringing and sharing such inspiring and useful information. This has been such a beautiful journey with each of you.

Week 6

Testing

Assessment is an important part of learning and teaching and helps provide useful information to children, teachers and you. Assessment is generally carried out for two main purposes, to measure pupils’ attainment and report evidence of learning in different learning areas and to support pupils’ learning and classroom teaching.

 

At Primary 1 and 2, children are just beginning school; a key focus would be on building his/her confidence and desire to learn. Thus, assessment will focus on providing rich information on the learning progress of the child. Quantitative feedback in the form of grades and marks, and qualitative feedback in the form of teacher comments will help children learn about his/her strengths, weaknesses and steps he/she could take to improve in his/her learning. As parents, this feedback can also help you support the child’s learning and growth.

 

As schools adopt more Holistic Assessment practices, the child’s development will be supported by a range of appropriate assessment modes for different purposes. At Primary One, single-point assessments such as semestral examinations will be de-emphasized to ensure a smoother transition from pre-school to primary school. Bite-size forms of assessment such as topical tests, short writing, reading and performance tasks will be used to provide the child with more opportunities to experience success and build his/her confidence and desire to learn. Teachers will also use a range of assessment strategies such as questioning, giving of feedback, and peer- and self-assessment to support the child’s learning.

 

Standardized testing in children between the ages of 10 to 19 is described in four European countries: England, West Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden. In the decentralized English system several published standardized test are available. These tests are used for special needs assessments. They are used in the educational setting for grade objective testing. In West Germany education is the responsibility of the states, rather than the national government. These standardized tests are not used on a population-wide basis.  These tests are restricted to counseling centers and other specialist schools. There is rarely achievement or intelligent test used in the schools. The Netherlands created a national curriculum development center in 1975 and has created national examinations, although they are not widely used. Achievement tests are used by teachers only, and intelligence test use is similar to that in West Germany. In Sweden, national standardized tests based on objective techniques are used above the primary levels.