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,Learning Unit 1
Introduction
Learning unit 1 of Assessment in Education deals with the four main criteria for
assessment in a South African school context, which are (i) discussion of the
assessment planning, implementation, and assessment moderation in the South
African school curriculum context; (ii) discussion of the learners’ diversity when
planning, implementing and moderating assessment activities in class; (iii) critical
evaluations of assessment planning, implementation, and moderation of assessments
in a South African school curriculum context; and the (iv) the discussion of the theories
and methods in published articles regarding assessment in education.
1.1. Discuss and evaluate assessment planning,
implementation, and moderation of assessments in a South
African school curriculum context.
1.1.1. Assessment planning in a school context
Assessment planning in the South African school context relates to thorough planning
of assessment for a particular grade and subject that commences at the beginning of
the year when teaching and learning planning starts. Assessment in South African
schools is continuous; therefore, it must be planned for all levels within the teaching
and learning process (see Dreyer (ed.), 2014). All the relevant stakeholders should be
considered during the assessment planning design. These may be teachers,
assessors, learners, school governing bodies, and the Department of Basic Education.
A diverse classroom requires a diverse assessment plan and practice. Each
classroom is heterogeneous (with different learners) concerning the cognitive level of
thinking, languages, ethnic groups, different views, and different backgrounds. When
planning an assessment, the teacher should always have a diverse classroom at the
back of his/her mind and think of how best that can be addressed.
For effective planning of an assessment, you are required to know the specific subject
that you are teaching. In other words, you cannot be a good teacher and assessor of
a subject if you lack subject content knowledge. You are either registered for the
,foundation and intermediate or senior phases and further education and training. You
are required to have the relevant CAPS document (phase, subject, and grade).
Assessment planning often takes place immediately after lesson planning. Teachers
must use the CAPS guidelines that stipulate the type of assessment, form of
assessment, assessment instrument/tool, date on which assessment will be written,
the term, and mark allocated to each type/form of assessment.
1.1.2. Assessment Implementation in a school context
To implement, review and justify the assessment given to learners, the teacher needs
to design relevant, reliable, fair and credible assessment instruments/tools. Various
assessment instruments/tools are used when assessing different types and/or forms
of assessment given to learners, such as a memorandum, rubric, assessment grid and
checklist. Good practice in assessments requires a proper understanding of the
implementation of the assessment plan. In implementing an assessment, you need to
understand different kinds of assessments as stipulated in the National Curriculum
Statement Grades R-12 (2011). In implementing an assessment, you need to indicate
how learners will demonstrate their knowledge and skills while they are learning. It is
important that throughout the assessment process, the teacher should monitor
learners' progress, thereby serving and continuously giving constructive feedback.
Dreyer and Mawela (2019) indicate the following kinds of assessment: assessment for
learning, assessment as learning, assessment of learning.
Assessment for learning is an assessment used in teaching and learning to
determine how learners are progressing towards achieving the set learning goals or
objectives. It is a daily assessment that is used to monitor and enhance learners'
learning through teachers' observation, and teacher-learner interaction to provide the
learner with constructive feedback.
Assessment of learning is a classroom or field-based assessment that takes
place at the end of the lesson, cycle or year to determine the overall achievement of
the learner. It provides the teacher with a systematic way of evaluating how well
learners are progressing in a particular subject taught in a specific grade. The
assessment of learning should cover all six cognitive levels of the revised Bloom's
Taxonomy and the three learning styles to embrace the concept of diversity. Examples
,of assessment of learning include projects, oral presentations, demonstrations,
performances, tests, examinations and practical demonstrations.
Assessment as learning is a self-assessment done by the learner in that they
take responsibility for their learning and determine steps they need to take to improve
their learning. It is the process of developing and supporting learners' metacognition.
Learners are actively engaged in the assessment process, that is, they monitor their
learning.
1.1.3. Assessment moderation in a South African school context
Teachers and assessors are expected to moderate the learners' assessments with the
aim of quality-assuring the work done by the learners. In South African schools,
departmental heads are subject specialists who are tasked with the moderation of
assessments. There are two types of moderation, namely pre-moderation, which
happens when the assessments are designed before they are written or done by the
learners, and post-moderation, which aims to quality assure the assessed tasks. After
school moderation has been conducted, the subject education specialists at the district
level also quality assure the assessments before and after they are conducted.
1.1.3.1 Purpose of assessment moderation in the South African school context
Assessments are meant to measure the level of learners' understanding of the
concepts taught. Therefore, pre-moderation should take place to ensure the credibility
of the assessment before it can be given to learners. The standardisation of the
assessment is done concerning the cognitive levels of the assessment.
Post–moderation is done after the learners have written the task and the teacher
completed marking. It is done first at schools, districts, provinces, and the national
level. The performance of the learners will be analysed statistically and diagnostically.
