Who would like to be graded all the time? What’s worse, who would like to observe others’ works and give grades then be judged for the grades you give? I think nobody likes this side of the Assessment.
I, for one, used to have no value for assessments because they have made my student life very difficult, pressured, and stressful. I grew up as a grade-conscious student. I hated low scores, and not being part of the top five in a class made me feel unvalued and insufficient.
So when I became a primary school teacher in Cambodia, I did not put so much effort and value in assessments. I gathered evidences of learning my own way. I graded the students my own way, too! And, translated these grades in accordance to the school format. But, I can say that those assessments and grades lacked validity and reliability.
The light that the Methods of Assessment principles have brought to my teaching life has been immense.
First, now I value the elements in assessment design: alignment, rigor, bias, precision, and scoring. Such are needed to ensure assessment validity and reliability.
Second, I am more aware of the difference between traditional and non-traditional assessments. Both are important because not all learners have the same learning styles; therefore, not all learners have the same assessment capabilities.
Third, a needs assessment is important if we would want to know the current level of knowledge that our learners have in accordance to the learning objectives of a specific lesson. Without needs assessment, teachers will just have to guess what to teach and how to teach these lessons. This is inefficient and insufficient.
Finally, creating a Table of Specifications and Rubrics in assessments are significant parts of creating assessment activities. These are tools for the teacher to become more organized in each lesson activity when gathering sufficient evidence of learning and to become clearer when describing the grading criteria, the instructions, and the learning objectives of each task given to students.
Overall, who would like to assess others and be assessed by others all the time as if you have to fit a certain standard? I think only teachers who can see the light of Methods of Assessment would like to deal with assessments anytime. I, for one, has been added to this list of teachers who now understand the value of assessments and their principles.
Better Teachers 