Assessment is the systematic basis for making inferences about the learning and development of students.

It is the
process of defining, selecting, designing, collecting, analyzing, interpreting, and using information to increase students'
learning and development.
Assessment is a key part of today’s educational system. Assessment serves as an individual evaluation system, and as a
way to compare performance across a spectrum and across populations. However, with so many different kinds of
assessments for so many different organizations available (and often required) these days, it can sometimes be hard to
keep the real purpose of assessing in view. So, what’s really at the heart of all these assessments?
The purpose of assessment is to gather relevant information about student performance or progress, or to determine
student interests to make judgments about their learning process. After receiving this information, teachers can reflect on
each student’s level of achievement, as well as on specific inclinations of the group, to customize their teaching plans.
Why Assessment of Learning Necessary
Continuous assessment provides day-to-day feedback about the learning and teaching process. Assessment can
reinforce the efficacy of teaching and learning. It also encourages the understanding of teaching as a formative process
that evolves over time with feedback and input from students. This creates good classroom rapport. Student assessments
are necessary because:
• Throughout a lesson or unit, the teacher might want to check for understanding by using a formative assessment.
• Students who are experiencing difficulties in learning may benefit from the administration of a diagnostic test, which
will be able to detect learning issues such as reading comprehension problems, an inability to remember written or spoken
words, hearing or speech difficulties, and problems with hand–eye coordination.
• Students generally complete a summative assessment after completing the study of a topic. The teacher can
determine their level of achievement and provide them with feedback on their strengths and weaknesses. For students
who didn’t master the topic or skill, teachers can use data from the assessment to create a plan for remediation.
• Teachers may also want to use informal assessment techniques. Using self-assessment, students express what they
think about their learning process and what they should work on. Using peer assessment, students get information from
their classmates about what areas they should revise and what areas they’re good at.
Types of Classroom Assessment
Assessment is integral to the teaching–learning process, facilitating student learning and improving instruction, and can
take a variety of forms. Classroom assessment is generally divided into three types: assessment for learning,
assessment of learning and assessment as learning.
Assessment for Learning (Formative Assessment)
The philosophy behind assessment for learning is that assessment and teaching should be integrated into a whole. The
power of such an assessment doesn't come from intricate technology or from using a specific assessment instrument. It
comes from recognizing how much learning is taking place in the common tasks of the school day – and how much insight
into student learning teachers can mine from this material. McNamee and Chen 2005.
Assessment for learning is ongoing assessment that allows teachers to monitor students on a day-to-day basis and
modify their teaching based on what the students need to be successful. This assessment provides students with the
timely, specific feedback that they need to make adjustments to their learning.
After teaching a lesson, we need to determine whether the lesson was accessible to all students while still challenging to
the more capable; what the students learned and still need to know; how we can improve the lesson to make it more
effective; and, if necessary, what other lesson we might offer as a better alternative.
This continual evaluation of instructional choices is at the heart of improving our teaching practice. Burns 2005.
Assessment of Learning (Summative Assessment)
Assessment of learning is the snapshot in time that lets the teacher, students and their parents know how well each
student has completed the learning tasks and activities. It provides information about student achievement. While it
provides useful reporting information, it often has little effect on learning.
Comparing Assessment for Learning and Assessment of Learning
Assessment for Learning Assessment of Learning (Summative
(Formative Assessment) Assessment)
Checks learning to determine what to do next and Checks what has been learned to date.
then provides suggestions of what to do—teaching
and learning are indistinguishable from assessment.
Is designed to assist educators and students in Is designed for the information of those not directly
improving learning. involved in daily learning and teaching (school
administration, parents, school board, Alberta
Education, post-secondary institutions) in addition to
educators and students.
Is used continually by providing descriptive Is presented in a periodic report.
feedback.
Usually uses detailed, specific and descriptive Usually compiles data into a single number, score or
feedback—in a formal or informal report. mark as part of a formal report.
Is not reported as part of an achievement grade. Is reported as part of an achievement grade.
Usually focuses on improvement, compared with Usually compares the student's learning either with
the student's “previous best” (self-referenced, other students' learning (norm-referenced, making
making learning more personal). learning highly competitive) or the standard for a
grade level (criterion-referenced, making learning
more collaborative and individually focused).
Involves the student. Does not always involve the student.

