DIAGNOSTIC ASSESSMENT

For this post, my topic will be about Diagnostic Assessment.

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What is Diagnostic Assessment?

From my understanding, diagnostic assessment is similar to placement assessment in terms of education. It is usually conducted at the beginning of students' learning. Placement assessment is also conducted before class starts to place students in the most suitable class or learning program.

What is the purpose of Diagnostic Assessment?

Diagnostic assessment is to test students' prior knowledge on what and how much they understand so far before attending the class. Students who are able to answer well in the test will be placed in a higher level class while those who did not score well will be places in lower level classes.

Besides that, diagnostic assessment also helps teachers find the best teaching method and learning program for the students who took the test.

http://www.education.nt.gov.au/parents-community/assessment-reporting/diagnostic-assessments/diagnostic-assessments

Examples of Diagnostic Assessment

• Class placement tests

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• IQ Tests

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• Personality Tests

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• Suitable Learning Method Test

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My Reflection/Opinion on Diagnostic Assessment

In my opinion, diagnostic assessment enables me as a student to understand myself better. It also helps students know their best learning method and find the most suitable approach to learning.

However, in my opinion, it the results taken my be inconsistent as the condition the student is taking the test may be different every time. If a student is normally capable of something but when taking the test, the students is not in good condition, it will cause students to be placed in a class not suitable for them.

Suggestion to improve Diagnostic Assessment

1. Ask clearer and more direct questions so the test-takers can  understand and answer better.
2. Take the test a few times to get an average in order to get a more accurate and consistent result.
3. Give this test more often to students to help them understand themselves better.

Reference:

http://www.education.nt.gov.au/parents-community/assessment-reporting/diagnostic-assessments/diagnostic-assessments

http://aub.edu.lb/ctl/Documents/CLO%20summer%202012/Diagnostic%20formative%20summative%20asst.pdf

http://www.slideshare.net/pafirth/diagnostic-assessment-ideas-12934737

INFORMAL ASSESSMENT

The second type of assessment I have experienced is Informal Assessment.

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What is Informal Assessment?

Unlike formal assessment, informal assessment is not focused on results and data, but it is more to content and students' performance. Informal assessment are also sometimes referred as Criterion Reference measures.

What is the purpose of Informal Assessment?

As mentioned before, informal assessment is used to observe and record students progress, performance and even behavior in class. This is to help teachers evaluate whether their daily class teaching method is effective and how can they improve the method to be more effective.

Characteristics of Informal Assessment

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Examples of Informal Assessment

• Observation



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• Quizzes



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• Question and Answer



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My Reflection/Opinion on Informal Assessment

In my opinion, informal assessment is more relaxed and laid back for students because they are not pressured to achieve good results unlike formal assessment. Besides that, students can also feel more interested in learning because they are allowed to ask teachers what they do not understand. 

Teachers also get to know their students better through observation such as their progress, behavior and attitude in learning.

However, if teachers have to observe many students at once, it is possible for teachers to miss out on certain students especially those who are more quiet. Beside that, bias may also occur. For example, teachers may give better record for students they like and less marks for those they don't.

Suggestion to improve Informal Assessment

1. Teachers can encourage students to participate more in class especially those who a quiet in class. 
2. Teachers can also guide them with the questioning to help students answer and understand better.
3. Teachers must be alert when observing students to not overlook any of them.
4. Teachers must try their best to prevent bias in class. Judge students actions and behaviors but not the student itself.
5. teachers can use checklist to help them see the criteria's they should test students through informal assessment.

Reference:

http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/formal-versus-informal-assessments

FORMAL ASSESSMENT

The first topic I chose is Formal Assessment. This is a common type of assessment I have experience throughout my school life starting from Primary School up to College.

What is Formal Assessment?

Formal assessment is a more official, organized, systematic and planned method of assessing students on how much they have learned in class. 

What is the purpose of Formal Assessment?

Formal assessment is used to measure the amount of knowledge students gained from what was taught in class.

Besides that, formal assessment is also used to record data and compare the results of students whether in class or even beyond the classroom such among other classes, in school, among schools, or even state and national level.

Characteristics of Formal Assessment

https://jeffreymdelacruz.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/informal-vs-formal-table.jpg

Examples of Formal Assessment

• Standardized tests
• Essay tests
• Class tests

Standardized tests

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Standardized test are done in a higher stake compared to class tests, where the test paper set are used in a wider range such as in school level.

The questions are set the same among the region the test is taken and the scoring is the same.

It is used to compare students skills and knowledge and give a certification of the students' results.

Example: Final Term Examinations

Essay Tests

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Essay tests are conducted not only to test students writing and linguistic skills in languages, but it can also be used in various subjects to test students understandings.

Examples: English MUET exam, language (BM, English, Chinese etc) exams, essay questions in various subjects' test papers.

Class tests:

Class tests are normally done to prepare students for their major exams such as standardized tests. 

Teachers will prepare the test papers similarly to the standardized test to let students prepare and get used to the questions. 

Examples: Mock exams, Mid-term and Final term school exams

My Reflection/Opinion on Formal Assessment

In my opinion, formal assessment is good for students in the sense that it can help motivate students to study for their future. It also helps students to gain knowledge and learn better. Not only that, it also lets students know about their progress.

However, as schools prioritize way too much on the results of students, the students will end up feeling stressed and force themselves to study in order to get excellent results. Besides that, the results that is used to compare students' results will cause students to get too competitive about their performance and feel envy to those who scored well. 

Suggestion to Improve this Assessment

Schools can prioritize formal assessment but they should not focus on results only but instead should focus on the progress of students and what knowledge they gained.

Schools can also carry out other forms of assessment such as informal assessment, formative assessment and observations to assess students as well.

Reference:
http://study.com/academy/lesson/formal-assessments-examples-types-quiz.html

INTRODUCTION AND WHAT IS ASSESSMENT?

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Hello and welcome to my blog! In this blog, I will be discussing about the various types of assessments used in schools as shown below:

1. Formal Assessment

2. Informal Assessment

3. Diagnostic Assessment

4. Formative Assessment

5. Summative Assessment

https://www.adelaide.edu.au/learning/teaching/assessment/introduction/assessment_types.gif

But first....

What is Assessment?

Assessment in terms of education is using various methods by educators to measure, evaluate and record students readiness in learning, learning progress and understanding of the lessons taught in class and knowledge acquired.

Why is assessment conducted?

• It encourages and motivates learning.
• Allows teachers and schools to know the progress of students
• Helps teachers find a more suitable method and teaching program in class.
• Can keep a record of all students progress, performance and achievements.
• Give students a standard and target to achieve their goals.