There are various methods of assessment that teachers use to find out how well students are learning. Those which are accessible to all students in terms of language, are gender-sensitive, and which can really assess what students know and can do, and can provide straightforward feedback, are more likely to be supportive of further learning. Assessment tasks should be based on at least, the following criteria: They should be:

• Valid    Assessment should provide valid information on the actual ideas, processes, products and values which are expected of students.

• Educative    Assessment should make a positive contribution to students learning.

• Explicit    Assessment criteria should be explicit so that the basis for judgements is clear and public.

• Fair    Assessment should be demonstrably fair to all students and not discriminate on grounds that are irrelevant to the achievement of the outcomes.

• Comprehensive    Judgements on student progress should be based on multiple kinds and sources of evidence.

Developmental assessment is the process of monitoring a student’s progress through an area of learning so that decisions can be made about the best ways to support further learning.  Development assessment makes use of progress maps, pictures of the path that students typically follow as they learn. Progress is monitored in a manner similar to monitoring physical growth, estimates are made of a student’s location on a developmental continuum and changes in location provide measures of growth over time.  Progress maps are developed based on teachers’ experiences of how student development usually occurs in an area of learning. When teachers know where students are on a progress map they can plan learning activities for them. Students can also understand the skills they need to attain by reading levels higher than they are placed on a progress map.

Perhaps the most common form of assessment used in all schools is the one that presents students with a series of questions or prompts and uses their written responses as evidence of knowledge or attitudes. Questions can be multiple-choice, short answer, long answer, true-false, cloze items, essay questions, semantic differentials or self reflections. Answer formats can be cloze responses (where students are asked to fill in words left out of a text), concept maps, essays, matching items, Likert-style questionnaires, self reflections, short answer or written retellings. 

By: Lilian B. Ordiales | T-III | Limay National High School