Assessment as Learning
Assessment as learning develops and supports students' metacognitive skills. This form of assessment is crucial in
helping students become lifelong learners. As students engage in peer and selfassessment, they learn to make sense of
information, relate it to prior knowledge and use it for new learning. Students develop a sense of ownership and efficacy
when they use teacher, peer and self-assessment feedback to make adjustments, improvements and changes to what
they understand.
The Assessment Process
Assessment is a constant cycle of improvement. Data gathering is ongoing. The goal of assessment, whether for an
academic department or a program, is to provide: (a) a clear conceptualization of intended student learning outcomes, (b)
a description of how these outcomes are assessed and measured, (c) a description of the results obtained from these
measures, and (d) a description of how these results validate current practices or point to changes needed to improve
student learning.
The Four Steps of the Assessment Cycle

Step 1: Clearly define and identify the learning outcomes

Each program should formulate between 3 and 5 learning outcomes that describe what students should be able to do
(abilities), to know (knowledge), and appreciate (values and attitudes) following completion of the program. The learning
outcomes for each program will include Public Affairs learning outcomes addressing community engagement, cultural
competence, and ethical leadership.
Step 2: Select appropriate assessment measures and assess the learning outcomesMultiple ways of assessing the
learning outcomes are usually selected and used. Although direct and indirect measures of learning can be used, it is
usually recommended to focus on direct measures of learning. Levels of student performance for each outcome is often
described and assessed with the use of rubrics.
It is important to determine how the data will be collected and who will be responsible for data collection.
Results are always reported in aggregate format to protect the confidentiality of the students assessed.
Step 3: Analyze the results of the outcomes assessed
It is important to analyze and report the results of the assessments in a meaningful way. A small subgroup of the DAC
would ideally be responsible for this function. The assessment division of the FCTL would support the efforts of the DAC
and would provide data analysis and interpretation workshops and training.
Step 4: Adjust or improve programs following the results of the learning outcomes assessed Assessment results
are worthless if they are not used. This step is a critical step of the assessment process. The assessment process has
failed if the results do not lead to adjustments or improvements in programs. The results of assessments should be
disseminated widely to faculty in the department in order to seek their input on how to improve programs from the
assessment results. In some instances, changes will be minor and easy to implement. In other instances, substantial
changes will be necessary and recommended and may require several years to be fully implemented.
Teachers’ Roles in Assessment of Learning
Because the consequences of assessment of learning are often far-reaching and affect students seriously, teachers have
the responsibility of reporting student learning accurately and fairly, based on evidence obtained from a variety of contexts
and applications. Effective assessment of learning requires that teachers provide
• a rationale for undertaking a particular assessment of learning at a particular point in time
• clear descriptions of the intended learning
• processes that make it possible for students to demonstrate their competence and skill
• a range of alternative mechanisms for assessing the same outcomes
• public and defensible reference points for making judgements
• transparent approaches to interpretation • descriptions of the assessment process strategies for recourse in the event
of disagreement about the decisions With the help of their teachers, students can look forward to assessment of learning
tasks as occasions to show their competence, as well as the depth and breadth of their learning.
Planning Assessment of Learning Why am I assessing?
The purpose of assessment of learning is to measure, certify, and report the level of students’ learning, so that reasonable
decisions can be made about students. There are many potential users of the information:
• teachers (who can use the information to communicate with parents about their children’s proficiency and progress)
• parents and students (who can use the results for making educational and vocational decisions)
• potential employers and post-secondary institutions (who can use the information to make decisions about hiring or
acceptance)
• principals, district or divisional administrators, and teachers (who can use the information to review and revise
programming)
What am I assessing?
Assessment of learning requires the collection and interpretation of information about students’ accomplishments in
important curricular areas, in ways that represent the nature and complexity of the intended learning. Because genuine
learning for understanding is much more than just recognition or recall of facts or algorithms, assessment of learning tasks
need to enable students to show the complexity of their understanding. Students need to be able to apply key concepts,
knowledge, skills, and attitudes in ways that are authentic and consistent with current thinking in the knowledge domain.
What assessment method should I use?
In assessment of learning, the methods chosen need to address the intended curriculum outcomes and the continuum of
learning that is required to reach the outcomes. The methods must allow all students to show their understanding and
produce sufficient information to support credible and defensible statements about the nature and quality of their learning,
so that others can use the results in appropriate ways. Assessment of learning methods include not only tests and
examinations, but also a rich variety of products and demonstrations of learning—portfolios, exhibitions, performances,
presentations, simulations, multimedia projects, and a variety of other written, oral, and visual methods What assessment
method should I use?
How can I ensure quality in this assessment process?
