Assessment denotes the continuing process of collecting, recording, reflecting and utilizing information to portray children as students in a bid to support and boost their studies in the future. Adults, who facilitate learning and development of students in educational institutions, assess for various purposes.
The primary purpose of assessment is to afford a gauge to quantify the student’s progress. Carrying out of evaluation is at different times in the learning process. These include during class, after the completion of courses, in evaluating the need for a course and determining the educative purpose. Therefore, to ascertain that learning has taken place, assessment is valuable in enabling a learner to view their development in terms of knowledge and skills gained. Consequently, empowering them to ask questions on topics they failed to comprehend, as they have to justify this knowledge. Moreover, it furnishes an instructor with valuable feedback that they can give the learner when necessary.
Assessment measures students’ understanding of a subject against the expected outcome in a course. Assessment through testing, providing tasks, observation, communicating with learners provides a concise way by which an instructor can evaluate and record the strides by a student towards understanding the course they are learning, as well as, the gaps in learning that they face. As a result, students receive feedback on various subjects and areas they should improve, by building on their strengths and improving previous mistakes to ensure better performance in the future. Moreover, for instructors, it enables them to identify the priority areas to intervene to boost the students’ learning.
It helps to motivate learners to improve their performance. In the learning process, to ascertain that students receive and understand knowledge provided during learning, assessment necessitates. Students receive constant reviews comprising of criticism, congratulations, and recommendations that are relevant. Consequently, through this, a learner receives incentives to demonstrate their understanding and the attainment of various skills that enhances continued improvement of their competencies by attaining higher marks.
In the process of learning, assessment functions in providing a wide array of valuable information necessary for optimum learning. One, it helps adults identify potential difficulties a learner may be grappling with, by bringing to light difficulties in reading, writing, or understanding by a student that may be as a result of a disability or learning difficulties. Such information enables parents to understand their children better and empowers instructors to adopt and employ measures that accentuate learning while limiting the impact on future learning and development. For instance, assessment enables an instructor to identify a dyslexic learner. Two, it furnishes parents with information about the progress made by children in learning and giving recommendations of how they can further accentuate it.
The assessment provides fairness and objectivity in learning and development. It does so by outlining the standards and evaluation criteria, which acts as measurable evidence of a given course to benchmark performance. Moreover, assessment ensures fairness during the determination of judgment on whether students have achieved the required measurable standards of passing various classes. The realization comes about through the provision to instructors an equal judgment ground for all learners thereby, eliminating instances of favoritism of some students over others. Thus, creating an equal competing field for all students.
In conclusion, assessment in learning and development is vital in the daily interaction between learners and instructors. Its utilization enables the making of judgment about students’ progress thus, working to empower instructors to motivate and assist them towards success. Also, through it, students identify their strengths, weakness and their favorite aspects of learning and work towards improving them.
