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Importance of assessments to students
Importance of assessment
Strengths and weaknesses of assessment for learning
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It was on a clear sunny day, when I peered out through the window adjacent to my study desk and there in plain sight, the hostel’s jacaranda trees were in full bloom. After having spent two years in a hostel at my former high school, my fellow classmates and I had come to associate the blooming of jacaranda trees as a sign of the beginning of mid-term exams. It is ironic how whenever I looked at the beautiful scenery formed by the blooming jacarandas, it sent shivers down my whole body as the exams approached instead of me enjoying Mother Nature. Exams were upon us and all one could hear throughout the hostel in the different dormitories, was the frantic flipping of pages as we all tried to maximize on our “last minute studying” time. I for one had been procrastinating and was trying to “stuff” my brain with all my notes and the complex formulas in preparation for the chemistry mid-term exam that I was sitting for the following day. The time to face “our demons” arrived. As my classmates and I entered the exam room and from the looks on people’s faces, one could almost accurately separate those that were prepared for the exam and those that were not. Nonetheless, we all sat down in our designated places and took the exam under the watchful eye of the invigilator.
A few weeks down the line, our teacher gave us back the exam results that were in their own way a bag of surprises as those who were dubbed as intelligent students had done poorly on the exam and the not so intelligent students had scored high. My teacher was puzzled by these results and to help him comprehend fully what had happened he asked each student for an honest feedback about the exam. He soon discovered that the reason why my classmates and I (his top students) h...
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Students dread the time of the year when they stop with their course material and begin to prepare for test. Everyone is in agreement that some type of revolution is needed when it comes to education; eliminating standardized test will aid the reform. The need for standardized testing has proven to be ineffective and outdated; some leading educationalist also believe this because the tests do not measure a student’s true potential. This will save money, stop labeling, and alleviate stress in students and teachers.
Miltich, Matthew. "Standardized Testing and Assessment Do Not Improve Education." Education: Opposing Viewpoints. New York: Greenhaven, 2005. 151-54. Print.
Evans, Donia. "The Case Against Standardized Tests." The Meridian Star. 24 Nov. 2013. The Meridian Star. 01 Dec. 2013 .
Assessment has been the greatest challenge in my development as a professional. My coursework as supported my growth in this area, especially in understanding the broad range of assessments used to support students’ growth and development. My courses have also supported my understanding of how ongoing observational assessment and standards-based measures can be used to inform instruction and support the cycle of observation, reflection and planning. Coursework
Stiggins, R. J. (2006, November/December). Assessment for learning: A key to motivation and achievement. Edge, 2, 3-19.
Baker, M (2010) Are Exams Really Getting Easier? [Internet], UK, BBC. Available from: [Accessed 2nd January 2012]
Standardized testing is an unfair and inaccurate form of judging a person’s intellect. In many cases, people are either over- or underrepresented by their test scores, partly because America does not currently have the capabilities of fairly scoring the increasing number of tests. Additionally, many students today are not native English speakers, and their capabilities could be grossly underestimated by these types of exams. Although President Bush is a supporter, many influential people are against this bill, including the largest teacher’s union in the United States, which has formed a commission in opposition to the President’s proposal.
The rallying call to end high school exit exams is not only a display of America’s failing attitude to education, but also a way to ensure American students are doomed in higher education levels. National exit exams would not harm the overall education standards, but rather would give a reason for students and teachers alike to crack down and get to work. So instead of making excuses it is about time for the American education system to set a standard for students to reach for, not one that is just walked over like the one that has so sadly failed this new generation.
The British education system at one time was considered as one of the world's finest, admired and emulated by nations spanning several continents. Now it is in a state of disarray, reduced to nothing less than a complete shambles and plagued with corruption thanks to the implementation of the so-called Curriculum 2000. "Luck of the draw" is becoming an increasingly influential factor in today's exam lottery.
make it work? In C.A. Dwyer (Ed.), The future of assessment: Shaping teaching and learning
Alfie Kohn, author of The Case against Standardized Testing, recalls a specific incident of how children are being cheated out of valuable class time. He states that a school in Massachusetts used a remarkable unit, for a middle-school class, where students chose an activity and extensively researched it, and reported or taught, it to the class. This program has had to be removed from the course curriculum in order to devote enough time to teaching prescribed material for their standardized tests.
Standardized testing remains to be a major controversial issue for the American society today. Exams are given to students at different levels in their educational career and are supposed to measure their academic knowledge, but are these tests really the best way to evaluate students? There have been numerous alternatives suggested to replace or be used in conjunction with standardized testing.
can not get good marks in their exams and they can not stand the pressure of
Testing is one of the big issues in our education system. The idea that the whole school curriculum should be planned around tests is a foolish one, if we want to get a quality education that we can actually learn something valuable from. Having students cram empty facts and memorize test answers is not teaching them it is just encouraging more stress and late nights. On some occasions, tests are a necessary evil to see if the student has actually learned anything from what they have been taught, but to gear the whole class a...
...s to the waste of resources, amplifies the level of stress and it promotes rote learning. In my opinion, these negative implications would generate more dilemmas for youths in the future. As they will develop into working adults, it is impossible for them to face the harsh reality of the world when all they ever did was to answer questions on pieces of paper. Test-takers might have a lump sum of theories in their minds, but they would somewhat fail in practical requirements. Hence, I suggest that government officials from every nation to reflect on the rationalizations made and consider annulling the practice of examinations for students. Instead, administrators ought to form another alternative to counter these arguments in order to improve the learning environment for students in the 21st century. As the saying goes, “A man's errors are his portals of discovery.”