Section Three

Assessing learning and teaching

All rights reserved. May not be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except fair uses permitted under U.S. or applicable copyright law.

Introduction
What have we learnt?
What will we learn?

3.1 Assessment: Introducing the terms

What does assessment mean?
Deepening our understanding of assessment
What does all this mean for planning assessment?

3.2 Choosing appropriate assessment instruments

The problem with inappropriate assessment methods
Incident 1
Incident 2
Using criterion-referenced assessment
Making better use of traditional assessment methods
Widening our choice of assessment methods
Using a mix of methods

3.3 Recording assessment

What are we expected to record and report?
Using checklists
Using rating scales
Assessing your own performance
Copyright 2012. Oxford University Press Southern Africa.

Introduction
What have we learnt?
As we have already learnt, it is often impossible and undesirable to ask that all learning be immediately measurable and
observable. A lot of really meaningful learning, especially at higher levels of study, can’t be observed or measured. For
instance, how do we measure wisdom? Nevertheless, we need to determine a minimum set of behaviours and understandings to
EBSCO Publishing : eBook Collection (EBSCOhost) - printed on 7/21/2022 3:48 PM via UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU NATAL
AN: 948947 ; T Mays, M Grosser, L de Jager, L Long.; SAIDE: Getting Practical: : A Guide to Teaching and Learning 3e
Account: s7246381.main.ehost 86
 suggest that a learner has achieved a particular competence in order to provide useful feedback and support.
In the module thus far, we have suggested that teachers should teach towards clearly described outcomes, objectives or goals
because we see education as an intentional, purposeful activity. These outcomes can usefully be stated in terms of what we want
learners to be able to know, do or feel at the end of a process of teaching and learning. We have suggested that these outcomes
should, as far as is possible and desirable, be stated in terms of measurable and observable behaviour, but accept that this will
not always be possible.
The setting of clear goals or outcomes and associated assessment criteria is also the first step in deciding on an assessment
plan. Assessment strategies – such as a test, exam, oral presentation, portfolio or project – are the instruments we use to gather
information (or evidence) that can assist us in deciding whether our learners have achieved the outcomes we set.

What will we learn?

In Section Three, we will show how a good assessment strategy must be able to provide information that can simultaneously:
Sum up the progress of learners accurately and be used to make formal decisions about whether learners should pass or fail
a grade
Be used by teachers and learners to teach and learn better.

We show how assessment strategy must be planned as part of the ongoing reflective cycle of planning, teaching, assessing,
reflecting and replanning. It must not simply be tacked on after teaching has ended. We also show how we can unearth more
information if we plan in a carefully thought-through, criterion-referenced manner, rather than relying on norm-referenced
forms of assessment.
By the end of Section Three, you should have developed the competences described in the checklist that follows.
Understood, but Understood Don’t
not practised and really
practised understand

Explain why assessment is important and how it can be used well (Section 3.1)

Explain the differences between using assessment formatively and using it summatively
(Section 3.1)

Explain how norm-referenced and criterion-referenced assessment differ, and the implications
of using either in schools (Section 3.2)

Use a number of assessment strategies as part of everyday teaching in order to improve your
diagnosis of learning difficulties and remediate these (Section 3.2)

Plan an assessment strategy that will accurately sum up a learner’s performance and that is
appropriate to the desired outcomes of the teaching programme (Section 3.2)

Use assessment to improve your own professional competence (Section 3.3)

3.1 Assessment: Introducing the terms

In order to frame and guide discussion, it is useful to clarify our key terms at the outset.
In this section, we examine the nature of assessment and the different forms it can take.

What does assessment mean?

We have learnt how to set outcomes or goals at various levels of detail. But how do we
know whether learners have achieved these outcomes? We assess the learners, of course!
Assessment is the means we use to gather information about how much our learners
have learnt. Assessment strategies, such as tests, exams, oral presentations, portfolios and
projects, are the instruments we use to gather this information.
But before we tell you what the experts say about good assessment strategies, we’d like
you to think about the variety of ways in which you have assessed learners or have been
assessed as a learner.

EBSCOhost - printed on 7/21/2022 3:48 PM via UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU NATAL. All use subject to https://www.ebsco.com/terms-of-use 87
 How do teachers assess?
The activity that follows asks you to reflect upon your own experience both as an
assessor and as someone who has been assessed.

Activity 1
1. First do this activity on your own. Write down your answers. Then discuss your answers
with other teacher-learners. Spend about 40 minutes on this activity.
2. Think back to your own schooling and post-school education. Describe four different
ways in which your learning progress was assessed.
3. Now, with a few other teacher-learners, discuss how you felt during these assessment
procedures. Were you anxious? Why? Did the assessment give you guidance as to
where and how you were going wrong?
4. How have you used assessment in your own teaching? Think of two examples and
explain why, exactly, you chose to use the assessment strategy you did use.
5. Finally, explain how you might have changed any of these assessment procedures in
order to ensure that they:
Provided reliable information (in other words, the test or other assessment procedure gave you evidence you could use to
support a judgement you made about the quality of learning demonstrated by learners)
Acted as a means by which you could assess and improve your teaching, and learners could assess and improve their
learning.

Did you find it quite difficult to remember four different ways in which you were assessed as a learner? As learners in the
classrooms of yesterday, we probably haven’t experienced a great range of assessment strategies. Perhaps you remember exams
or multiple-choice tests. Can you also remember rote-learning things for these tests and exams? Some of us were probably lucky
enough to experience project-based assessment, or some assessment of practical activities, such as building a chair in
Woodwork, cooking a white sauce in Domestic Science or making a speech in English. Foundation Phase teachers generally
make more use of observation to assess a performance. They listen to learners reading and speaking, or ask learners to draw.
Do any of you remember assessment that primarily served a teaching function? What was your reaction when teachers
provided no mark, but asked you instead to read the comments on an essay? In our experience, learners, like many teachers, are
only interested in the mark and where this mark places them in relation to their friends. They interpret assessment competitively
and as a judgement, not as a chance to learn.
So, the first problem with assessment is that a very narrow range of assessment strategies is used. We rely largely on written
and so-called objective tests. Another problem is that both learners and teachers see assessment primarily as a judgement that is
defined in terms of marks and a ranking in class. Although other assessment strategies exist to assess performance, especially
those that fit better in a competence-based educational framework, they tend to be used mainly in practical subjects or at lower
levels of schooling.

How do different users understand assessment?

Teachers and learners use (and understand) assessment in many different ways. As with our planning and mediating practice,
our assessment practice is influenced by our embedded theoretical assumptions (Section 2.2). Many of the purposes to which
assessment is put aren’t particularly useful educationally. But in order to implement new assessment strategies, we as teachers
need to be aware of how different stakeholders use and understand assessment. Have you ever had the experience of telling
learners that an essay, project or test ‘isn’t for marks’, and then found that no one bothered to study?
We’d like you to read through and then analyse this case study of an assessment moment in a KwaZulu-Natal school before
we continue.

Activity 2
1. Read through the cartoon dialogue on page 116.
2. Write down:
a. The reasons why Mr Singh tests his class
b. The different ways in which learners interpret this assessment

EBSCOhost - printed on 7/21/2022 3:48 PM via UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU NATAL. All use subject to https://www.ebsco.com/terms-of-use 88
 3. Imagine that Mr Singh had used this test to make judgements about whether to pass or fail his learners. What do you think the
response of parents might have been?

What did we think about Mr Singh’s test?

Traditionally, assessment has been used primarily to judge the state of learning, in other words, to find out what learners know,
understand, do and think. These results are then used to make decisions about progress, or to select learners to enter higher

EBSCOhost - printed on 7/21/2022 3:48 PM via UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU NATAL. All use subject to https://www.ebsco.com/terms-of-use 89
 education or employment. Has Mr Singh achieved this? What has he found out about his class? If you say, ‘Not much’, then
what purpose do you think assessment is serving in his classroom?
Mr Singh’s test, however inappropriate or poorly constructed, does serve different purposes.
Different people in the room use the test in all kinds of ways: There are many more
Mr Singh uses it to make the class work harder, and as a motivator and punisher. For comments you can and
instance, he threatens Byron with repeating the year if he fails. should make about the
purposes assessment
Olive uses it competitively. She uses her mark to rate herself against her peers. This isn’t serves in schools. We come
necessarily a problem. The problem is that she doesn’t really seem to understand what a back to its significance to
good answer is! parents later.

The test increases learner resentment. For instance, Ramla doesn’t really know what he is
being tested for or what is expected of him. Learners interpret it as punishment rather than as a moment they can use to
improve their own learning.
For everyone, testing seems to have become a pointless routine. Most of the class seem used to this sort of assessment and
accept that somehow it is meaningful to someone, even if not to themselves!

Deepening our understanding of assessment

So often, assessment or testing in schools becomes a wasteful and irritating ‘Mr Singh’ episode. It is unimaginative, wastes
time, causes irritation and conflict, and doesn’t provide reliable information on the quality of learning. As a consequence, we
can’t use the information to improve our teaching, or make decisions about whether learners should pass or fail a grade.
As teacher-assessors, we must always ask whether our assessment achieves a purpose that is educationally useful. This useful
purpose can be realised in different ways:
Does it help us understand why learners don’t understand certain concepts and what we can do about this? If assessment is
used primarily as an informal teaching tool, we can say that it is used formatively.
Does it help learners understand where and why they are going wrong, and what they can do about this? Again, if
assessment, is used primarily as an informal learning tool, we can say that it is used formatively.
Does it provide information reliable enough for us to make formal judgements about the quality of learners? If assessment
is used primarily and formally to make selection decisions that are going to be made public, we can say that it is used
summatively.
Are there other assessment strategies that would provide better information about the outcomes we are assessing? Is there a
more appropriate assessment method? Assessment strategies are always chosen to fit best with the kinds of learning we
want to assess.

Widening the range of information-gathering instruments used

What can we get learners to do or provide us with in order to compile the evidence we need to make judgements about
assessment? What kinds of information-gathering instrument can we use?

EBSCOhost - printed on 7/21/2022 3:48 PM via UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU NATAL. All use subject to https://www.ebsco.com/terms-of-use 90
 Isn’t that an amazing list? And to think that mostly we only ask learners to write. The number of
assessment possibilities multiply when we think of the form through which learners can do these
things, through which they can provide us with the evidence we need to make judgements about
their learning. For instance, writing can be assessed through: The mind map on this page
Keeping a diary is taken from Rob
Sieborger’s excellent book,
Writing an imaginative story Transforming Assessment:
Compiling a wall newspaper and so on. A Guide for South African
Teachers . (1998). Cape
Town: Juta.
Activity 3
1. Do this activity quickly. Spend no more then ten minutes on it. Do it with other teacher-learners.
2. Quickly, with some friends, take one or two of the activities listed in the mind map on page 118 and see how many different
formats you can use with each one.

This is the list Sieborger developed for his book Transforming Assessment . How does your list compare?

Written:
Story, letter, report, diary or logbook, essay, questionnaire, notes, display material (like charts), newspapers, illustrated stories
...

