How and when to assess outcomes-based education
1. Why assess
There are different purposes for assessing:
to identify the needs of learners
to plan learning/decide where to start
to track learner progress
to diagnose problems
to help learners to improve their work
to adjust focus and pace
to provide evidence of learners’ level of achievement
to judge the effectiveness of the learning programme/s
to assess your own teaching
2. What to assess
Identify the small, context-specific outcomes you want your learners to achieve.
Assess learners’ performance against these out comes, using agreed criteria.
Consider what evidence of achievement you will look for in terms of these outcomes and agreed criteria.
Consider why you need the assessment — what progress or additional skills are being assessed?
3. When to assess
Since learners learn at different rates and in different ways, they shouldn’t necessarily be assessed at the same time and in the same way. Assess:
on an ongoing basis, both formally and informally
when you think learners are ready to show progress
when you want to know whether or not a learner is making progress (diagnostic assessment)
when you notice something significant
at the end of a learning experience when you need a formal record
4. Who assesses
Teachers, alone or in teams.
Colleagues or district officials, who moderate assessments from time to time.
Learners assess themselves.
Learners assess each other.
Parents can assist in assessing their children.
Therapists like psychologists, occupational therapists and speech therapists.
5. How to assess
Use appropriate methods of assessment like teacher assessing individual learner’s oral and written work, peer assessment, self-assessment, performance assessment, group assessment and portfolio assessment — the assessment should fit the purpose.
Use different contexts: individuals, pairs and groups.
Use a method which allows the learner to demonstrate his/her best performance.
Use a range of demonstrations of achievement like oral question and answer, drawings and maps, posters, paragraphs and essays, designing and making products, surveys and research reports, panel discussions, role-plays, poems, songs, tests and examinations.
Assess the process as well as the product.
6. How to record and report
Methods of recording and reporting will vary but should be sound and meticulous. Records should be:
reliable indications of learners’ strengths and weaknesses
comprehensive enough to demonstrate learner progress
ongoing and continuous
Reporting should:
describe the learning that has taken place
outline learners’ strengths and weaknesses for parents and subsequent teachers
make teachers more accountable to learners, parents and the wider community
— The Teacher/Mail & Guardian, September 27, 2000.
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