Critically analyse two different methods of assessment you have used in your spring term placement outlining
‘Critically analyse two different methods of assessment you have used in your spring term placement, outlining the advantages and disadvantages of each. Illustrate this with reference to your assessments and profile evidence from your placement.’ Assessment seems to be one of the most frequently used words in education today, and with good reason, as it determines to a large extent how exactly we educate the children as individuals, and how we differentiate in future. According to Ruth Sutton, ‘learners learn at different rates, to different levels of attainment and in different ways’, and then she goes on to say that, ‘children are not the same but all of them, regardless of their differences, deserve to be offered equal opportunity to learn and develop; therefore they need equal to the learning experiences we offer, and to recognition of their particular strengths and difficulties (Assessment – A Framework for Teachers – Ruth Sutton - pg 21). So without differentiation we cannot educate effectively, and without assessment we cannot differentiate effectively. Therefore I think that it is fair to say that assessment forms a highly important feature of the entire educational process. ... But what does assessment mean? ‘‘Assessment’ is taken from the Latin ‘assidere’, ‘to sit beside’’ (Assessment in schools – Second Ed – David Satterly - pg1). ... This brings us to our next point, what sort of assessment should we use? ... We need to use the ‘Best Fit’ model (Assessment – A Framework for Teachers – Ruth Sutton - pg 18); this is made up of three sections. ... The third and final is Manageability; can you plausibly complete the work you set out to complete in your assessment task. Of course no teacher should ever fall into the trap of just using the most manageable form of assessment all of the time, that is to say the easiest to complete, this would be unfair on that teacher’s class. ... If it is for a report or a parent’s night then surely a summative form of assessment is most apt, simply to inform the child’s parents on how their child is generally doing, as a parent is not likely to be interested a league tables or national results, only in the progress of their child.