Spoken:
Performance, role play, recorded conversation, recorded discussion, interview, debate, radio programme ...

Visual:
Picture, poster, chart, graph, decoration, photograph, video ...
Producing real objects:
Artefact, model, sculpture ...

Making assessment reliable, valid and transparent

Assessment is always about gathering good information. But it is also about interpreting this information and then making
judgements (evaluations) based on our analysis. Otherwise a test is simply a measurement, not an evaluation.
For instance, a mark of 60% in a multiple-choice test on the causes of imperialism gives us a measure of a learner’s
understanding of imperialism. But as an assessor, we need to answer the question, ‘So what does this mean?’ It calls on us to
make a judgement. Can the fact that a learner:
Earned this grade (60%)
In a form of assessment using a particular information-gathering instrument (a multiple-choice test)
In a test that covers a small part of a curriculum (imperialism)

EBSCOhost - printed on 7/21/2022 3:48 PM via UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU NATAL. All use subject to https://www.ebsco.com/terms-of-use 91
 And held at a particular point in time, be interpreted as: ‘This learner understands history at a level good enough for
promotion to the next grade’?

We have to make and defend our decisions, and we need to do this in a manner that is regarded by people
as valid and reliable. Reliability, validity and transparency are three terms that should guide all our Transparency makes
assessment efforts. But what, exactly, do they mean? assessment seem
more valid and
Let’s begin with transparency. It means, simply, that the criteria against which learners are being
reliable to parents.
assessed are clearly described and understood by learners, teachers and other stakeholders. We often
argue for transparency on the basis of democracy or learner centredness. But there are important
educational reasons for this too.
First, it forces us, as teachers, to define what is good, poor or excellent. It assists us in marking against these criteria rather
than being fooled by the persuasive way in which one learner writes, while punishing another because his or her writing
style is less attractive.
Second, it contextualises both the assessment and learning for learners. It gives them an idea of how bits of learning fit
together and why the learning is important. This makes learning more meaningful. Thus it is more likely that learners will
use the knowledge they learn.
Third, it explains to outsiders, such as parents, what we do as teachers. If our criteria suggest clearly that learners must be
able to add single- and double-digit numbers and someone’s son can’t do this, failing that learner is easier for parents to
understand. In other words, transparency makes assessment seem more valid and reliable to parents.

But what is a reliable assessment instrument? A reliable instrument would be one that provided a teacher with similar results,
regardless of when it was used. Take a temperature gauge as an example. We’d expect a reliable instrument measuring a stove
turned up to 75 °C to tell us that the temperature is 75 °C and to do so every time we measure it. So, the same assessment
instrument (for example, an essay) administered among the same learners using the same assessment criteria should deliver a
similar set of marks and rankings in Week 1 and Week 5. Obviously, the fact that learners have done the essay before and so
have learnt something will have an influence on the overall level of performance, but this shouldn’t drastically alter our
findings. If the marks and rankings (the information gathered) vary greatly, we need to question the reliability of that
assessment instrument. Global assessments of oral work, for instance, are often unreliable. This is because one overall mark is
given for a complex piece of work, instead of various aspects being considered separately. Because no clear criteria and no
weighting of criteria are specified, the assessor may be strongly influenced by many other factors. He or she may assess the
same learner very differently on different occasions, despite the learner performing a similar task (giving a speech) and
performing that task in a similar way. Good assessment tries, as far as possible, to eliminate this unreliability.
A valid assessment is one that produces findings about a particular learning competence that are similar to the assessment
findings that we would obtain if we were to assess the competence using another valid instrument. Let us say we assess a
learner’s English abilities by asking her to present a prepared speech. The information we gather here leads us to say, ‘Janet
demonstrates an excellent use of the English language’. Our next information-gathering instrument is a conversation. If the first
test had been valid, we would expect the learner to demonstrate an excellent use of English once again. However, we now find
that the learner doesn’t understand our questions and can’t reply in a coherent sentence. We would now have to say that our
initial finding was invalid, and thus that the form of assessment was invalid.
How, then, do we construct an assessment strategy that can be considered valid, reliable and transparent? We do so in the
following ways:
First, through carefully setting appropriate assessment criteria. A written essay about how to make a wooden chessboard
would be a silly way to assess a learner’s woodworking skills! However, if the outcome was: ‘The learner is able to write a
clear set of instructions on how to construct a wooden chessboard’, an essay may be an appropriate assessment instrument.
Second, we try to assess whether learners demonstrate the desired competence over a length of time. A one-off assessment
can be affected by non-educational factors such as learner illness, an inadequate venue or even copying. For example, the
speech referred to earlier may have been memorised and then recited.
Third, we assess each criterion using a number of appropriate instruments. This is useful for two reasons: it assists us in
checking the reliability of other instruments (like the speech referred to earlier), while also assessing a more whole
competence. Language usage, for instance, is about technically correct usage as well as imaginative use, and it can be
assessed formally and casually.

Using assessment formatively and summatively

EBSCOhost - printed on 7/21/2022 3:48 PM via UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU NATAL. All use subject to https://www.ebsco.com/terms-of-use 92
 Traditionally, assessment is regarded by most stakeholders as a means of making judgements about the quality of learning, and
then producing a record of this (a school report) that can be used for selection purposes. As Mr Singh’s test and our experience
demonstrate, we often don’t do this very well. But does Mr Singh’s test serve any other useful function? Is it developmental or
formative? Does it assist learners in their learning or Mr Singh in his teaching? It doesn’t seem so. Part of the reason for this is
that Mr Singh clearly hasn’t prepared (planned) for this test. He hasn’t thought about how his form of assessment is linked to his
teaching or to his desired learning outcomes or goals. It is quite likely that Mr Singh is assessing something he didn’t really set
out to assess.
He wants factual answers about the content in a textbook. To have this as a purpose for assessment isn’t necessarily wrong.
As teachers, part of our job is to ensure that learners understand key facts and concepts. This is crucial as part of the foundation
for higher aims such as thinking critically or applying knowledge. But there is a problem in that learners seem confused about
why he wants them to write this test. If anything, they interpret it as punishment rather than either a valid measurement of what
they know or as a form of learning. Mr Singh (and the learners) also seem to know that Byron will do badly in the test, but it
doesn’t seem to bother them much. Byron isn’t provided with a clear way – a clear set of processes and criteria – through which
he can ‘pull up his socks’. He seems destined for repeated and ongoing failure. In other words, Mr Singh uses the results of the
test badly.
Teachers-as-assessors can be likened to judges. They use the evidence presented to them – usually in the form of formal
examinations that occur at a particular time and in a particular place – to make judgments. Judges, like all kinds of assessors,
have to estimate the value of something. They do so on the basis of the evidence collected and presented to them. But while all
assessors make judgements based on evidence presented to them, some, such as judges or tax assessors, simply use this
evidence to make a final decision: ‘The evidence shows you are guilty so I sentence you to ten years in jail.’ An engineering
assessor, however, assesses the evidence (he looks at the damage done to a building), and then works out what needs to be done
to repair it and what the cost will be. Teachers (as assessors) use the evidence presented to them in both ways:
Summatively: Like a judge, teachers assess evidence and make judgements about whether candidates can be released into
the next grade or whether they should be kept back. The judgement is presented formally and publicly. In addition, the
evidence must be strong enough to defend if it is challenged.
Formatively: Like an engineering assessor, teachers must also suggest what more needs to be done to repair the damage. A
teacher-as-assessor operates diagnostically by suggesting where the problems in learning lie and what should be done to
remedy these problems.

You may well say, ‘But the two run together, there isn’t a hard separation between summative and
formative assessments.’ This is absolutely true. All assessment must produce reliable and valid Teachers as
information that can be used to diagnose problems, guide changes in teaching and learning, and allow assessors use the
evidence presented
teachers to make sound, public judgements on learning quality. So:
to them summatively
Whether in the form of exams, portfolios, projects or a year mark that includes all of these, good and formatively.
summative assessments should also provide information about learners’ strengths and weaknesses.
Teachers should be able to draw on the information provided by the assessment to plan teaching that
is appropriate for the learners who will enter their classes in the next year.
When done over a length of time, good formative assessments should also provide teachers with evidence that is reliable
enough to make judgements about whether a learner should pass or fail. As teachers listen to learners’ responses to their
questions or learners’ contributions in group work, or scan through learners’ written work, they will also make judgements
about the quality of learning. If teachers then accumulated all of these assessments and checked that they were reliable,
these assessments could be used as a summative assessment to replace end-of-the-year tests or exams.

The purpose for which a particular assessment is used and the form in which it is presented define the assessment as either
primarily formative or summative. A written essay, which is regarded as a common strategy for summative assessment, can also
be used formatively. For instance, if a teacher consciously gives learners opportunities to submit drafts of essays, makes
comments on how these drafts could be improved and then allows the learners to resubmit improved essays, the essay is very
definitely being used developmentally (as a teaching method).

So when do we assess learners?

We assess learners continuously. This may sound absurd, even if authorities say you must implement continuous assessment.
We need to think of assessment differently, not as a disruption to teaching, but as an integral part of teaching. We also need to
assess differently by making sure that all our assessment does some teaching too. Then continuous assessment doesn’t seem as

EBSCOhost - printed on 7/21/2022 3:48 PM via UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU NATAL. All use subject to https://www.ebsco.com/terms-of-use 93
 absurd.

So when do teachers gather information on learners’ progress? How does the way in which this information is gathered differ
depending on the time when assessment occurs? Here are three broad categories of assessment.

In-lesson check-ups
This could include a few review questions at the start of a lesson, an informal quiz or a quick problem-solving activity using
work done earlier. This gives the teacher information about whether and how the learners understand the work covered in the
lesson or activity. Information from these check-ups is used by the teacher to adapt his or her methods immediately and to
identify which learners need special attention. So, for instance, the teacher may (through questioning) find that learners have
misunderstood the explanation he or she has just given. The teacher may then decide to ask learners to read something or to do
an activity in order to clarify the explanation. This assessment is seldom recorded formally or used for summative purposes, but
is almost entirely formative and developmental. Good teachers, however, would probably make notes in a journal to remind
themselves of what doesn’t seem to work, what does seem to work and who to keep an eye on.

