Page 37 - Growing Success: Assessment, Evaluation and Reporting in Ontario Schools. First Edition, Covering Grades 1 to 12. 2010

CHAPTER 4 | assessment for learning and as learning
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ASSESSMENT FOR LEARNING AND AS LEARNING
Table 4.1 The Purposes of Assessment, the Nature of Assessment for Different Purposes, and the Uses of Assessment Information
Purpose of Classroom Assessment
Nature of Assessment
Use of Information
Assessment for learning
“Assessment for learning is the process of seeking and interpreting evidence for use by learners and their teachers to decide where the learners are in their learning, where they need to go, and how best to get there.” (Assessment Reform Group, 2002, p. 2)
Diagnostic assessment:
• occurs before instruction
begins so teachers can determine students’ readiness to learn new knowledge and skills, as well as obtain information about their interests and learning preferences.
The information gathered:
• is used by teachers and students to determine what students already know and can do with respect to the knowledge and skills identified in the overall and specific expectations, so teachers can plan instruction and assessment that are differentiated and personalized and work with students to set appropriate learning goals.
Formative assessment:
• occurs frequently and in
an ongoing manner during instruction, while students are still gaining knowledge and practising skills.
The information gathered:
• is used by teachers to monitor students’ progress towards achieving the overall and specific expectations, so that teachers can provide timely and specific descriptive feedback to students, scaffold next steps, and differentiate instruction and assessment in response
to student needs.
Assessment as learning
“Assessment as learning focuses on the explicit fostering of students’ capacity over time to be their own best assessors, but teachers need
to start by presenting and modelling external, structured opportunities for students to assess themselves.” (Western and Northern Canadian Protocol, p. 42)
Formative assessment:
• occurs frequently and in an ongoing manner during instruction, with support, modelling, and guidance from the teacher.
The information gathered:
• is used by students to provide feedback to other students (peer assessment), monitor their own progress towards achieving their learning goals (self-assessment), make adjustments in their learning approaches, reflect on their learning, and set individual goals for learning.
Assessment of learning
“Assessment of learning is the assessment that becomes public and results in statements or symbols about how well students are learning. It often contributes to pivotal decisions that will affect students’ futures.” (Western and Northern Canadian Protocol, p. 55)
Summative assessment:
• occurs at or near the end of a period of learning, and may be used to inform further instruction.
The information gathered:
• is used by the teacher to summarize learning at a given point in time. This summary is used to make judgements about the quality of student learning on the basis of established criteria, to assign a value to represent that quality, and to support the communication of information about achievement to students themselves, parents, teachers, and others.
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