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 Netherlands West Germany Sweden
In my opinion assessments will give kids a general idea about their weakness and strengths. It will also let the parents know that their kids know. I don't think assessments should be given to kids who are entering school for the first time. Kids learn differently. Kids need to learn at their own pace.
ReplyDeleteI do believe assessments are helpful for students and parents. It is just how they are assessed that bothers me. I like the ideas of holistic assessments including peer assessment. I think students see things in each other that a teacher may never see or appreciate.
ReplyDeleteI think the difference is assessment and test... When I think of test, I think of a measure of the knowledge obtained and retained that can be expressed at that moment, those who struggle with test fright or have other challenges do not do well with test. Test are also often timed, making it very stressful which makes it difficult to recall information for some. Assessment in a natural setting, done over time provide a truer picture of the "whole child".
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