After-lesson information gathering

EBSCOhost - printed on 7/21/2022 3:48 PM via UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU NATAL. All use subject to https://www.ebsco.com/terms-of-use 94
 The methods used here are similar to those used in the check-ups, but are often implemented and recorded more formally.
After-lesson information gathering also tends to:
Assess larger chunks of work, in particular the understanding of whole concepts rather than
bits of foundational knowledge (facts) Sometimes teachers will
Be more actively diagnostic (in other words, teachers choose assessment strategies or include marks or some
questions that will help them understand why and how learners are going wrong). other form of grading (see
here and here ). In this
case, it seems the teacher
The teacher may design tasks that assess (and help learners develop) new concepts, extend will do this ‘on Friday’. But
existing concepts, force learners to generalise and, ultimately, develop theoretical understanding. note how she focuses on
While the check-ups focus mainly on immediate recall, this kind of ongoing, diagnostic and how learners are learning,
not just on what they don’t
formative assessment will systematically assess different kinds and levels of learning. Teachers
know.
will also record this information. They may, for instance, record something like this:

11/3 The class seems to have grasped the concept of industrialisation and succeeded in the project I set for them. Maybe I should check by
setting them a problem that is unfamiliar and challenging, in order to stretch them. Maybe individual problem-solving activities on Friday
that I will mark? But I must work with Thandi and Jack. Thandi has an amazing memory, but struggles to pull facts together into concepts.
I think this is why she struggles in problem-solving projects: she can’t use the information. Jack is doing no work at all. I think I’ll
separate him from his group …

In other words, this form of assessment is ideally both formative and summative. Teachers could use the cumulative assessment
to make decisions about progress to the next grade.

Summing up a learner’s performance

The first two kinds of assessment are primarily developmental (although the second can also be used for summative purposes).
But, as we noted earlier, assessment is vital in order to make public judgments about the quality of teaching and learning. The
methods or instruments used can be similar to those used in continuous, formative assessment. However, they must be accepted
by the wider community as fair, reliable and valid. In order to ensure this, teachers must record their assessment rigorously and
be able to justify their decisions. Teachers record marks or grades that, ultimately, will indicate the quality of a learner at the
end of the learning process. This could be a year or a phase. Although this often includes ranking learners, it doesn’t have to.
The matric exam is a good example of this kind of summative assessment. However, summative assessments can be the
cumulative interpretation made from the rigorous assessment of learners over a length of time through a variety of instruments,
such as portfolios, class tests and projects.
This information is provided to learners and parents, and to other interested parties, such as employers and higher-education
institutions. It is often used for selection purposes and can determine acceptance into the next grade, a university or into a
company ahead of other applicants.

What does all this mean for planning assessment?

We need to make some key changes in the way we think about assessment.
First, we need to understand assessment as an ongoing learning tool through which we diagnose learning difficulties. On the
basis of what we find, we adapt and improve our teaching, and the way in which learners learn, so that these difficulties are
overcome. This suggests that we need to assess continuously and diagnostically. In order to do this, we need to plan our
assessment strategy and even think in detail about the actual instruments we will use before we begin teaching.
Teachers should plan the overall assessment strategy as part of the year and phase plans. You will need to consider questions
such as the following: Which assessments will be used summatively and must therefore be rigorously implemented and
recorded? When will these assessments take place? What percentage of the total mark will they each count? Does the mix of
instruments chosen actually assess the kinds of outcomes set? Are the outcomes and assessment strategies in line with the
external assessment requirements of the curriculum?
You will need to consider more detailed questions about the instruments to be used when planning individual lessons or units
of lessons. You might ask yourself questions such as the following: Should this be a multiple-choice test or an essay test? How
long should the essay be? What, exactly, do I want my learners to demonstrate here? How will I use this evidence to change my
teaching in the future?
Second, we can only use assessment formatively if we decide what constitutes good learning. To tell a learner her essay is

EBSCOhost - printed on 7/21/2022 3:48 PM via UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU NATAL. All use subject to https://www.ebsco.com/terms-of-use 95
 ‘excellent’ tells her nothing about what ‘excellent’ is (as opposed to ‘good’ or ‘average’). We must set clear criteria that
describe what we regard as valuable. For instance, if our outcome (our description of valuable learning) is ‘be able to do
research’, then our mode of assessment must be able to assess the doing of research. It should not be a test or essay that asks the
learner to write about research! This must also be considered during the planning phase.
Finally, good teachers plan to ensure that all assessment:
Is appropriate to the learning desired (in other words, it is valid in the sense that it assesses the right things)
Provides a reliable indication of the differences in the quality of learning of different learners
Is diagnostic (it tells us not just that the learner has made a mistake, but suggests why and how he or she is going wrong)
Is recorded diligently so that it can more easily be used for formal summative purposes.

One writer suggested using the three-step process described below to ensure a valid and reliable assessment strategy.

A three-stage assessment process

Using the process described below will ensure that the information yielded by the assessment strategy is also valid and reliable.

Stage 1: Plan assessment

1. Specify what judgements or decisions need to be made from the assessment. In other words, be clear about the purpose of
the assessment. Do we have to decide whether the learner will pass or fail the year? Or are we simply assessing content
knowledge in order to see whether we should proceed with a section of work?
2. Make sure these decisions are guided by the course or lesson aims and objectives (outcomes). Although the principal
outcomes will always guide teaching and assessment, in some cases assessment will be most strongly guided by particular
lesson outcomes.
3. Describe the kinds of information you will need in order to make a valid judgement. In other words, set clear assessment
criteria or standards. This is like writing a memo: you outline what learners must produce in order to pass or fail, or in
order for you to decide that you can proceed to the next section or not. You may also specify the form in which learners
will present this evidence (for instance, short answers, a two-page essay or an oral presentation).
4. Decide when and how to collect the required information. If the decision to be made is whether to continue with work, this
might consist of a short oral test at the beginning of each lesson. If it is about passing or failing a year, the information
might be gathered through a variety of techniques spanning a year.
5. Select or construct an information-gathering instrument that is appropriate to your purpose. If you want to assess whether
learners can recall basic content information, you may choose to use a one-word-answer test or a multiple-choice test. If
the major purpose is to find out whether learners can use the concepts learnt to analyse a typical history problem, you may
give them a case study and ask them to write an analysis in the form of an essay.

Stage 2: Implement assessment

6. Obtain the information required. In other words, run your assessment. At times, this will be quick. For example, you might
ask learners a set of questions as a review. At other times, it may last the entire year. For instance, you might ask learners
to present a portfolio of work that will be used to judge passing or failure.
7. Analyse and record the information. This obviously begins with marking the assessment, using the assessment criteria as
your guide. Analysis requires more thought. It is about deciding on the difficult cases. A learner may surprise you. Why?
What does this mean in terms of his or her learning? It also requires that you look for trends that may guide your own
teaching. Do all learners demonstrate a similar misunderstanding, for example? This may indicate a problem with the way
in which you explained the concept.

Stage 3: Use the assessment information generated

8. Form your judgements about what the information you have gathered means. Does it suggest a problem with your
information-gathering instrument? Or does it accurately tell you what the standard of learning is? Do you fail a learner? Do
you allow a learner to rewrite a test or essay? Do you know why a learner demonstrated a particular misunderstanding? Do
you reteach a section? How?
9. Make decisions about what you do. This is closely linked to point 8, but it isn’t the same thing. It is important to make
judgements before making decisions. If the means of assessment is faulty, you may decide not to fail a learner. If that

EBSCOhost - printed on 7/21/2022 3:48 PM via UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU NATAL. All use subject to https://www.ebsco.com/terms-of-use 96
 learner’s performance is entirely out of keeping with his or her history, you may want to explore why this is so before
making the decision to pass or fail the individual. If, for example, your assessment was a one-off exam and the learner was
feeling ill on the day of the exam, you will need to decide what to do.
10. Communicate your assessment decisions. In some cases, you may communicate only with yourself. (‘They know very little
so I won’t proceed with the next section.’) At other times, you may decide to communicate with learners only (an informal
class test with lots of comment). But often we have to communicate these decisions to the school head, the department and
parents.

We can also represent the three-stage assessment process graphically, as shown alongside.
Are all of these things in place? Or have you started teaching without being clear about your assessment strategy? In the next
sub-section, we will look in more detail at Stage 1 and consider how to choose appropriate information-gathering instruments.

3.2 Choosing appropriate assessment instruments

Sometimes teachers use unsuitable or inappropriate assessment instruments.

The problem with inappropriate assessment methods

The activity that follows will help you think about the appropriateness of different assessment strategies.

Activity 4
1. Spend about twenty minutes on this activity.
2. Here are two ‘snapshots’ of assessment moments. Read through both, keeping in mind what you have learnt so far.

Incident 1

EBSCOhost - printed on 7/21/2022 3:48 PM via UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU NATAL. All use subject to https://www.ebsco.com/terms-of-use 97
 Incident 2
Imagine a learner has an end-of-year report card that says:

Thulani Dlamini
English: 48%
Class average: 62%

3. Answer the following questions:

a. Why do you think the teacher and learner interpreted the essay in the first incident in such different ways? How would you
redesign this assessment so that the information it delivers is more usefully employed by both the teacher and learner?
b. As an employer (or a higher-education teacher), what sense would you make of the excerpt from Thulani’s report? Does it
provide the information you require?

What did we think of these assessments?

Problem 1: Different interpretations of assessment information
In Incident 1, the teacher and learner have arrived at very different judgements of the work that has been assessed. Why is this
so? One answer might be: ‘Well, learners don’t know how to assess!’ Another might be: ‘The two are assessing different
things.’ One way to reduce the problem – they might be assessing different things – is to state clearly (or agree on) the criteria
against which you will assess before the assignment or test is written. For instance, this teacher might have said:

Assessment criteria for this assignment

The learner will demonstrate, in a one-page essay:
• A good use of English grammar
• Neat presentation
• Imagination.
Each of these criteria will be weighted equally.

EBSCOhost - printed on 7/21/2022 3:48 PM via UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU NATAL. All use subject to https://www.ebsco.com/terms-of-use 98
 One of the problems with using marks or symbols only in any assessment is that it’s difficult to tell what the learner does or
doesn’t know, or what he or she can or can’t do. When marking criteria are specified, even as simply as we have done in this
example, learners will be able to look at the breakdown and say, ‘OK, my presentation is awful and I deserve zero for that, my
grammar is also not that good so one out of three is OK, and I see Sir gave me two out of three for the story so he did recognise
that it was good! Maybe I can ask why he didn’t give me a bonus of one mark to make a total of ten.’

Problem 2: A lack of good information

Incident 2 reveals just how uninformative many report cards are. Can Thulani read a newspaper, a memo or an academic text?
Can he use English to discuss a problem or follow instructions? Can he write a letter of complaint to query his account at a
clothing store? Can he take a phone message successfully? Can he rouse a thousand people with a powerfully descriptive and
persuasive speech?
The short answer is: ‘We don’t know!’ Certainly the report gives no information on this! Parents and employers don’t really
know how good Thulani is in the skills they need. Thulani doesn’t know what he needs to work on to improve. Good
summative assessments provide information that is valid, reliable and useful. This report provides none of this. All we can
interpret is that Thulani is weaker than average, but we have no idea of what ‘average’ means.
Many traditional forms of assessment, such as exams and tests, suffer from these problems. Yet we still use them as a judge
uses evidence: we convict our learners! National and provincial school exams are vital in any system of education. They cannot
be thrown out without damaging the school system. If they are valid, reliable and informative, they provide people outside
schools with a quick description of the kind of person applying for work or for entry into a university, and of the health of the
entire education system. They sum up the quality of an individual learner, or a school’s ability to teach, or the quality of an
education system as a whole.
How can we use instruments such as tests and exams in more analytical, descriptive and reliable ways? We have already
suggested that reliability and validity will be improved by making sure that a summative assessment, which should provide a
picture of the whole ability of a learner, isn’t based on a single, written exam or test. A summative assessment should sum up
learning and so should be based on a number of assessments over a period of time. The modes of assessment should also be
varied in order to assess different kinds of capabilities. Written tests do not give a good, rounded assessment of the range of
learning capabilities we should assess.

