BIOLOGY CLASSES : February 2024

Learning Objectives

Students can be able to understand different types of Assessments and their importance in education

Introduction

Assessment for Learning is a student-centered approach to assessment that focuses on providing students with feedback to improve their learning. It is an integral part of the teaching-learning process, and it can be used at all stages of learning, from planning and instruction to formative and summative assessment.

Types of Assessments

Practice Based Assessment
Evidence Based Assessment
Performance Based Assessment
Examination Based Assessment
Ipsative Assessment
Synoptic Assessment
Dynamic Assessment
Diagnostic Assessment
Prognostic Assessment

1.Practice Based Assessment.

It is evaluating how far students apply efficiently the knowledge and skills they have learned in the true professional setting.The important feature or basis of practice based assessment is providing for practice with feedback, so as to improve the learning achievement. It focuses on communication and interpersonal skills, decision making, leadership management and team working. Providing opportunity for students to improve their learning through practice with feedback, and then assessing the best for performance expressed is the correct approach in assessment. Apart from assessing students knowledge and skills, the attitude towards rectifying mistakes based on feedback, striving for improvement through persistent efforts are also encouraged. The apparent truth is any learner could be made to achieve his or her learning goal; more intelligent students may require less practice, While those with less intelligence need more amount of practice.

Examples:

Teacher Education,
Nurse training,
Medical education, etc.

2.Evidence Based Assessment

Evaluating student achievement of expected learning outcomes is referred towards Evidence based achievement. It involves determining the Expected Learning Outcomes (ELOs) of teaching a content area of a subject. Then arranging the teaching- learning process based on the ELOs selected. Gathering evidences for the realization of ELOs during teaching and assessing them. Based on the assessment of evidences gathered, during the teaching- learning process, the teacher can incorporate necessary changes in it. Gathering formative evidences can be made through different ways, like interaction with students, observing how students carry out their tasks, activities like participation in class discussions, oral test, quiz, practical works illustrated, charts, diagrams. models prepared, etc. This kind of assessment of student learning is essentially formative assessment briefly stating evidence based assessment is not assessing students learning achievement at end of teaching learning; it involves assessing student learning during the period of instruction. The learning evidences created by a student in an academic year may turn to be his or her learning portfolio of each student.

Example:

oral test,
quiz,
practical works illustrated,
charts,
diagrams,
models Prepared…(formative assessments)

3.Performance Based Assessment.

Performance assessment is a dynamic process calling for students to be active participants, who are learning while they are being assessed. The purpose of assessment is to find out what each student is able to do with knowledge, in context. It is defined as evaluating student’s ability to apply the skills and knowledge learned from a unit of study to complete a given task. The task challenges students to use their higher order thinking skills to create a product or complete the process. In performance based assessment tasks can range from a simple constructed response to complex design proposal.

Example:

Analysis of essay,
laboratory investigation,
completing a research paper,
Skits, role play……

4.Examination Based Assessment.

The tests that assess the subject knowledge and skills acquired by the students at the end of the instructional period is known as ‘Examination’. The one who is subjected to the tests called ‘Examinee’. It is an assessment, intended to measure a test takers knowledge, skill, attitude, etc.

Guidelines to improve examination.

Assessment should reflect the curriculum. Though it is not possible to assess everything in a curriculum, the areas that are assessed should be the ones that are considered important. Test items that find place in an examination, besides measuring student’s ability to recall and recognize the information learned, should also attempt to measure high order learning outcomes like ‘application’, ‘analysis’, ‘synthesis’, etc. Examination should assess student’s ability to apply their knowledge, not only in academic context but also the real life situation outside the school. The content and form of items found in examination should be free from gender, ethnic group and location biases. Care should be taken to see the question paper for examination contains different types of test items.

60% of examination items should be of average difficulty level,
20% of items should be Easy and
20% of items be ‘very difficult’.

As a blueprint is prepared before developing an examination question paper; preparing the ‘scoring scheme’ for question paper is also equally important. It is essential to ensure the ‘content validity’ of the question paper to be used in examination.

Example:

written test,
screen test
practical test.

5.Ipsative Assessment

It measures the performance of the student in comparison to his previous performance. Also, it helps in keeping in check how well they are undertaking their tasks. Ipsative connect with efforts to enhance motivation to learn. It can be used in physical education classes to measure fitness progress over the school year.

