Assessment is the bridge between teaching and learning.
Dylan William
Assessment is the bridge between teaching and learning.
Dylan William
The first test of assessment literacy is to differentiate between assessment and evaluation.
Assessment
Assessment derived from Latin assidere meaning "to sit beside". It is the process of gathering evidence of student learning to inform instruction (Black and William, 1998). Definition: Black and Wiliam (1998) define assessment as "all those activities undertaken by teachers—and by their students in assessing themselves—that provide information to be used as feedback to modify the teaching and learning activities in which they are engaged".
Evaluation
The process of judging the quality of performance against a set standard (grading). It is summative and final. Popham (2011) distinguishes measurement (data) from evaluation (interpreting that data). This is inline with the Philippine Context, Department of Education explicitly defines classroom assessment as "tracking and measurin learner's progress" to adjust instruction (D.O. no 8, 2015).
This can be understood clearly using the famous metaphor by Robert Stake:
"When the cook tastes the soup, that's formative assessment." (He can still add salt to change the flavor.)
"When the guest tastes the soup, that's summative evaluation." (The judgment is final; the soup is served.)
Educational assessment is the systematic process of documenting, measuring, and analyzing student knowledge, skills, and attitudes to improve learning and instruction. Different authors emphasize it as an ongoing, interactive, and evidence-based procedure, often involving formative (ongoing) or summative (final) evaluation. Key, distinct definitions emphasize:
Process-Oriented: Mentkowski (1999) defines it as a continuous process of gathering quantitative/qualitative information to improve and demonstrate student learning.
Data-Driven Interaction: Hanna and Dettmer (2004) focus on how instructors gather data to inform teaching and assess student learning.
Decision Making: Huba and Freed (2000) see it as collecting data from multiple sources to understand student capability, culminating in improved learning outcomes.
Evidence Collection: Suskie (2009) views it as the systematic collection, analysis, and interpretation of evidence to align learning with expectations.
Goal-Oriented: Erwin (1991) defines it as a basis for making inferences about student development to increase their growth.
Appraising Quality: Sadler (2010) characterizes it as appraising the quality of student work to infer what they know.
These definitions highlight that assessment is not just grading, but a critical, often collaborative, process for guiding educational improvement.