WHAT IS ‘ASSESSMENT’?

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“To mark is to assess, to give a test is to assess, the recording of grades is called assessment. At the same time, the term has other meanings: analysis

of performance, evaluation of results, abilities measurement, estimation of the student as a ‘whole’ (Hoffman, 1999).Estimation

In everyday language, the concept of assessment has several meanings because it can be applied according to the own needs of the term and depending on the different ways it is understood. That is, it can mean either ‘estimation’, ‘calculation’ or ‘valuation’, ‘appreciation’. In this sense, we should not forget from the pedagogical dimension the implications of such polysemy: assessment refers to a procedure through which some characteristics of a pupil, a group of pupils or an educative environment, objectives, materials, teachers, plans, etc. have the attention of the person in charge of assessing, who analyses and values their features and conditions according to some reference parameters to reach a conclusion which is always relevant to the learning process.

So, to assess means to value in general terms. When related to education, it is possible to distinguish several elements to be assessed whose implicit relationships are clear. We can assess, for instance: the educational system, the educational institutions, the teachers, the teaching materials and resources, the educational projects and the types and degrees of learning.

In the particular case of assessment of learning processes, it means to acknowledge what and why to evaluate, for which it is essential to collect information, to render a valuation, and to make decisions for future actions.

During the 1940s, when education started to be seen as a process, some authors defined assessment as an instance that would establish how well the objectives previously planned had been reached. Two decades later, new social and ethic concerns

appeared, leading to new approaches such as quality alternatives. Today, educational assessment is considered not as a purpose of teaching, but as a means for constant improvement.

Thus, it is possible to recognize different conceptions of assessment:

From the ‘quantity/amount paradigm’, assessment is understood as objective, neutral and predictive. That is, centered in efficiency and effectiveness. What is assessed is what can be observed.

From the ‘quality perspective’, assessment consists of recognizing what is happening and try to understand what the process means to the different people involved. Here not only is the product assessed, but also the process.

From a third paradigm, ‘critic’, assessment should not only be to collect information, but also implies dialogue and self-reflection.

EXERCISE

MATCH THE WORDS WITH THEIR SYNONYMS

markgradeestimationassessmentconcernapproachcollect

raterankjudgementevaluationworryaccessgather