Using criterion-referenced assessment

The setting of appropriate, acceptable and measurable criteria is one way in which we can make assessment more useful
educationally.

Activity 5
1. Do this activity with another teacher-learner. Spend about twenty minutes on it.
2. Read through the two short excerpts from Grade 1 Language and Mathematics curriculum
Get hold of the NCS/CAPS
documents that appear below and here . Think of how the assessment guidelines could help documents (
Cynthia to assess her learners. www.education.gov.za ) for
your subject. Have another
Table 1 Example of assessment guidelines for Foundation Phase First Additional Language look at what assessment
requirements are listed.
Suggestions for Informal Assessment Activities:
Listening and Speaking (oral and/or practical)

Weeks 1–5
Responds physically to simple oral instructions
Points to objects in the classroom or in a picture in response to teacher’s instructions

Weeks 6–10
Names some objects in a picture or in the classroom
Responds to simple questions

Formal Assessment Activity 1: Listening and Speaking (oral and/or practical)

Responds to simple questions
Demonstrates understanding of some basic oral vocabulary by pointing to objects in the classroom or a picture in response to instructions from the
teacher, for example, ‘Show me the red/yellow/blue/green jersey/socks/shirt’ etc.

Source: Department of Basic Education (DBE). 2011. Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS): Foundation Phase – First Additional Language Grades R–3. Pretoria: DBE,
p. 32.

EBSCOhost - printed on 7/21/2022 3:48 PM via UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU NATAL. All use subject to https://www.ebsco.com/terms-of-use 99
 Table 2 Example of assessment guidelines for Foundation Phase Mathematics
Grade 1 Term 3: Assessment Task 2

Content area Topic Criteria

Numbers, operations and Number Counts forwards in 10s, 5s, 2s to 80

relationships Concept
Uses language to describe relative size of numbers: before, after, between

Compares the size of numbers up to 15 using language, for example, more than, fewer than etc

Can split numbers 11–15 into 10 + ones, for example, 12 = 10 + 2

Solve Solves word problems in context involving repeated addition with answers up to 15 using one of the following:
problems Apparatus
Drawings
Building up and breaking down numbers
Number lines
Doubling and halving and explains own solution to problems

Solves practical problems involving equal sharing and grouping with whole numbers up to 15 and with
answers that can include remainders by one of the following:
Apparatus
Drawings
Number lines
Explains solutions

Money Recognises South African currency coins 5c, 10c, 20, 50c, R1, R2, R5

Solve money problems involving totals and change to R20 and in cents up to 20c

Calculations Does repeated addition up to 15 using one of the following:

Apparatus
Drawings
Building up and breaking down numbers
Number lines
Doubling and halving
Writes a number sentence using +, =

etc.

Source: Department of Basic Education (DBE). 2011. Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS): Foundation Phase – Mathematics Grades R–3. Pretoria: DBE, p. 538.

3. Now imagine we can see inside this teacher’s head as she writes her Grade 1 reports.
a. On what is she basing her assessment?
b. How useful do you think this information will be for the children’s parents?

EBSCOhost - printed on 7/21/2022 3:48 PM via UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU NATAL. All use subject to https://www.ebsco.com/terms-of-use 100
 4. Compare your ideas with ours, which we give below.

What did we think of Cynthia’s assessment?

First, Cynthia relies on her impression or memory of a learner’s performance. She doesn’t seem to have any written records to
refer to. Second, she tends to judge one learner’s performance in relation to other learners. Third, her symbols provide no
information about the nature of the learner’s learning. Does a C mean, for instance, that Mandla can ‘use phonic and
word-recognition skills to decode new or unfamiliar words in context’? Does a B mean that Jessica can do this as well as write a
couple of sentences in her home language?

The problem with norm referencing

Let us focus on the second and third points. Cynthia, like so many of us, uses other learners as her standard for assessment. She
gives the highest grade to the best learner or best test. She then ranks others in relation to this standard until the least-proficient
learner gets the bottom grade. One of the assumptions about such assessment is that all classes will deliver an average – a norm
– around which marks should be clustered. It suggests that we should never have too many really high marks or too many
failures. The majority of learners should have marks close to the centre, the average. This kind of assessment is often called
norm referencing.
Have a look at this example of a typical school report, which is probably also norm referenced.

EBSCOhost - printed on 7/21/2022 3:48 PM via UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU NATAL. All use subject to https://www.ebsco.com/terms-of-use 101
 Name: Thulani Dlamini
Grade: 9D
Position in class: 29/44
Pass or fail: Pass
Class average Student mark

Zulu 45 60

English 62 48

Mathematics 53 55

Natural Sciences 49 43

Social Sciences 61 66

Technology 43 41

Economic and Management Sciences 49 43

Life Orientation 44 49

Arts and Culture 56 73

Activity 6
1. Do this activity alone. If the report doesn’t provide you with the information you need to give an answer, say so, then take a
guess. You could discuss your answers with fellow learners once you’ve done the work alone. Spend no more than 30 minutes
on this activity.
2. Look closely at Thulani’s report and do an analysis of what the report tells you. For instance, you could ask questions like:
a. What are Thulani’s learning strengths and weaknesses?
b. Which subject is the most difficult?
c. Is Thulani among the stronger or weaker learners in his class?
d. Where in the report does Thulani get compared to other learners (to the norm)?
e. Does Thulani have any good teachers?
f. Do you think that the class, as a whole, is doing well? Give reasons for your answer.

As with Cynthia’s marking, a report like Thulani’s does provides some information about
the child. We could conclude (from looking at Thulani’s marks) that his strengths lie in
Arts and Culture, Social Sciences and Zulu, while he is weak in Natural Sciences.
Overall, his placing (29 out of 44 learners) seems to suggest that he is an average or
just-below-average performer.
But does it tell us whether Thulani has a good teacher? How can we tell? We could
compare these class averages against those of other classes and teachers. But does this
tell us about the quality of the teaching, or the learners, or the nature of the assessment?
Is the class doing well? Again, how do we tell? Let’s look at some of the secrets that are
not revealed in that report.
It would seem that we need to be careful about the judgements we draw from Thulani’s
report. The easy, one-off Social Sciences test explains the high class average in this
subject. We also now know a little more about how the Zulu, Life Orientation and
Natural Sciences marks were calculated, and what may have affected the mark.
Sometimes it is helpful to know how other learners are progressing and to compare individual progress with the whole (to
norm-reference). But, in many instances, such as judging Mandla’s progress in using phonics, it simply doesn’t matter how well
Jessica or the rest of the class is doing. Is Mandla able to construct a good sentence? Is he able to read and understand a piece of
imaginative writing? The report gives us no idea! As a teacher, it would be important to know whether or not Mandla can write
and read, and his level of competence in these skills. In order to read and write, his understanding and ability to apply what he
learns in phonics are important. He will need to know where his weaknesses are. Therefore Cynthia needs to know to what level
of competence (what standard) she expects Mandla to perform.

EBSCOhost - printed on 7/21/2022 3:48 PM via UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU NATAL. All use subject to https://www.ebsco.com/terms-of-use 102
 Adapting the report: The use of assessment criteria
Imagine that Cynthia now wants to assess her learners’ language skills against set criteria rather than against the standard set by
other learners. This is what the reports she sends out look like now.
Learner Intended learning Assessment criteria Exceeded Satisfied Partially Not
satisfied satisfied

Jessica Reading and viewing Recognises letters and words and makes meaning of
The learner will be able to read and written text:
view for information and enjoyment, Reads simple written materials (labels, stories
and respond critically to the and so on) for different purposes 3
aesthetic, cultural and emotional Reads own writing and the writing of classmates
values in texts. Uses phonic and word-recognition skills to
decode new or unfamiliar words in context (for 3
example, visual cues like shape of word and letter
patterns, picture clues, context clues and
letter-sound relationships). 3

Learner Intended learning Assessment criteria Exceeded Satisfied Partially Not

satisfied satisfied

Mandla Reading and viewing Recognises letters and words and makes meaning of
The learner will be able to read and written text:
view for information and enjoyment, Reads simple written materials (labels, stories 3
and respond critically to the and so on) for different purposes
aesthetic, cultural and emotional Reads own writing and the writing of classmates
values in texts. Uses phonic and word-recognition skills to 3
decode new or unfamiliar words in context (for
example, visual cues like shape of word and letter
patterns, picture clues, context clues and 2
letter-sound relationships).

Activity 7
1. Spend about 40 minutes on this activity.
2. Compare these assessment reports with what parents were likely to get from Cynthia’s last effort. Alternatively, compare these
reports with the report that Thulani and his parents received.
a. What information do these reports provide that the previous reports did not provide?
b. What information did the other reports provide that these don’t provide?
c. Reread the criteria for good assessment and assessment reporting . How do these different reports measure up?
d. Is there any way in which you could combine the strengths of both of these kinds of reports?

When individual learners are assessed against a set of educational requirements, criteria or standards (there are many different
terms to describe the same idea) and these criteria are stated explicitly, the assessment is described as criterion referenced.
Cynthia’s new report is criterion referenced. It uses a four-level rating scale. Learners may have exceeded, satisfied, partially
satisfied or not satisfied the requirements of the selected assessment criteria. Yet it still provides teachers, learners and parents
with far more information about the nature of learning than the earlier symbols. We now know that the differences between
Mandla and Jessica are as follows:
Jessica has satisfied all three of the criteria, while Mandla hasn’t.
Mandla must still demonstrate that he can ‘use phonic and word-recognition skills to decode new or unfamiliar words in
context’.
Jessica is ready to move on to learning at the next level.
The teacher knows that she can move on from the criterion ‘recognises letters and words and makes meaning of written
text’ because both her learners (we are assuming she has a very small class!) have now largely satisfied this assessment
requirement. However, Mandla will need extra support in the process.

Criterion referencing involves deciding on some requirements (such as a list of phonics or the layout and content of a science
experiment) that learners have to fulfil in order to succeed. The success of a learner is measured against such criteria and not
against or in relation to other learners or a class average.
This means that it is quite possible that all learners will achieve all the intended learning. There is no attempt to cluster people
around an average. It will mean that some learners take longer than others to meet the criteria, but the assumption is that all

EBSCOhost - printed on 7/21/2022 3:48 PM via UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU NATAL. All use subject to https://www.ebsco.com/terms-of-use 103
 learners will achieve them eventually.
Remember we mentioned earlier that learning aims and assessment criteria cannot describe Criterion referencing
every bit of learning, and that some meaningful learning (especially at higher levels) simply doesn’t mean that we throw
cannot be captured in objectives- or outcomes-based language? For this reason, good educators out symbols, the use of
averages (or norms) or
use assessment criteria to describe a minimum standard that must be reached by all. They don’t ranking. Assessing against
define a maximum standard. It is thus important that teachers: educational criteria simply
Ensure that all learners meet the assessment criteria (the minimum level of competence) gives us an additional tool
we can use in making our
Push learners to achieve at much higher levels, which aren’t necessarily listed in the assessment more accurate
assessment criteria. and meaningful.

