Continuous Assessment

This ppt present literature on the meaning, purpose, and characteristics of continuous assessment, rational for adopting and implementing continuous assessment. It goes further to highlight problems of continuous assessment implementation, and present some guidelines of Planning and Organizing Continuous Assessment for more improved learning system.

1. Continuous Assessment

2. By: Markos Mulat Alebel Girma Sara Teklemariam Wendimageny Tuffa Continuous Assessment

3. First part presented by Markos Mulat

4. Introduction Assessment is the process of gathering and discussing information from multiple and diverse sources in order to develop a deep understanding of what students know, understand, and can do with their knowledge as a result of their educational experiences. It is the systematic basis for making inferences about the learning and development of students and the process of defining, selecting, designing, collecting, analyzing, interpreting, and using information to increase students’ learning and development .

5. The Federal Democratic Republic Government of Ethiopia Policy on Education and Training under Article 3. 3. Sub article 3.3.1 stated continuous assessment in academic and practical subjects, including aptitude tests will be conducted to ascertain the formation of all round profile of students at all level (p.18). Introduction… ..cont’d

6. The policy prescribed the central guidelines that should be adopted by schools nationwide and suggested the continuous assessment as instruments that could be used to achieve the ideals and objectives of the curriculum. The introduction of continuous assessment improve evaluation of learners’ attainment by ensuring that assessment is cumulative, systematic, comprehensive and guidance oriented .

7. This power point present literature on the meaning, purpose, and characteristics of continuous assessment, rational for adopting and implementing continuous assessment and highlight problems of continuous assessment implementation, and present some guidelines of Planning and Organizing Continuous Assessment for more improved teaching and learning system. Background… . cont’d

8. 1. Summative assessment Summative assessment is assessment that is used to signify competence or that contributes to a student’s grade in a course, module , or level. It is typically used to evaluate the effectiveness of instructional programs and services at the end of an academic year or at a pre-determined time. The goal of summative assessments is to make a judgment of student competency, after an instructional phase is complete. This form of assessment does not normally involve feedback to the student.

9. 2. Continuous assessment Continuous assessment is a classroom strategy implemented by teachers to ascertain the knowledge, understanding, and skills attained by students. Teachers administer assessments in a variety of ways over time to allow them to observe multiple tasks and to collect information about what students know, understand, and can do. It is the periodic and systematic method of assessing and evaluating a person’s attributes .

10. Students receive feedback from teachers based on their performance that allows them to focus on topics they have not yet mastered. Information collected from continuous behavior of students will help teachers to better understand their strengths and weaknesses in addition to providing a comprehensive picture of each student over a period of time. Continuous Assessment…cont’d

11. Such information will help in educational of students and will afford student to readily see his or her developmental pattern through the data. Continuous Assessment…cont’d

12. Continuous Assessment is essential not only to guide the development of individual students but also to monitor and continuously improve the quality of programs, inform prospective students and their parents, and provide evidence of accountability. It is important in increasing student motivation towards a course, encouraging good study habits, and in providing feedback that identifies strengths and weaknesses of learners. The better the analytic and achievement data from assessment the teacher has about the students, the more appropriate the guidance he/she will be able to provide learners about their learning, and about their occupational choices. . Purpose of Continuous Assessment

13. To obtain accurate and reliable assessment data on a student, the assessments could be spread over a longer time, allowing the student to take tests and other assignments at different times throughout the course. The average of the scores for the various assessments is a more reliable indicator of the student’s performance in the subject than the score the student obtains in a one-shot examination. 1 . Longer time for collecting assessment information The purposes of continuous assessment are achieved in the following ways

14. Practical skills such as the skills and competencies involved in conducting interviews, writing and presenting reports, and analyzing data to provide a more comprehensive and more valid assessment of learner’s ability. 2 . Applications of different test forms and different test situations

15. 3. Inclusion of more complex thinking skills in the testing program By extending the period for collecting assessment data, forms of knowledge and competencies that cannot be easily assessed under strictly timed conditions can also be assessed. High level thinking skills involving analytical thinking and problem solving skills and other competencies that require extended time for learning and for test response included in the continuous assessment program.

16. 4 . Teacher assistance and remediation The Continuous assessment process requires the teacher to provide assistance in the form of advice on various aspects of student s’ projects. The student learns to consult the teacher, classmates and other sources on aspects of the project work. Besides offering assistance as needed, the teacher is able to offer remedial help by using learners’ common mistakes and misunderstandings for further improvement in class learning.

17. ETHIOPIA

18. Next part presented by Alebel Girma

19. Systematic Continuous assessment is said to be systematic in the sense that it requires an operational plan which indicates what measurement are to be made of the students’ performance, at what time intervals or times during the school year, the measurements are to be made and the results recorded, and the nature of the tools or instruments to be used in the measurements. II. Comprehensive Continuous assessment is comprehensive which means that many types of instruments are used in determining the performance and may come in form of tests, projects, assignments, observations, questions, groupwork and so on .

20. Cumulative The accumulated records of the students should guide in determining what a student should do after the program. In actual fact, the records for decision-making about a student both current and previous are pooled together for such decisions to be reliable and dependable . Guidance-Oriented Continuous assessment is guidance-oriented because the information collected about a student has to be used to guide the learner’s placement, career prospects and further development. The students have to be assisted to make educational and career decisions, based on their performance and interest.