For example, an ipsative assessment might include recording how many pushups a student can achieve in one minute. The assessment can be repeated at the end of the year to compare progress against their previous performance or record.

6.Synoptic Assessment

It gives confidence students to unite elements of their learning from different parts of a plan and to show their build up knowledge and thoughtful of a topic or subject area. It basically enables students to show their talents and skills. And it shows how in-depth knowledge they have about the subject. Basically, it helps in measuring the capacity to apply knowledge to understand the subject.

Other benefits

Helps students to view the programme as a cohesive learning experience
Helps staff to think more holistically about their teaching
Promotes staff collaboration
Can promote the consideration of real world problems
Can reduce the student’s assessment burden by combining several individual assessment activities alternatively
Where the assessment has more than one part feedback on one part might inform the student’s approach to another
Ultimately, the students should develop a broader view of each topic included in the assessment.

7.Dynamic Assessment

It measures what students can achieve when teaches about unfamiliar topic or field. An example can be teaching students Spanish for a short while. It helps to see how students who do not have any prior knowledge adopt it. It can be helpful to review the potential for students who have a mainly underprivileged backdrop. Frequently it is used in advance of the main body of teaching.

Advantages of dynamic assessment

Dynamic assessment has many advantages, such as testing for potential or possible learning disabilities and observing a student who is not improving after instruction, which allows for intervention.
Dynamic assessment also is beneficial in how teachers may be able to predict a student’s response to intervention and if that aids the student in their ability to retain and/or learn new information.
Dynamic assessment also allows for teachers to assess students over time, which can help them locate what lessons best meet the needs of students, what lessons are not beneficial to students, and how to test students in a way that is not overly simple or overly challenging.

8.Diagnostic Assessment:

Diagnostic assessment can help you identify your student’s current knowledge of a subject, their skill sets and capabilities, and to clarify misconceptions before teaching takes place. Knowing student’s strengths and weaknesses can help you better plan what to teach and how to teach it.

Purpose of diagnostic assessment

Educators may facilitate diagnostic assessments to gauge proficiency or comprehension levels before beginning a new learning unit. The purpose of diagnostic assessments is to help identify learning gaps and provide insights into comprehension that can be addressed in future instruction. Diagnostic assessments are designed to measure students’ strengths, weaknesses, knowledge levels and skill sets.

common diagnostic assessment tools

There are several methods and tools for diagnostic assessment design. Likert-scale surveys are among the most common tools, where students are asked to choose a ranking from ‘strongly disagree’ to ‘strongly agree’ when reviewing course facts.
A more visual diagnostic assessment tool involves concept mapping. Students draw a visual diagram of a concept or piece of information and are asked to form connections between different components of the topic at hand.
Discussion boards are a third diagnostic tool. You might ask students to reflect on the questions they have related to an upcoming topic and ask them to reply to a peer’s discussion thread.

Diagnostic assessment examples

The tools and methods used to build diagnostic assessments will likely remain the same no matter your discipline. However, the subject matter you evaluate students on will vary. Here are some sample diagnostic assessments across various fields. Psychology: Students are asked to visually illustrate the order in which Jean Piaget’s stages of cognitive development take place. English: Students are asked to complete a survey examining which of Shakespeare’s texts they have read before and which themes apply to each play. Chemistry: Students review and complete a checklist of all the necessary steps they must take before completing a chemical experiment in the lab. Economics: Students are given an entry slip to complete upon arriving to class that is used to gauge their understanding of how supply and demand trends have impacted one area of their lives during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Types of Diagnostic Assessments:

Pre-tests (on content and abilities)
Self-assessments (identifying skills and competencies)
Discussion board responses (on content-specific prompts)
Interviews (brief, private, 10-minute interview of each student)

9.Prognostic Assessment.

A prognostic assessment expands the findings of an assessment with analysis of abilities and potentials with a further dimension: the future development of the concerned person, as well as the necessary conditions, timeframe and limits. Finding the right person for an executive position needs a reliable comprehension of the personality as well as the possibilities and limits concerning the personal development. Even an experienced and keen observer of human nature may get deluded, even recognized and proven test procedures may be incomplete or leading to wrong results and misjudgments can become expensive in substantial and immaterial ways.

The prognostic assessment is suitable for all management levels including executive board and administrative but likewise for young people with the aim of a comprehensive potential analysis. Typically, the prognostic assessment is accomplished as an individual one day-assessment. The objectives are defined individually.