Linking learning intentions and assessment criteria

The criteria to be used in an assessment task should be:
Clearly stated and understood by both the learner and the teacher at the beginning of the assessment activity. Not only does
it make it easier to justify our marking or grading, but the performance of learners will also improve if they know what you
are looking for.
Linked clearly to the kinds of learning you have been working towards in class. If your learners have done activities using
story sums and real objects in class, it would not be a good idea to test them with abstract numbers on pieces of paper. Test
what you teach!

Listen to this story. Mac has handed back a set of marked

essays. Learners are looking at their assignments and
comparing marks. Most seem excited, except for Mpho, who
is obviously dissatisfied with his mark.
The key point here is that the learning you are working
towards and the criteria (or standards) you set need to be
closely linked and identified in your planning phases. This
means that your assessment should correspond both in terms
of the knowledge taught (let’s say, the decimal point) and the
manner in which you have taught it.
So, for instance, if learners have learnt about the decimal
point through many classroom shopping experiences, but
have never sat down and done conventional Maths
calculations using a decimal point, it would be unfair to assess
them in the form of a set of Maths sums! The solution,
though, isn’t to drop conventional Maths tests and only
observe learners using money. Maths standards require that
learners understand decimal points abstractly and, ultimately,
are able to use this concept in many different situations. So,
good teachers can use shopping as a way of teaching the
decimal point. However, in their teaching, they must move
towards using the decimal point on paper and in a
mathematical way. The concept should only then be assessed.
The traditional way of recording marks has been to use mark sheets. With the new methods of assessing learners, we need to
use other methods of recording learner performance as well. There are many ways of recording evidence of learning by learners,
but two useful ways of recording observations are:
Checklists
Rating scales.

We will examine these instruments in Section 3.3. But let us now look at a couple of other instruments that we can use in our
assessment. First, we will look at methods that could be considered ‘traditional’. Then we will look at some methods that can be
used as part of a continuous assessment strategy.

EBSCOhost - printed on 7/21/2022 3:48 PM via UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU NATAL. All use subject to https://www.ebsco.com/terms-of-use 104
 Making better use of traditional assessment methods
Traditional assessment methods still have plenty to offer. Here are some guidelines to help you use some of these methods more
effectively.

Short-question tests
Questions are the most obvious way of assessing knowledge or of gathering information about a
learner’s understanding of new material. In a sense, all assessment – whether an essay, project, Assessment techniques are
portfolio or simple quiz – begins with a question of some kind. But the questions can: seldom entirely open or
Elicit answers that range from short, immediate answers (one-word answers or entirely closed. Generally
they range along a
multiple-choice tests) to answers that will fill a book (a portfolio or research project) continuum from one
Be phrased in a very open and unstructured manner (designed to give learners a chance to extreme to the other. The
prove their own imagination and creativity), or they can be closed and highly structured continuum illustrated here
reflects this, and is adapted
questions (designed to get precise information on learner recall and/or understanding). from a
‘freedom-of-response
continuum’ developed by
Lewis.

Adapted from Cohen, L. and Manion, L. (1989). A Guide to Teaching Practice . (3rd ed.) London: Routledge.

None of these kinds of questions is better or worse than other questions. Some open questions are so badly phrased that they are
ambiguous, cannot be understood or allow the learner to answer in ways that don’t provide the assessor with the required
information. As a result, they serve absolutely no useful assessment purpose. Likewise, an unstructured question used
inappropriately (with young learners, very weak learners or when the precise recall of mathematical information is being
sought, for example) is, quite simply, a bad question.

Open-ended, less structured questions

Open-ended questions maximise the freedom learners have to express their opinions and feelings. They also encourage ideas by
opening up the range of possible responses. The most open-ended questions will be assessed against a very limited set of criteria
that would probably focus more on process and structure than on content. (Is the story exciting? Is the solution plausible – is it
reasoned – and clearly explained? Is the language use good and imaginative?) Open-ended questions are thus far more
appropriate to subjects (or parts of subjects) where you want to assess the following traits of learners:
Imagination and creativity (‘You are kidnapped by a frog. Write the story of your adventure.’)
Ability to communicate clearly in writing (‘Explain how a map would assist you in travelling somewhere during your
holiday.’)
Ability to analyse and problem-solve (‘Read through this case study. Explain why you think the problem has emerged and
what you would do to solve it.’)
Ability and confidence in expressing their own opinion (‘What do you think South Africa should do to solve the problems
of racism and xenophobia?’).

EBSCOhost - printed on 7/21/2022 3:48 PM via UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU NATAL. All use subject to https://www.ebsco.com/terms-of-use 105
 You will notice that some of these questions – the first and the fourth, for instance – are far more open than the second and third
questions. In both the second and third questions, the assessor probably expects learners to use some of the knowledge learnt in
class, while the first and fourth question don’t require any reference to content learnt (although the assessor may expect a
particular structure and standard of language use).

Highly structured or closed questions

Highly structured or closed questions limit learner freedom, but for an important educational purpose. This purpose is that good
education requires learners to know certain things and to do certain things, whether they like them or not! In addition, learners
must be able to explain this knowledge to an assessor in precise, detailed and to-the-point language.
Structured questions that ask for a less open response than those mentioned earlier are most appropriate when we want to
assess whether a learner:
Is able to recall basic information (‘Which planet is closest to the Sun? Name all the planets in order, starting with the
planet closest to the Sun.’)
Can explain a process briefly and concisely (‘Explain how photosynthesis works. Your answer should be limited to 150
words.’)
Can work out a mathematical proof (‘Prove that line AB is parallel to line CD.’)
Can explain a particular concept in economics, history or in literature.

Again, you may well argue that not all of these questions are equally closed or structured. For instance, the fourth point could
include a question like:
1. What role do multi-national corporations play in South Africa’s economic development? (40 marks)
a. Define what a multi-national corporation is. (5)
b. In no more than ten lines, outline two different explanations of
how these corporations influence developing countries.(10 + 10)
c. In ten lines, show how these explanations differ and what the implications of the differences are for unemployed
people. (10)
d. Which explanation do you prefer and why?(5)

In the sense that it asks for a personal response from the learner (Part d) and for paragraph rather than one-word answers, we
could argue that the question is relatively open. But, in another sense, the assessor clearly structures the answer. The learner is
told what he or she should cover and the weighting of each section.
The same question could have been set as a much more open essay question. Imagine if the question had been:

Critically discuss the role that multi-national corporations play in South Africa’s economic development. (40 marks)

This provides a lot more freedom for learners, but it also provides less support. Strong learners will tend to like a question
phrased in this way, but weaker students may well have difficulties. The second question also runs the risk of evoking an
answer that might be very well argued, but does not focus enough on the information the assessor wants. Unless assessment
criteria are carefully spelled out, either learners or the teacher may feel a little cheated by the response.
An advantage of structured questions is that they tend to allow for a far more objective assessment. They are also easier to
mark because they generally consist of short questions. These are important factors to keep in mind. Learners and parents like
objective tests, and teachers often like them because they are time efficient. But, it is important to ask:
Does this objective test – a multiple-choice test or a short-answer quiz, for example – assess the kind of learning
competence that I should be teaching?
Does my assessment strategy as a whole balance different kinds of assessment so that learners can demonstrate both their
imagination and their precision?

Essays and project work

The essay is an assessment format that can be used in more and less structured ways. It can be used to assess imagination,
problem-solving abilities, objective explanations of concepts and processes, and critical argument. It is an important
information-gathering instrument and must be used, particularly in assessment at higher levels of schooling. But the essay does
throw up a number of difficulties.
First, it provides learners with more freedom to organise their ideas and communicate them in their own particular style. This

EBSCOhost - printed on 7/21/2022 3:48 PM via UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU NATAL. All use subject to https://www.ebsco.com/terms-of-use 106
 freedom does mean, however, that the learner gets less support. This can lead to learners feeling insecure and to them
misinterpreting questions. They then write an answer that is good, but does not answer the question that was asked.
Second, because essays take time to write, only one or two can be included in any exam or test. This means that only a
portion of the work taught can be assessed. Some teachers try to overcome this by providing a choice of essay topics. The
problem with this is that learners may choose the ‘wrong’ topic and answer it badly. This can happen for two reasons. Learners
may choose a question because it looks like the easier of two choices, even though it covers a section of work they aren’t that
sure about. Or else learners choose to answer a question that, although more difficult than the other topic, covers the work they
feel surer about. Whatever the reason, we must ask if this is a fair assessment of the learners’ competence.
Third, the essay makes assessment much more difficult and subjective. Global assessment – where no criteria and weighting
of criteria are listed – provides the most difficulties. Global assessment tends to lead to big deviations in the marks allocated by
different markers. Learners and parents also regard these assessments with some suspicion. In order to address this problem,
teachers try to use assessment grids or rubrics that identify assessment criteria and their weighting. Even so, the assessment of
different markers can still vary.

Assessment of project work

You may want to refer to
The assessment of project work faces similar problems, but magnifies many of them. In a sense, a and read through the
project is a long, often research-based essay. It widens the kinds of skills needed by learners and sub-section entitled ‘
Recording assessment ’.
assessed by teachers. The length of time it takes (often a term or even a year of work), the number This provides more ideas
of different components it comprises (research, practical work, writing, sketching, presentation on how you can use criteria
and so on) and the fact that so much of this is done alone makes project work difficult for in the assessment of
essays and projects.
learners. This also means that it is difficult to assess.
In order to make assessment fairer, teachers must reduce the openness or generality of
project-work questions. This can be done by:
Handing out a detailed project or task instruction. This would include:
A clear set of criteria against which the project will be assessed, showing how these will be weighted. For example,
you could list the following criteria: original (primary) research: 10%; secondary (book) research: 20%; ability to
communicate the findings in writing: 30%; use of other forms of communication, such as graphs and diagrams: 10%
and so on.
The components the project must include. For example, you could specify the following components: a ten-page,
type-written or word-processed essay describing the topic researched and the learner’s findings; an annotated
bibliography of at least five reference books; at least three diagrams or graphs and so on.
Breaking the project down into smaller bits and asking that these be submitted regularly. These will be marked against set
criteria so that learners can see how they will be assessed.
Meeting with learners regularly during the project process. This should include whole-class meetings and individual
meetings.

Widening our choice of assessment methods

We have spoken about methods of assessment often used for formal, summative assessment. But we are also arguing that all
assessment should be part of a seamless, continuous process of teaching, evaluating and reteaching. So this division is rather
artificial!
Let us listen to Joe explain what he understands by an assessment strategy that is continuous and formative as well as
summative.

