Assessment

Assessment: Balanced and Varied (Summary)

Assessment is an essential part in the mathematics education of a student’s achievement.   Assessment focuses on what students can do and how they and feel about mathematics.   It should involve a broad range of mathematical tasks and problems.   Assessment should, as far as possible, be integral to the normal teaching and learning programme. If the goal of assessment is to obtain a valid and reliable picture of a student's understanding and achievement, evidence must come from a variety of sources.   At the beginning of any course, and the learning objectives for the curriculum become the criteria to assess the student. These objectives may be attainable by the majority of students, but for some students, these objectives may not be attainable. Adaptations to instruction or procedures may be required.
  There are two types of assessment: formative and summative assessments.   Formative assessment is an ongoing classroom process that keeps students and educators informed of students' progress towards program learning objectives. The main purpose of formative evaluation is to improve instruction and student learning. It provides teachers with valuable information upon which instructional modifications can be made. This type of evaluation helps teachers understand the degree to which students are learning the course material and the extent to which their knowledge, understandings, skills, and attitudes are developing. Students are provided direction for future learning and are encouraged to take responsibility for their own progress. Examples of formative assessments are: observations, interviews, journal entries, homework, class exercises, tests and quizzes.   These assessments help teachers plan their lessons properly and implement various teaching strategies.

  • Criteria and goal setting:
Engages students in instruction and the learning process by creating clear expectations. Students need to understand and know the...