Assessment of learning needs to be very carefully constructed so that the information upon which decisions are made is
of the highest quality. Assessment of learning is designed to be summative, and to produce defensible and accurate
descriptions of student competence in relation to defined outcomes and, occasionally, in relation to other students’
assessment results. Certification of students’ proficiency should be based on a rigorous, reliable, valid, and equitable
process of assessment and evaluation. Reliability Reliability in assessment of learning depends on how accurate,
consistent, fair, and free from bias and distortion the assessment is.
Teachers might ask themselves:
• Do I have enough information about the learning of this particular student to make a definitive statement?
• Was the information collected in a way that gives all students an equal chance to show their learning?
• Would another teacher arrive at the same conclusion?
• Would I make the same decision if I considered this information at another time or in another way?
Reference Points Typically, the reference points for assessment of learning are the learning outcomes as identified in the
curriculum that make up the course of study. Assessment tasks include measures of these learning outcomes, and a
student’s performance is interpreted and reported in relation to these learning outcomes. In some situations where
selection decisions need to be made for limited positions (e.g., university entrance, scholarships, employment
opportunities), assessment of learning results are used to rank students. In such norm-referenced situations, what is
being measured needs to be clear, and the way it is being measured needs to be transparent to anyone who might use
the assessment results. Validity Because assessment of learning results in statements about students’ proficiency in wide
areas of study, assessment of learning tasks must reflect the key knowledge, concepts, skills, and dispositions set out in
the curriculum, and the statements and inferences that emerge must be upheld by the evidence collected.
Record-Keeping
Whichever approaches teachers choose for assessment of learning, it is their records that provide details about the
quality of the measurement. Detailed records of the various components of the assessment of learning are essential, with
a description of what each component measures, with what accuracy and against what criteria and reference points, and
should include supporting evidence related to the outcomes as justification. When teachers keep records that are detailed
and descriptive, they are in an excellent position to provide meaningful reports to parents and others. Merely a symbolic
representation of a student’s accomplishments (e.g., a letter grade or percentage) is inadequate. Reports to parents and
others should identify the intended learning that the report covers, the assessment methods used to gather the supporting
information, and the criteria used to make the judgement.
How can I use the information from this assessment?
Feedback to Students Because assessment of learning comes most often at the end of a unit or learning cycle, feedback
to students has a less obvious effect on student learning than assessment for learning and assessment as learning.
Nevertheless, students do rely on their marks and on teachers’ comments as indicators of their level of success, and to
make decisions about their future learning endeavours.
Differentiating Learning
In assessment of learning, differentiation occurs in the assessment itself. It would make little sense to ask a near-sighted
person to demonstrate driving proficiency without glasses. When the driver uses glasses, it is possible for the examiner to
get an accurate picture of the driver’s ability, and to certify him or her as proficient. In much the same way, differentiation
in assessment of learning requires that the necessary accommodations be in place that allow students to make the
particular learning visible. Multiple forms of assessment offer multiple pathways for making student learning transparent to
the teacher. A particular curriculum outcome requirement, such as an understanding of the social studies notion of
conflict, for example, might be demonstrated through visual, oral, dramatic, or written representations. As long as writing
were not an explicit component of the outcome, students who have difficulties with written language, for example, would
then have the same opportunity to demonstrate their learning as other students. Although assessment of learning does
not always lead teachers to differentiate instruction or resources, it has a profound effect on the placement and promotion
of students and, consequently, on the nature and differentiation of the future instruction and programming that students
receive. Therefore, assessment results need to be accurate and detailed enough to allow for wise recommendations.
Reporting
There are many possible approaches to reporting student proficiency. Reporting assessment of learning needs to be
appropriate for the audiences for whom it is intended, and should provide all of the information necessary for them to
make reasoned decisions. Regardless of the form of the reporting, however, it should be honest, fair, and provide
sufficient detail and contextual information so that it can be clearly understood. Traditional reporting, which relies only on a
student’s average score, provides little information about that student’s skill development or knowledge. One alternate
mechanism, which recognizes many forms of success and provides a profile of a student’s level of performance on an
emergent-proficient continuum, is the parent student-teacher conference. This forum provides parents with a great deal of
information, and reinforces students’ responsibility for their learning.
The purpose of assessment that typically comes at the end of a course or unit of instruction is to determine the extent to
which the instructional goals have been achieved and for grading or certification of student achievement. (Linn and
Gronlund, Measurement and Assessment in Teaching)