CASE STUDY: Joe’s assessment strategy

I used to plan to give three tests per term, about one every three weeks, usually on a Friday.
My biggest concern was that the tests were evenly spread through the term so I would have
covered enough content to be able to set a test. I also needed time to mark because my
classes are big. Now I start planning by checking the intended learning and assessment
guidelines for Grade 8 Natural Sciences. I decide which would be the most suitable content
to achieve certain outcomes or knowledge goals. Then I think about how I will know that

EBSCOhost - printed on 7/21/2022 3:48 PM via UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU NATAL. All use subject to https://www.ebsco.com/terms-of-use 107
 the learners are making progress towards those outcomes or goals. In other words, I think
about how I can assess each of the outcomes or knowledge goals, activities or sections. I
can‘t just leave assessment to the end of chapters, like I used to do. I tend to have more
assessment ‘moments’ than I used to, and they are scattered throughout the term, wherever I
think they would be useful.

Assessment as teaching: An information-gathering strategy

that is continuous and diagnostic
If there is a change in the way teaching and learning are happening in a classroom, then there must be a change in assessment
practices too. If the curriculum has moved away from content-heavy syllabuses into syllabuses that have knowledge, skills and
values as outcomes, then surely we must assess how our learners have progressed in their development of knowledge, skills and
values? We have to move away from assessing facts and content only.
Do you remember reading earlier that progress towards most outcomes is going to take time? Therefore, instead of focusing
only on terminal (end-point) assessment that results in reports like Thulani’s report, assessment should now also be continuous.
What continuous assessment really means is that assessment has to be integrated into
day-to-day teaching so that the teacher is constantly aware of the learners’ progress towards the Does continuous
outcomes. After all, if education is a journey, we should constantly check that everyone is on the assessment really mean
right road. Does this mean we can’t use written tests? Again, the answer is, ‘But of course we giving learners tests every
day, every week or every
can, if they assess what we want to assess!’ In other words, if we want our learners to memorise month? Not at all!
facts – and sometimes this is important – a short test or quiz is probably the most appropriate
form of assessment. For instance, if we want learners to know their times tables off by heart, why not begin a lesson with a short
oral test where you fire a series of rapid questions at learners and then either mark them yourself or get learners to mark them
quickly? This will serve a formative purpose in that it will tell you who knows their times tables and who doesn’t. It doesn’t
give you more detailed information, such as explaining why one learner got zero! (It could be that she didn’t study, but it could
also indicate a lack of understanding.) But it does tell you who you should focus attention on.
In order to use assessment formatively or developmentally, we must assess in a manner that gives us information about why
and how learners are going wrong. If we simply know that they are wrong, but not the nature of the error or why they are
making it, we cannot use this error to teach. So we make assessments that are more like the engineer’s assessment where he
measures what is wrong with a building and then says what needs to be fixed. He is interested in helping the building improve.
When we assess our learners’ progress so that we can see where they need help with problems in learning, this is called
diagnostic assessment. (Doctors diagnose your illness based on the symptoms or signs you show, then they can help you to get
better.) If an educator’s job is to help learners learn more and learn better, then we should be spending most of our energies on
developmental and diagnostic assessment, not focusing exclusively on the simple pass-or-fail summative assessment.
The rest of this sub-section will focus on developing your skills in implementing assessment instruments that are particularly
useful as the formative assessment part of your overall assessment strategy. You will notice that many of these instruments
throw up the same difficulties and lessons for implementation as the methods we discussed earlier.

Using observation as an assessment instrument

Contemporary curricula focus much more attention on teaching learners to do things, in other words, to apply and use
knowledge. This is very different from the previous system, which defined learning largely as the ability to remember and
regurgitate information. This change suggests that we need to assess:
Different things
In different ways.

For instance, if we want to assess whether someone can use English (in particular, speak English), then we cannot use a
grammar test or an essay! If we want to see whether the attitude of learners has changed (let us say we want to see whether they
are more tolerant), we could ask them to write an essay entitled ‘Discuss, in your own words, why tolerance is an important
human value’. But later we might see a learner who wrote an excellent essay behaving intolerantly in a number of group-work
lessons. Can we assess this learner as having a tolerant attitude? Clearly, no. We would like evidence that the learners:
Can actually use grammar in order to express themselves more clearly and persuasively in spoken English

EBSCOhost - printed on 7/21/2022 3:48 PM via UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU NATAL. All use subject to https://www.ebsco.com/terms-of-use 108
 Have internalised the value of tolerance.

This is when observation becomes an important assessment instrument. In fact, in all learning where the outcome is a practical
performance, observation must be at least part of any assessment strategy. More importantly, both skills and values take a long
time to develop. While learners may demonstrate an ability to work with numbers in Grade 1, this skill will be very limited.
But, by Grade 12 (if they have been taught well), learners will demonstrate far more sophisticated numerical skills. By this
stage, the Grade 1 skills will probably be automatic. The learners won’t even think when adding single-digit numbers! The same
holds for understanding, and the development of attitudes and values. Throughout their school careers (and their adult lives),
learners will adapt old understandings as they learn new things.
Constant observation and feedback to learners will assist this development. Learners who get no feedback on, for example,
the way in which they speak English, will develop much more slowly than those who are observed and assisted. This means that
we need to assess learners over time, and in ongoing classroom interaction and activity. Observation is a useful strategy for this
ongoing assessment.

How do we implement observation as an assessment instrument?

Imagine Cynthia’s dilemma. Imagine that, for some reason, exams or end of-year tests were cancelled. Would you still be able
to say which learners could cope with the level of work expected in the next year’s grade? Could you identify those learners
who are struggling with, say, reading or numeracy, or who are socially inadequate? Would you know which learners are not yet
ready to go up to the next grade?
A good teacher probably would have a relatively clear idea, even if these things had not been formally assessed and recorded.
But how is this possible? Well, because you would probably have been involved in continuous, ongoing observation of learners

EBSCOhost - printed on 7/21/2022 3:48 PM via UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU NATAL. All use subject to https://www.ebsco.com/terms-of-use 109
 throughout the year. You would notice things about them.
You would notice who talks easily and well. You would notice which learners are willing to help others or who finishes
Maths work first. You would be aware of learners’ problem areas because you would have heard the questions they ask or you
would have looked at their classwork. You would have watched them talking to their friends in group work, class discussions
and projects.
The problem – particularly if you wanted to use this observation summatively – is that you wouldn’t have reliable and valid
evidence to justify your observation. The data you had collected would be regarded as subjective because it is often:
Incomplete and patchy. We notice some children more than others, either because we like them or because they are
problem children.
Unfocused. We are able to make some general comments, but have difficulty identifying specific details.
Based on limited observation. We notice a child being cheeky once and we assume that child is always cheeky.
Reliant on a particular teacher’s judgement.

Observation, like essay assessment, is by definition more open, and thus subjective and more difficult to assess than, say, a
multiple-choice test. But it also provides assessment information that objective tests will never provide! So we need to use it,
but we must find ways in which we can limit the subjectivity or patchiness of observational data. If we don’t do this, then
observational data will only be of formative or developmental use. We won’t be able to use it in a summative assessment.
There are a number of ways in which data or information can be collected:
By observing learners individually
By observing learners in groups
By observing learners in a variety of different circumstances
By observing learners doing different things and using different skills.

Most importantly, though, be clear about the criteria against which you are observing:
Use ticks against a checklist that details the kinds of behaviour you expect learners to demonstrate.
Add comments to flesh out the bare bones of the ticks against criteria. You could add ideas about why a learner isn’t able
to do something or what you can do about this.

This may sound like an impossible task if you think about a class of 40 or more learners. However, you don’t have to observe
the same criteria on all learners at the same time. You might, for example, limit the size of your task by:
Focusing on a few learners in a lot of detail. For instance, you could concentrate on watching Sipho, Jan and Clara as they
interact with their peers in a debate while you let the other children get on with the debate. You would then focus on other
learners in small observation groups like this over the rest of the lesson, week or term.
Focusing less on learners who demonstrate high levels of competence in particular skills, for example, English verbal
abilities. The time saved here can be used observing, assessing and working with learners who demonstrate weaknesses in
these skills.
Focusing on a limited number of assessment criteria. Look at only one skill across the whole class, for example, speaking
skills in a Foundation Phase class. Do not worry about other skills they will be using, such as writing and group skills.
These other skills can be assessed at another time and perhaps in another activity.

Activity 8 shows two ways in which observation data can be recorded. These methods are not mutually exclusive and it is often
ideal to use them together.

Activity 8
1. Do this activity with fellow teachers. Read the comments carefully. Think! Spend about 45 minutes on this activity.
2. Devi assessed three Grade 7 learners at different times of the year. Read her observation comments and answer the questions
that follow.

Name Comment Time of year

Phindile Immature, very talkative, cannot finish task independently. 20 Jan.

Must give her more independent work. (new to school)
Still talkative, good English skills, still weak in independent work. 17 Feb.
Doesn’t work well with others, tends to dominate. 10 Mar.

Samatjie Co-operative, mature, work of high standard, not very talkative. 20 Jan.
Work of very high standard, works well in groups and independently. 10 Mar.

Joy Withdrawn but disruptive, distracts others, won’t sit still. Weak spoken skills in English, speak to other LA teachers – need to work together on this. 22 Jan.

EBSCOhost - printed on 7/21/2022 3:48 PM via UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU NATAL. All use subject to https://www.ebsco.com/terms-of-use 110
 A surprise – Joy was very good in outdoor practical activity (collecting different examples of signs), seems popular.
10 Mar.

Here is another way in which observation can be recorded. The form was used to assess Phindile in the first two lessons
that Devi made notes on above. Compare the two.
Name Standard Date Always Mostly Frequently Sometimes Never

Phindile Co-operates with other learners 20 Jan.

17 Feb.

Plays a leadership role in the group 20 Jan.

17 Feb.

Speaks in the group 20 Jan.

17 Feb.

Takes notes 20 Jan.

17 Feb.

Concentrates throughout lesson 20 Jan.

17 Feb.

a. Are these learners being assessed fairly? Write down reasons for your answer.
b. Why do you think Devi assessed Phindile three times between 20 January and 10 March?
c. Who do you think Devi will observe less and less later in the year? Why?
d. What do you notice about the kinds of activities being observed?
e. How does the grid strengthen or weaken the assessment format Devi uses? Could the two be combined?

Assessing group work

This is a form of assessment that gets teachers, learners and parents really hostile! It’s just about as far as you can get from the
traditional assessment. It requires that we assess groups rather than individuals, and promotes and assesses co-operation rather
than competition. If group-work assessment is so difficult, why bother?

Activity 9
1. Spend no more than twenty minutes on this activity. Do it with fellow teacher-learners.
2. Answer these questions in a quick brainstorming session:
a. Why bother? Can you think of any good reason to assess group work?
b. Think back to your school and think of the school you now teach in. What problems have emerged when group work has
been attempted? Could these make assessment more difficult?
c. How would you go about implementing a group-work assessment that was reliable, fair and informative?

