Assessing and Evaluating for Learning/Process, principles and practice module

In the last module you were asked to explore key values of assessment.

Assessment must be: and
 * valid
 * reliable
 * practicable
 * fair
 * transparent
 * relevant

Has this been your experience of assessment?

Policy
In situations where formal assessment is undertaken and results are recorded in adult education especially where this occurs within institutions or organisations then there is likely to be policy to support that process.

Principles
There are two main functions of assessment - Formal and Informal assessment Formal assessment – assessment that is given a mark or grade contributing to a final recorded result

Informal assessment – unmarked assessment that provides feedback to support student learning


 * (Heather Day, personal definition - 2006)

These functions are also commonly defined as Formative and Summative assessment

"Formative assessment - Assessments undertaken during the learning and teaching process to provide feedback to both learner and assessor on progress made." “Summative assessment - Assessment which measures a level of performance and is used in determining final outcome/result.”


 * (Otago Polytechnic Academic Policy: Assessment, AP900.03, 2007, pp 5-6)

Often the above definitions are paired together.

Formal with Summative and  Informal with Formative. This generally works although the exception is Formative assessment is often used with a dual purpose and a summative mark is given alongside the provision of feedback to support student learning. This often occurs in response to students valuing marked work more highly than unmarked work.

This links well to the fundamentals of effective assessment which provide insight into 12 valuable principles of assessment; from the Centre for the Study of Higher Education at Melbourne University.

The first principle is: Assessment should help students to learn. in which they identify that formative assessment is crucial to effective learning.

Process
Key features of the assessment process include:
 * careful design of assessment tools
 * appropriate delivery of assessment
 * clear and constructive feedback
 * fair marking

These aspects of the process will be be explored in relation to a variety of assessment tools and methods throughout this course.

Another key aspect of the assessment process is moderation.

Moderation
The intent of moderation is to "verify that assessment design and assessor judgements
 * are valid, fair, consistent and reliable,
 * meet approved learning outcomes, and
 * are appropriate to the learning environment."
 * (Otago Polytechnic Academic Policy: Moderation of Assessment, AP908.00, 2007, p 1.)

Pre-Assessment Moderation
Pre-assessment moderation occurs after the assessment has been designed but before it is given to students. This can be likened to an editing process before publication.

Post-Assessment Moderation
Post-assessment moderation occurs after the assessment has been marked but before it is returned to students.

Cultural Diversity and Assessment
Key values of assessment include fairness and relevance. When exploring these values it is also important to consider learners needs and cultural diversity.

Culture can be defined as...

culture (WAY OF LIFE) noun [C or U] the way of life, especially the general customs and beliefs, of a particular group of people at a particular time:
 * youth/working-class culture
 * She's studying modern Japanese language and culture.


 * (from Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary)

Using the above definition, consideration of cultural diversity can encompass a very broad range of possibilities.

The following link to Cultural Diversity Resources will take you to a page that will continue to develop with a range of resources. Hopefully you will find something among them that has relevance to your own context.