Curriculum and Asses

smentAssessment can be seen as a vital concept when it comes to the realm of education. One of the main functions of assessment is for the improvement of learners in order for them to do well in their schooling. In the schooling context the most prevalent forms of assessment are those tests that are given at the end of the year that test a large amount of work that was taught throughout the year. This is known as assessment of learning or summative assessment. Another form of assessment that is lacking in the schooling context is that of assessment for learning also known as formative assessment. This assessment is aimed at adapting to the students needs when encountering learning in a teacher pupil environment.   This essay aims to show that there is a distinct difference between assessment for learning and assessment of learning. It will then show that assessment for learning is the better from of assessment to be used in education globally, with reference to personal experience and drawing on the work of selected theorists.
In the majority of schools that I attended I found that the most common form of assessment was summative assessment. The reason is that in schools, all forms of assessment take place in a form of cycle tests, end of term tests, tests that are given once a section has been completed and final examinations at the end of the year. Furthermore assessment of learning includes that of “externally imposed testing programmes [such as the IEB examination written at the end of the year in private schools] that prevent and drive out thoughtful classroom practices” (Shepard, 2000, p.9).   It prevents positive growth and stimulation for a child. It gives no room for improvement. So too do we see that assessment of learning includes “external accountability testing [that] leads to the deskilling and de - professionalisation of teachers” (Shepard, 2000, p.9). Teachers stick to rigid forms of assessment and tests and do not allow for the individual...