Why bother to assess group work? Well, as teaching and learning move away from teacher-talk and focus more on learner
activity, group work has taken on an increasingly important role in teaching. But learners often can’t do group work. They need

EBSCOhost - printed on 7/21/2022 3:48 PM via UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU NATAL. All use subject to https://www.ebsco.com/terms-of-use 111
 to be taught to work successfully in groups if teaching is to succeed. Group work is not just about dividing learners into groups.
It is only successful if learners develop the abilities to co-operate, to take individual responsibility and to understand that they
must be accountable to the group. If learners don’t learn group-dynamic skills, then you cannot use group work as a teaching
method. Group skills are also important social outcomes: they are listed in South Africa’s critical outcomes. Learners will need
them in order to work and live successfully.
Often with short-term activities such as a class discussion, there isn’t a direct product to assess. You should then assess
processes. However, let us first take a look at how to assess the product of group work for those cases when there is a product to
assess.

Assessing the product

Good group work is generally based around a task that needs to be completed. This task is usually problem based and linked
into the content knowledge of a particular subject. Clearly, this product also needs to be assessed.
All group members will then be allocated the same mark, regardless of their contribution to the final product. This is an
important learning point for groups: the group is only as good as its weakest member. Groups should be encouraged and helped
in developing processes that get all members to understand this point and contribute to the group’s product.
At times, though, you may choose to balance a group mark with individual marks. Perhaps 50% of a mark will be allocated to
the group product, and so all learners will get the same mark for half of their total. But then to reward individual work, you may
– before the task begins – allocate sub-tasks to each group member and mark these separately.
The way in which you assess will, obviously, be determined by your purpose. For example, if your intention is to make
decisions about all learners’ oral competence, then all members in the group have to speak. It would be absurd to give all group
members a mark or tick for oral presentation based on only one group member’s performance. If, however, the group task was a
co-operative, research-based one, where all members had to go off and find information and then combine it into a written
report, then you could award a common mark or grade because the finished project should reflect everyone’s input.
Where each group member fulfils quite different roles, you would need to identify assessment criteria for each role and then
judge that member’s performance in terms of the role he or she was allocated. Here you would need to make sure all the roles
were equally demanding if you wished to allocate a mark to the performance. As a developmental exercise, however, you could
match the roles to the learners’ skills and abilities, and then focus on the extent to which the learners each met their own
challenge.
It is essential that the groups know in advance what criteria you will use to make judgements. This sharpens their focus and
efforts, and reduces feelings of unfair treatment. Look how these criteria are made plain in the assignment on page 149.

Group work: Collecting information about the sleeping habits of teenagers

The group must design a series of at least five interview questions that will provide information about the sleeping
habits of teenagers at your school.
Each person must interview at least ten people from different grades and write up their answers on the questionnaire.
The group must analyse all interviews and then present the findings in the form of a two-page report. The report must
include at least one graphic (for example, a line graph or a pie chart) that represents the findings.
Each person should write a response of three paragraphs to the findings. These responses must be submitted with the
final report.

Group assessment is fraught with difficulty and potential conflict. When it works well, it can create a good atmosphere in class
and reduce your marking load. But this only occurs if you:
Actively teach learners how to work co-operatively in groups
Set clear criteria for assessment
Explain these criteria to learners carefully before they begin their task.

Assessing the process

When group work does not result in a product that can be assessed, you can still assess learner competences in the processes of
group work. For instance, a class discussion does not generate a written report for assessment. So you might watch proceedings,
listen to particular learners and assess the following criteria:
Does the learner listen carefully to what the other group members say?
Can the learner express his or her opinions clearly?

EBSCOhost - printed on 7/21/2022 3:48 PM via UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU NATAL. All use subject to https://www.ebsco.com/terms-of-use 112
 Can the learner give reasons for the things he or she says?
Can the learner express agreement and disagreement with the other group members effectively?
Can the learner make eye contact with the other learners when he or she gives a report-back?

The major means of assessment will be through observation and the use of grids, rubrics or checklists. Often this form of
assessment will be used mainly for developmental purposes, but it could contribute to a summative assessment if carefully
implemented and recorded.

Self- and peer assessment

As education becomes more democratic and more open, the idea that learners could contribute to their own and their
classmates’ assessment begins to be less strange. After all, learners have an understanding about their own performance that
you, as their teacher, cannot access because you can’t be everywhere at once, nor can you get inside their heads!

EBSCOhost - printed on 7/21/2022 3:48 PM via UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU NATAL. All use subject to https://www.ebsco.com/terms-of-use 113
 Learners learn a lot by marking their classmates’ work. They know that they will have to justify why a certain grade, rating or
mark was given, and so they begin to take learning and assessment much more seriously. They spend time thinking about the
criteria that were set for the task, and whether and to what degree their classmates’ work has achieved that. Assessment stops
being something that happens ‘out there’ at the teacher’s home.
Learners can see for themselves how assessment is a relatively objective evaluation of the worth of someone’s work in
relation to a set of standards. Nevertheless, many teachers have justifiable concerns about self- and peer assessment, including
Joe and Mac.
Joe thinks that a checklist with clear criteria will help. You will find the list he drew up for his class below.

EBSCOhost - printed on 7/21/2022 3:48 PM via UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU NATAL. All use subject to https://www.ebsco.com/terms-of-use 114
 A friendly letter

I ___________________ am marking ___________________ ’s work

Possible marks Mark I have given

The letter is in the correct format 2

Address 1

Date 1

Greeting 1

Ending 1

The letter has at least two topics of news 2

Each topic is a new paragraph 2

Each paragraph starts with a topic sentence 2

Each paragraph gives further details 2

Spelling has been checked 2

The letter is interesting and original 2

The writing is neat and easy to read 2

Total 20

One thing _________________ did well was ______________

One thing _________________ could do better next time is ______________

Activity 10
1. Make an effort to do this activity in a real class. Speak to your learners about their experiences. Then discuss your findings with
other teachers. Spend about twenty minutes in class and another twenty minutes discussing your findings with fellow teachers.
2. Use Joe’s checklist in a class you are teaching. You might want to adapt it slightly, but try not to make it too different.
a. Did it help learners assess each other’s work? What problems did they have in using it?
b. Do you think it helped them assess? Did you agree with their assessment? Why or why not?

What did we find?

We found that this did help learners assess. They said that it focused their marking and helped them not to pay too much
attention to one aspect while ignoring other aspects. Learners also felt that it was fairer. They believed that the marking of their
work was more objective than if it had been done without guidelines.
But we still found that learners needed to be taught how to do this. While they were able to fill in marks technically, they
weren’t able to provide much guidance to learners about why they made a particular error and what they should do about it. A
strongly competitive atmosphere still existed and learners were often rude rather than helpful about other learners’ work.
Teachers would have to teach the idea of peer assessment actively if it is to work successfully.
We also wondered whether learners would be able to use grids that were more complex, for instance, where each criterion
was out of five or ten marks, rather than two marks. Would they be able to make decisions if the criterion itself was complex, or
would a criterion like ‘Demonstrates an ability to argue persuasively’ confuse them?
What about using peer assessment with very young children? Surely they are not mature enough to make judgements about
their own or their classmates’ work? Again, we found that if you give lots of support and clear instructions, then it can be an
educationally beneficial exercise. If you don’t, then expect only to get comments like: ‘It was very nice’ and ‘I liked it’ or
(because young children can be very cruel) ‘That’s ugly!’
Here is an example of a marking sheet designed for peer marking with a Grade 3 class. The task was to draw a picture and to
write a sentence or two about their favourite animal.

EBSCOhost - printed on 7/21/2022 3:48 PM via UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU NATAL. All use subject to https://www.ebsco.com/terms-of-use 115
 I’m assessing ___________’s work.

My friend drew a picture of his or her favourite animal. Y N

My friend coloured in the picture. Y N

My friend wrote the name of the animal. Y N

My friend wrote a sentence about this animal. Y N

My friend started the sentence with a capital letter. Y N

My friend ended the sentence with a full stop. Y N

Because the criteria are very clearly laid out for the assessor, even a small child would be able to cope with this.
What about self-assessment? A self-assessment sheet used by a friend of Joe’s is here . Read through it and think of the
educational benefits it may have.

Self-assessment sheet

Name: ____ Thabo __________ Date:_ 14 May _ Activity __ 1.3 __

What I did: I was responsible for collecting the equipment from the lab and measuring out the right amounts of water and
chemicals.
What I used: Task sheet and the stock list in the lab. Jars and a test tube.
What I learnt: Measure carefully! Also don’t spill expensive chemicals. Be careful when you mix water with chemicals.
How I felt: Proud to be handling poisonous chemicals safely.
What I did not do well: Measure. I was too quick and so some of our experiments didn’t work.
How I could improve it next time: Take my job more seriously. Refer to the task sheet at all times.

Self-assessment, like peer assessment, can be used to help the learners evaluate for themselves the work they have been doing.
This may not enable you to allocate a mark (in other words, it isn’t that useful for summative assessments), but it does motivate
learners and give you insight into the personal development taking place among them. It also assists learners in understanding
what’s good and what’s a fail. Their understanding of the nature of the subject they are studying becomes more sophisticated. In
other words, both self- and peer assessment are very useful parts of a formative assessment strategy.
Note that these sample assessment sheets are not meant to prescribe to you what you should do. They are meant to spark off
your own thinking about how you might use these forms of assessment in your own classes. You need to design your own
observation sheets, checklists and criteria, depending on what you’ll be assessing and what activity your learners will be doing.

Portfolio assessment
Portfolio assessments can include every one of the methods of assessment mentioned so far. A portfolio is simply a package of
work produced by a particular learner over a period of time. It gives you the opportunity to examine, all at once and in one
place, the work that the learner has produced over time. It allows you to see how a learner has developed over time by
comparing his or her early work with work done towards the end of a year.

EBSCOhost - printed on 7/21/2022 3:48 PM via UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU NATAL. All use subject to https://www.ebsco.com/terms-of-use 116
 You will notice that a portfolio isn’t something you do in addition to other assessment. A portfolio is the organised sum of all
the assessment done of a learner’s work over a period of time.

Set clear portfolio requirements and assessment criteria

Read through Devi’s assessment in Activity 8 again. Notice how it is guided by the knowledge requirements of her subject and
grade. Based on this, she plans in advance what kinds of evidence she wants her learners to present to her in order to prove their
competence. This evidence will be their portfolio. The portfolio will also include tests that Devi runs and marks, and
learner-driven work, such as a research project or book reviews.
Devi mixes the forms of assessment and makes sure that all the different skills (writing, speaking, and knowledge of language
and literature, for example) are assessed.
Portfolios must include:
A clear, written task instruction. This must provide a detailed explanation of what should be included in the portfolio.
A clear and detailed outline of the assessment criteria and how they are weighted. For example, you might provide learners
with an assessment statement that reads as follows:

The portfolio must consist of three examples that you believe illustrate your best work.
Each example must be accompanied by a paragraph explaining what you consider to be good
about the work. The examples must include:

EBSCOhost - printed on 7/21/2022 3:48 PM via UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU NATAL. All use subject to https://www.ebsco.com/terms-of-use 117
 An example of mapwork
An example of your graphing ability
An example of your ability to write (for example, an essay on pollution, a letter to the
Editor, an advertisement or notes for a debate on plastic).

