Oscar Ragus PTC

In the theoretical framework presented at the beginning of the module, it was posited that “assessment drives the many aspects of education”.  One would normally think of education in terms of what is being taught (curriculum) and how it is taught (instruction).  So, boldly claiming the prominence of assessment in education would require quite a paradigm shift. At first, I could not quite accept that because I had already been exposed to the CIA Framework where curriculum, instruction and assessment are equally held as being important for student learning.  But just as the operational plans of any organization starts with the vision and mission, I believe the educational directives should also stem from a country’s vision. To declare whether our country has reached its vision or not, we need to make an evaluation and a measurement if it has done so.  That is where assessment, with the help of research, can play a central role in education.  From the NEDA Website...

  First of all, it was enlightening to explore both the differences and intersections in meaning among grading, measurement, and evaluation.   (Which is similar to thinking about how e‑business and e‑commerce have different meanings.)   It is a given that assessments are often thought of as being used for grading and for evaluating student progress.   But if we consider that assessments can serve many purposes, we can be more deliberate in their design. For example, if assessments were to drive student learning, then we can focus on creating real-world or practical items, and on having various levels of difficulty so that students can be challenged while at the same time not be daunted by something that seems out of reach.  In exams and quizzes, we can create scenario-based questions where they apply their knowledge instead of merely asking for definitions. We have discussed how assessments may cause fear/dread among some students.  Surely enough, assessm...

As mentioned in the ebook for Module 1, assessment “is much more than administering tests and assigning grades to students”.   I do agree.   In p.9 of Assessment Notes , Eric Soulsby referenced various literature pointing to assessment’s role in improving student learning: ·        Allen, M. J.   (2004).   Assessing academic programs in higher education .   Anker Publishing Company. ·        Huba, M. E. & Freed, J. E.   (2000).   Learner-centered assessment on college campuses: Shifting the focus from teaching to learning .   Allyn and Bacon. ·        Walvoord, B. E.   (2004).   Assessment clear and simple.   Wiley. He also mentioned several references to assessment’s role in improving both learning and development: ·        Erwin, T. D.   (1991).   Assessing student learning and develo...