21. Continuous assessment can be organized and implemented in a large number of different ways, and the actual assessment techniques can take many different forms. This include: Question and Answer in the Lesson This is perhaps the most commonly used method and is almost instinctive for teachers. It gives instant feedback and can be used to develop motivation Techniques of Continuous Assessment

22. b) Short Tests and Quizzes These are either from textbooks or devised by the teacher. These are informal, can be fun and marks can be simply recorded. c) Homework Exercises These vary in purpose, design and complexity. Purpose is the key word here. Students will make good use of homework if they feel it is useful, for example, preparation of material for a class discussion, developing a skill, are all appealing tasks. Techniques of Continuous Assessment….cont’d

23. d) Assignments A very useful and increasingly used method, especially in conjunction with homework. May involve library and internet investigations, visits and interviews. e) Class Tests Class tests for the term designed to cover the important objectives studied within a specified period. It involve the use of high-order abilities including understanding and interpretation, analysis of problems, creative application of principles, evaluation and estimation of situations. Techniques of Continuous Assessment….cont’d

24. f) Group Exercise The purpose of the group work is to introduce students to the principles and ethics of working together in groups to arrive at solutions together using the ideas and abilities of each group member. g) Projects Projects consist of investigations, experiments and material production in the subject of study. Projects will involve the use of high-order abilities such as analysis, evaluation, self-correction and synthesis of ideas and skills toward creation of a new product. h) Written Questions / Exercises with Short, Extended or Multiple-choice Answers Very widely used. Easy to design, mark and assess. Techniques of Continuous Assessment….cont’d

25. Continuous assessment allows teachers to monitor the impact of their lessons on student understanding. Teachers can modify their pedagogical strategies to include the construction of remediation activities for students who are not working at the expected grade level and the creation of enrichment activities for students who are working at or above the expected grade level. Benefits of Continuous Assessment

26. Benefits of Continuous Assessment….cont’d Continuous assessment result with frequent interactions between students and teachers that enable the teachers to know the strengths and weaknesses of their learners. These exchanges foster a student-teacher relationship based on individual interactions . One-to-one communication between the teacher and the student can motivate students to continue attending school and to work hard to achieve higher levels of mastery .

27. Next part presented by Wendimageny Tuffa

28. Large class size: One of the major challenges was the large class sizes. Teachers’ workload became higher as they were required to mark and keep records of the progress of all learners.. Labor Intensive: It may be logistically impossible to provide detailed descriptive feedback for each student in a large class. Even with a smaller number of students to deal with, Continuous assessment is time-consuming as it requires significant, ongoing dedication and effort from the teacher to sustain. Challenges of Implementing Continuous Assessment

29. Finance: The major problems to the successful implementation a continuous assessment is lack of funds. Money will be needed to buy textbooks that are relevant to the syllabus, stationeries, equipment and book shelves for record keeping. The absence of all these materials will pose a great danger to the successful implementation. Training of Teachers: Due to the fact that teachers are the sole operators of continuous assessment in schools, it is imperative that they should be adequately trained. Challenges of Implementing Continuous Assessment

30. Guidelines of Planning and Organizing Continuous Assessment Ensure assessment technique is progressive and properly integrated Don’t set major assignment early Students not overstressed Sufficient time to prepare Written guidelines and instructions- unambiguous and clear Create opportunities to discuss with students and stuffs before and after the implementation Avoid over assessed, can lead to stress.

31. Guidelines…cont’d CA engages students in reaching their full potential Improve the quality of instruction If well planned & implemented, the technique will go long way Unless there is commitment, diligence and sacrifice on the part of the teacher, CA will not be successful.

32. Case Study on Applying Continuous Assessment by: April 4,2015 Sara Teklemariam

33. This case study is a description of a practical experience on continuous assessment of one of the members of the group. It was a 7 credit hours course which runs for a continuous one month. The number of students who took the course was 15 including the writer of this experience. Background

34. Objective To share the learning from personal experience on the benefits and challenges of applying continuous assessment to course mates

35. Forms of Assessment Reading assignments and writing individual as well as group reflection Group Presentation in class on topics assigned together with Q & A sessions Guest speakers followed by Q & A sessions Assessing relevant movie selected by the instructor Field visit, writing group observations from the visits Project on education

36. A written training outline, methodology and content is submitted. A written evaluation by a group. A group project on developing a strategy is written, presented in class and submitted Finally, an individual research proposal was written and submitted There was no final written exam

37. The tools used to assess -Before the class begins, the instructor has sent a written syllabus and its methodology for assessment -Then, at the first class the instructor explained how he intends to assess the students - The activities mentioned above were corrected , commented upon and graded and given back to students as appropriate -After the students have read their comments and grades, the instructor was careful in documenting results of his assessment -He had assigned dates and hours where any student could visit his office and discuss anything (including personal problems) - The instructor assists those who visit him but more importantly he calls students and discusses with them about their strength and improvement areas and provides professional assistance continuously -When groups have problems, he assists and tries to find solutions together with all group members

38. Benefits of Continuous Assessment A/ it made us work hard B/ identify our potential and personal skills C/ identify our weak points and work more on that D/ it gave us an opportunity to be tested from many angles that nobody can loose E/ it forced us to participate as the role of the instructor was minimal except in facilitation F/ helped us to think critically G/ it enabled us to share our different experiences as we had different background H/ it was rewarding for any student who worked hard and difficult for those who did not attend classes or did the reading and writing assignments I/ it made us see diversity and how to help each other, tolerate differences and work together as a team for a common cause

39. Challenges Encountered Resistance to change Misunderstanding the type and purpose of continuous assessment by students Group Dynamics Versus Individual Success Misconception/ intentional misrepresentation of the “Student Centered Approach” by students Split among students Time constraint

40. If we are to apply continuous assessment, we need to consider the following issues seriously: Create a clear understanding among students why and how we are going to assess them No matter how positive we are, beware that few students might not accept our way. Let us try to identify them as early as possible and find a solution. Always remember that it is human nature to resisting change. We must not take for granted that all will embrace and understand what we try to do. We must carefully document our continuous assessment and grades. I believe, we should pursue and do what we should do despite challenges!