Why is assessment important?

Exams and essays along with speeches and projects are forms of assessment. Assessment is a critical
step in the learning process. It determines whether or not the course's learning objectives have been
met. Assessment provides educators, parents, and families with critical information about a child’s
development and growth.

Assessment inspires us to ask these hard questions: "Are we teaching what we think we are teaching?"
"Are students learning what they are supposed to be learning?" "Is there a way to teach the subject
better, thereby promoting better learning?"

Assessment is important for several reasons:

1. Provide a record of growth in all developmental areas: cognitive, physical/motor,
language, social-emotional, and approaches to learning.

- It tracks the trajectory of your child’s growth in every area. Do you ever look at your child and
wonder how they grew up so fast? If so, you’re not alone. Assessments and progress reports
provide a record of your child’s growth in all developmental areas: cognitive, physical/motor,
language, social-emotional, and approaches to learning. While it may seem like time is flying by,
progress reports provide a snapshot of the specific ways your child has grown in the past three
to six months.

2. Identify children who may need additional support and determine if there is a need
for intervention or support services.

- It helps parents and teachers partner together around specific strategies for growth. Whether
your child has areas of natural giftedness or areas that need improvement, assessments and
progress reports allow parents and teachers to focus on enhancing specific skills or subjects.
Each assessment provides a common ground between educators and parents to use in
collaborating on a strategy to support their child.

3. Help educators plan individualized instruction for a child or for a group of children that
are at the same stage of development.

-- It creates opportunities to engage with your child around school activities. By outlining the
specific things your child is learning at school, progress reports provide new ways for parents to
relate school activities to home activities and experiences. Whether you want to be more
intentional about reading with your children before bed, or you’re looking for ways to
incorporate learning into everyday tasks, assessments and progress reports help you know the
 specific things your child is learning at school, and they provide insights to help you create a
holistic learning environment for your child.

4. Identify the strengths and weaknesses within a program and information on how well
the program meets the goals and needs of the children.

- The evaluation also aids us in determining whether or not the materials or program we utilize
are effective. It will assist us in revising programs as needed and improving the method in which
they are delivered based on the children's level of learning or development. It will answer our
queries about whether we were able to give the correct assessment or whether we received the
correct results depending on the developmental area we were attempting to evaluate.

5. Provide a common ground between educators and parents or families to use in

collaborating on a strategy to support their child.

- Several studies have proven that collaboration between parents and teachers improves
children's academic achievement, work habits, social skills and emotional well-being. Positive
connections between parents and teachers have been shown to improve children’s academic
achievement, social competencies and emotional well-being. When parents and teachers work
as partners, children do better in school and at home. Research shows that when a partnership
approach between parents and teachers is evident, children’s work habits, attitudes about
school and grades improve. They demonstrate better social skills, fewer behavioral problems
and a greater ability to adapt to situations and get along. And parents and teachers benefit, too.
When working together as partners, it’s been found that parents and teachers communicate
more effectively, develop stronger relationships with one another and develop skills to support
children’s behaviors and learning.

What are different child assessment methods?

Methods of child assessment can be informal (conducting natural observations, collecting data and
children’s work for portfolios, using educator and teacher ratings) and formal (using assessment tools
such as questionnaires and standardized testing). Both methods are effective and can help inform
educators and parents about a child’s progress.

1. Observations can be made with minimal or no intrusion into children’s activities. Educators
can observe all facets of development, including intellectual, linguistic, social-emotional, and
physical development, on a regular basis.

2. Portfolios are a record of data that is collected through the work children have produced
over a period of time. The collection clearly shows the progress of a child’s development.
Portfolios can be an important tool in helping facilitate a partnership between teachers and
parents.
 3. Educator Ratings are useful in assessing children’s cognitive and language abilities as well as
their social-emotional development. These ratings can be linked to other methods of
assessment, such as standardized testing or other assessment tools.

4. Parent Ratings integrate parents into the assessment process. Parents who are encouraged
to observe and listen to their child can help detect and target important milestones and
behaviors in their child’s development.

5. Standardized Tests are tests created to fit a set of testing standards. These tests are
administered and scored in a standard manner and are often used to assess the
performance of children in a program.

What are the challenges in giving assessment?

The assessment system is facing many challenges that need to be understood and addressed for better
learning outcomes. The challenges can be related to the assessment of students, teachers, educational
boards, technology, social and ethical issues. Each challenge in the assessment system needs to be
analyzed properly.

1. Grading
The challenges faced by the grading system are as follows.

 There is no way developed that a student can know their assessment process and
grading technique.
 There is a lack of transparency in the assessment system.
 Classroom assessment techniques are rare.
 There is no flexibility in programmed grading.

2. Change in Examination Pattern

There are students who cannot perform well in their exams when the examination pattern
changes. At the time of assessment, these students find it difficult to adjust with a new
pattern and are confused to attempt the new form of questions. Sometimes students with
low grades get demotivated with the assessment as it marks their performance compared to
others.

3. Teachers Assessment Issues

There are many assessment tools developed to assess the knowledge of the student learned
in the classroom. Teachers play a major role in assessing students for their performance.
Assessments are based on their knowledge or performance in the classroom. Teachers are
finishing the syllabus in a short time as they are loaded with administration works in schools.
The assessment system is taking away the freedom and autonomy of the teacher.
 The procedure followed by teachers to assess students’ needs to change. Earlier there was
only one exam that used to be conducted for the students at the end of the year. But now,
with the multiple exams and technological advancements, the concentration level of the
student is reducing. There are multiple assessments in schools in the form of presentations,
projects, group discussions, assignments and tests. The teachers themselves have to put in a
lot of effort into preparing and planning for the assessments.

4. Technological Issues

Innovation in assessment is a delicate matter in the area of summative assessment which is

heavily controlled and has consequences on students’ assessment. The authority is
concerned about plagiarism and invigilation issues. There is difficulty in scalability and
transfer problems when different departments have separate working practices and culture.
Verification of user identity and security issues are also major challenges faced by the
authority. The technical requirements should be met for assessment systems such as
software, connectivity, security, accessibility etc.

5. Lack of Training

There is a lack of training for new strategies and the use of technology for the assessment.
The education institutions sometimes lack proper training on assessment techniques,
technology and methods that needs to be given to their teachers and examiners.

6. Cost of Investment

The assessment system requires a significant amount of investment to develop new

technology. The investment will help in supporting and training. There are few tools that
require a large number of investments and infrastructure. But authorities are sometimes
reluctant to invest in these assessment systems. The investments are not only in terms of
capital but time and workforce.

7. Lack of Policy

There are common policy challenges in governance and implementation of assessment

systems. Policy development needs to ensure the involvement of different components of
assessment framework such as school assessment, teacher appraisals, etc. The policy should
contribute to securing effective links to classroom practices.

8. Administration Issue

The administration should be careful about maintaining the records of student information.
Sometimes there is negligence in protecting the information on the assessment of students.
It can create problems for students who have been assessed wrongly.
9. Social/Ethical Issue

The manipulation of information raises major social and ethical issues. Sometimes careless
implementation of assessment can bring a negative impact on students who keep high
expectations on the assessment for their performance in exams.