Classic Summative Analysis

Assignment discussing key principles of effective assessment with reference to your own specialist area and suggesting areas for improvement.

In the following assignment I will be discussing the key principles of effective assessment, with specific links to teaching English and suggesting areas for improvement.

Bell and Harris (2013: p 98) state that “when deciding upon assessment techniques, an appropriate starting point is to consider two questions: what are the overall purposes, or aims, of assessing? Who is the audience for the results of assessing?” Assessment is present in a number of different types of strategy. These types of assessment each contribute to measuring student performance in
This form of assessment is utilised in a number of ways in order to monitor progress through the learning programme, with feedback allowing the learning practitioner to make changes to learning if needed. These changes are important as they can improve the learning of the students and identify any areas of the programme a student is struggling with. Summative assessment is a strategy used to measure achievement on a programme. The classic summative assessment takes the form of an examination. In terms of my specialist area (English), this takes place using a language paper, literature paper and a speaking and listening exercise. However, summative assessment also takes place during the course in the form of quizzes and creative writing. The advantage of summative assessment is that it allows the teacher to assess how much the student has learnt over the course of a
Self-assessment in the written comments I make on work could be utilised more. Bell and Harris (2013: p 108) reflect on this, stating: “Self-assessment questions embedded in learning material, or at the end of the section, can usefully cause the learner to reflect and self-assess”. An area I could improve on in my practice regarding feedback would be to use less grading. Although high marks can have a positive effect on a student, likewise a low mark has shown to have a negative effect. Petty has outlined the disadvantage of grading, highlighting that “grades are consistently found to demotivate low attainers. They also fail to challenge high attainers, often making them complacent”. As well as this Pickford and Race (2007: p 128) suggest using feedback sheets, stating that they will "continue to be good evidence of your teaching practices". Using feedback sheets would allow myself and the students to monitor progress and see how they have developed.

In conclusion, there are a number of assessment strategies that can be utilised in the classroom, each with advantages and disadvantages. It can be argued that some are more effective for certain subject areas than others. As a learning practitioner, I use numerous strategies and recognise the importance of using them effectively, which have been outlined in the above piece. These strategies are constantly evaluated and modified in order to improve the learning