The diagnostic analysis will reflect on the strengths and weaknesses of learners in
terms of performance on the assessment given. The moderator should then provide
the teacher with constructive feedback, which should assist in planning the
intervention and remediation where needed.
,1.2. Discussion of the learners’ diversity when planning,
implementing, and moderating assessments activities in class
1.2.1. Learners' diversity when planning assessment
Le Grange, Simmonds, Maistry, Blignaut, and Ramrathan (2022) highlight that "factors
that influence learner achievement in South Africa include the socioeconomic status
of learners, teachers' pedagogical knowledge, resources, geographical location and
language of learning. There are strategies that teachers can apply to promote fairness
in classroom assessments. Ensuring that all learners have equal opportunities to
achieve learning objectives, providing a range of assessment tasks that test a range
of abilities, eliminating all sources of bias in the curriculum and assessments."
1.2.1.1. Learning styles
"Haptic" comes from the Greek word that means "moving along". These types of
learners learn best when they are involved in learning through moving, touching,
experimenting and experiencing things. They enjoy working with their peers outside
the classroom to investigate. They enjoy physical exercise, gardening, arts and crafts.
They participate well in group work using charts and models. They have a good
memory of events but not of faces and names. They use movement as a memory aid.
• Visual learning style (sight)
These learners learn best when they see text and pictures of the subject matter. They
observe things. They enjoy working with text, pictures, illustrations, maps and writing
summaries. They learn and remember things by writing them down and benefit from
writing formulas and instructions on cards and reviewing them. They have a good
visual memory for faces, places and instructions and have a good sense of direction.
They recall information by remembering how it was set out on stage.
• Auditory learning styles (hearing)
These learners learn best through sounds, music, and listening to people. They learn
well when the teacher is interesting, clear, and likes to tell stories and jokes. They
review notes by reading aloud and talking to somebody. They recognise faces and
places but not names. They solve problems by talking about them. They use rhythm
and sound as memory skills.
,1.2.1.3 Learners with special needs
Teachers and assessors will be assisted by the relevant policies to implement
assessments for learners with special needs. The policies that were used to plan
assessments for learners with special needs are those that will be relevant for
consideration during the implementation of assessments for learners with special
needs. This implies that assessors have to use a variety of assessment tools to benefit
learners who may be visually impaired, have challenges with hearing, have eyesight
problems, have chronic illnesses, and so on.
1.2.1.4. Social issues
When planning an assessment, the assessor must consider the backgrounds of all
the learners who are to be assessed. Learners experience different social issues at
the home, for example, some are poverty-stricken, come from child-headed families;
are abused in different ways; have chronic diseases, and so on. These factors are
important to ensure that the assessment benefits all learners. Detailed information on
the guidelines for inclusive teaching is available online on the DBE website
(www.education.gov.za).
1.2.2. Learners' diversity when implementing assessment
Planning assessments for learners with special needs is informed by policies from the
Department of Basic Education. According to White Paper 6, the new South African
curriculum and assessment initiatives should aim to include the full range of diverse
learning needs. This can be achieved by the district support teams by providing
curriculum, assessment and instructional support to schools in the form of illustrative
learning programmes, learning support materials, and assessment instruments
(Department of Education White Paper 6 Special Needs Education, 2001) available
at www.education.gov.za. The teacher must consult the following documents available
online from the Department of Basic Education White Paper 6, Policy.
1.3. Critical evaluations of assessment planning, implementation
and moderation of assessments in South African school
curriculum context
Strategic Planning of School-Based Assessments
, The primary purpose of these school-based assessments (SBA) is to improve the
quality of teaching and assessment (both formal and informal) as well as the learner's
process of learning and understanding the subject content. Assessment of and for
learning is an ongoing process that develops from the interaction of teaching, learning,
and assessment. To improve learner performance, an assessment needs to support
and drive focused, effective teaching.
SBA forms an integral part of teaching and learning; its value as a yardstick of effective
quality learning and teaching is firmly recognised. Through assessment, the needs of
the learner are not only diagnosed for remediation but also assist in improving the
quality of teaching and learning. The information provided through quality assessment
is valuable for teacher planning as part of improving learning outcomes.
For effective planning of an assessment, you are required to know the specific subject
that you are teaching. In other words, you cannot be a good teacher and assessor of
a subject if you lack the subject content knowledge. You are either registered for the
foundation and intermediate or senior phase and further education and training. You
are required to have the relevant CAPS document (phase, subject and grade).
Assessment planning often took place immediately after lesson planning. Teachers
must use the CAPS guidelines that stipulate the type of assessment, form of
assessment, assessment instrument/tool, the date on which the assessment will be
written, the term, and the mark allocated to each type/form of assessment. (See the
example in Table 2.1 of the assessment plan.)
Components of effective assessment planning strategies
Figure 1.1 represents the components of effective assessment planning strategies.
The diagram highlights the interrelatedness of these components when effective
assessment planning is to be achieved.