A set of interim dates by which parts of the portfolio must have been completed. This step is vital, especially with younger
learners. Although portfolios are designed to develop the selection and judgement skills of learners, we can’t assume these
skills exist. We need to provide a structure that develops this responsibility.
A meeting with learners before and during the process of developing a portfolio. Whether the learner is young or old, this
time is important:
At the beginning of the process, you need to clarify what you want and learners need to ask about things they are
unsure of. You must give learners a detailed and written portfolio task instruction, not simply a spoken instruction!
During the process, you should meet with learners to see how work is progressing and to ask questions about certain
pieces of work submitted. For instance, a learner may have submitted a journal entry that you don’t understand. It is a
good idea for you to make written comments in each learner’s portfolio throughout the period of its development. (If
learners take their portfolios home to be looked at by parents, parents are able to see the progress made by their child,
and to understand the kinds of skills and competencies you are hoping to develop in learners.)
At the end of the process, it is always useful to remind learners of parts of a portfolio that are missing. Although this is
sometimes a consequence of work that has not been done, it would be unfair to fail a learner because of a
misunderstanding about what had to be presented.

The kinds of responsibilities given to learners can differ in complexity:

With young learners, you might specify exactly what needs to be done, but then tell learners they must take responsibility
for collecting this information and presenting it at a particular time, and in a format of their choice.
With older learners, you might only dictate the kinds of outcomes that will be assessed and when evidence (the portfolio)
must be presented, but then allow learners a great deal of freedom over the research they will do, the books they will
present and so on.

The idea of using portfolios is still a new one, and not many teachers are sure of how to go about doing it. It is an idea that can
contribute a great deal to the personal growth of both learners and teachers as they interact in their classrooms. It’s also a way of
recognising and rewarding the ordinary classwork that learners do, which is seldom included in assessment. In this way, the
portfolio could encourage learners to work consistently throughout the term. For these reasons, portfolios are a popular means
of summative assessment in further and higher education.
But portfolios need careful planning, managing and assessing. You need to think carefully about what goes into the portfolio,
how it will be assessed and when it will be submitted before the year even begins. Badly managed and assessed portfolios are a
recipe for conflict. They are also open questions and, as a consequence, can lead to allegations of subjectivity in marking unless
clear criteria are spelled out and then used in marking.

Using a mix of methods

What should have emerged clearly is that any good assessment strategy is continuous, diagnostic, formative and, ultimately,
summative too. It is a part of good teaching. For this reason, you should use a mix of methods. You should ensure that your
methods assess skills such as writing and speaking, doing and thinking, content recall and the application of knowledge.
But we also learnt that any good assessment is:
Planned in advance and planned in relation to our desired learning outcomes or knowledge goals. You can’t simply suck it
out of your thumb at the last moment.
Rigorous. It attempts to be as transparent, reliable and valid as possible.
Recorded systematically so that it can be used to make important decisions and can be made public.

3.3 Recording assessment

Essentially, assessment is the process of gathering information on each learner’s progress. We then use this information to plot
our teaching and remediate gaps in learning. Systems of continuous assessment require a very organised system of recording.

EBSCOhost - printed on 7/21/2022 3:48 PM via UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU NATAL. All use subject to https://www.ebsco.com/terms-of-use 118
 You need to develop:
Appropriate criteria against which you will assess learner competencies
A plan setting out when you will do these assessments
A checklist that you can use to ensure that all learners are assessed at some point in the year and that the assessment
includes useful notes to the teacher
A systematic and regular record of all of this in a book or a manual, or on computer.

What are we expected to record and report?

As teachers, we keep records to monitor learners’ progress in order to shape our own classroom
teaching. There are usually national guidelines that outline minimum expectations for recording The relevant curriculum and
and reporting for official purposes. You need to think about possible variations on assessment policy documents can be
practice to cater for learners who experience barriers to learning. You should also find out if there downloaded from
www.education.gov.za.
are particular requirements laid down in your province or region, as these may differ slightly from
the national requirements.
Here are two ways in which we can begin recording assessment:
Using checklists
Using rating scales.

Using checklists
The use of checklists helps to make our observations more focused because it helps us to overlook any distracting and irrelevant
behaviour. A checklist also helps to ensure that assessment is comprehensive, since it allows us to verify that all important
aspects are covered.
A checklist that Joe used to assess learner performance in the laboratory appears below.

EBSCOhost - printed on 7/21/2022 3:48 PM via UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU NATAL. All use subject to https://www.ebsco.com/terms-of-use 119
 SCIENCE EVALUATION CHECKLIST
Class: _________ Unit: __________ Date: ____________
Specific outcome:
Values Nomsa Cynthia Njabulo Makabongwe
Co-operation

Respect for materials

Active participation

Neatness and organisation

Efficiency in using time

Enthusiasm

Skills

Setting up apparatus

Dismantling and storing apparatus

Using measuring instruments properly

Drawing neat illustrations

Hand–eye co-ordination

Knowledge

Use of correct terminology

Understanding symbols and diagrams

Predicting results

Interpreting graphs

Drawing conclusions

Neat laboratory reports

Joe’s list is useful. It forces him, as a teacher, to explain what he wants learners to be able to do. Its weakness is that it is rather
vague. Take a look at the Maths checklist below. This checklist would be filled in for each learner. Notice how the teacher has
filled in the date on which Nomsa has achieved each outcome or fulfilled each criterion.

EBSCOhost - printed on 7/21/2022 3:48 PM via UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU NATAL. All use subject to https://www.ebsco.com/terms-of-use 120
 MATHEMATICS CURRICULUM FOR THE FOUNDATION PHASE

First name: Nomsa Number ranges

Surname: Makaula
0 11–20 21–34 35–70 71–104 105–204 205–304 305– 405–504 505–1
–10 404 004

1. Counting: 2/3 9/3 17/3

In 1s 7/3
In 2s
In 3s
In 4s
In 5s
In 10s

2. Number names and 2/3 9/3 17/3

symbols

3. Numerosity

4. Addends
Minuends

5. Comparison

6. Doubling 17/3
Halving

7. Conservation:
Conservation
Decomposition
Bonds

8. Word problems: 15/3

Addition
Subtraction
Multiplication
Division
Complicated or
combination

9. Number patterns

10. Measurement:
Mass
Length
Capacity
Money

Grade 1 Year: 2012 Grade 2 Year: Grade 3 Year:

Date: Date: Date:

Remark: Remark: Remark:

Date: Date: Date:

Remark: Remark: Remark:

Did you notice that this checklist could also be used as a curriculum plan for a teacher? Instead of filling in dates on which

EBSCOhost - printed on 7/21/2022 3:48 PM via UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU NATAL. All use subject to https://www.ebsco.com/terms-of-use 121
 individual learners learn a concept, you could fill in the dates on which you plan to teach the concepts.

Using rating scales

Another device that can be used to help make judgements through observation is a rating scale. A rating scale helps the assessor
to record the degree of an impression gained while observing learners. A scale with a certain range is used (for example, 1 to 3,
1 to 5 or 1 to 10), but in all cases, each number represents a particular level of competence.
Here is an example of a rating scale Cynthia used with her Grade 1 learners. She has identified criteria to suit her learning
intentions. She has also decided to use a numbering system rather than ticks to indicate how the learners play together. This
system saves her from having to write out descriptions of behaviour. In this particular instance, she wants to see how the
children develop social skills over time, so she marks down the date when she observes this particular behaviour.

Name Week 1 Week 2 Week 3

Andile 2: 10/2 3: 20/2 3: 22/2

Anthony 1: 12/2 1: 20/2 3: 24/2

Beatrice 4: 12/2 4: 18/2 4: 22/2

Bheki 5: 11/2 6: 19/2 6: 21/2

Key
1. Sits quietly doing nothing while others play.
2. Plays by self when others are not around.
3. Sits with other children, but only watches them play.
4. Plays well next to another youngster, but separately.
5. During play, talks with other child, but does not choose the same play activity.
6. Plays with other children, showing co-operative behaviour and mutual activity.

Have a look at the scale that Mac used to help him assess the progress his learners had made in being able to discuss matters in
a group. He used a scale called a Likert scale (named after Likert, the man who developed it) that has five options, ranging from
extremely positive (5 = all the time) to very negative (1 = never).

EBSCOhost - printed on 7/21/2022 3:48 PM via UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU NATAL. All use subject to https://www.ebsco.com/terms-of-use 122
 Ashika Brendon Biyele
Does the learner listen during classroom discussion? 3 3 4

Does the learner volunteer information during the discussion? 1 3 4

Does the learner defend his or her points of view? 1 2 5

Does the learner accept the points of view of other participants? ? 2 4

Does the learner assume a leadership role in a class discussion when asked to do so? 1 1 4

Key
5: All the time.
4: Often.
3: Sometimes.
2: Seldom.
1: Never.

As Mac reflects back on the series of debates, discussions and small-group tasks the class has been engaged in, he considers that
Ashika is very quiet and hardly says anything, while Biyele was able to persuade the others to his point of view without
bullying them. Brendan started off the debate quite energetically, making contributions, but then seemed to get bored. Can you
see how these observations are reflected in the assessments that Mac made on his chart?
You need to spend a lot of time preparing your checklist or rating-scale sheet. The statements on your checklist or rating scale
must relate to your desired outcomes and include the performance indicators (signs of competence or achieving the outcomes)
you expect from your learners.

Activity 11
1. Spend about 30 minutes on this activity.
2. You have brought books from the library on the subject of mammals. Your class is using the books to source information for a
group poster on this subject.
a. Develop a checklist with five criteria that you will use to observe learners’ behaviour and skills while they work on this task.
b. Develop a rating scale to:
Record learners’ behaviour and skills in information retrieval
Record learners’ knowledge of mammals.

Assessing your own performance

We wish to end this discussion on assessment by reminding you that as reflective practitioners, we also need to be engaged in a
continuous process of assessing and improving our own performance. Again, you should have noticed how the role of specialist
in assessment is intimately linked to the other roles of the teacher. We have argued that assessment is not something that is
simply tacked on to the end of a learning experience. It is a continuous process of collecting and assessing evidence of learner
progress so that we can, when necessary, adapt our teaching to scaffold the learning more effectively. One of the questions we
should be asking is, ‘What does the evidence I have gained from assessing my learners tell me about my own performance as a
teacher?’ This then leads to the question, ‘What can I do differently or additionally to enhance learning in my classroom?’ This
is the question that underpins Section Four of this learning guide.

EBSCOhost - printed on 7/21/2022 3:48 PM via UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU NATAL. All use subject to https://www.ebsco.com/terms-of-use 123