Principles And Theories Involved In The Practice Of Assessment

Question 1
There are many principles and theories involved in the practice of assessment. Many of these concepts can be used as a guide to help both the candidate and assessor to plan the assessment process and assessment activities.
Communication is a vital principal as it is used throughout the practice of assessment. It will be continuously used by both the assessor and candidate and others who will be involved in the assessment process. A variety of methods could be used to communicate with those involved in these practices such as verbal, written and visual demonstrations. These methods may also be used by candidates when performing the requirements of assessments. All communication should be clear and delivered in a form that all
Peer assessment is where a learners work or ability is essentially assessed by fellow learners. This could be done through discussions or group activities which require interaction between learners. The advantages of using this method of assessment is that it provides a way of immediately identifying learners who need support as an assessor can observe and let the activity develop or make focused involvements to interact with the learners. This method is also effective as learners will often respond and interact with fellow learners rather than the assessor. They will be continuously developing their communication skills whilst being involved in these activities and as result their confidence will increase. Some learners may also become more motivated when they witness the levels of other learners. For instance, one learner may show an excelled level of learning or understanding and his/her fellow learners may aspire to reach that level. The limitations of using peer assessments are generally a contrast to the advantages. For example, learners or lack confidence and self-esteem may find it hard to interact with other learners and get involved in group activities. They could be overwhelmed by more powerful and controlling learners in the classroom and may be afraid to voice their opinions or knowledge in fear of their level of learning not being to the
For instance, objective feedback could involve the inclusion of learning objectives and goals to learner in a sense of identifying how areas of development can be obtained. In addition, subjective feedback is a method of ensuring all information given to leaner by the assessor, relates to the task and is specific to the performance required. Again, a collection of these two methods can be used to ensure that feedback given allows learners to identify areas that are needed to be improved and ensuring that it relates to the