Charting your child’s growth to Success…

Taking into account factors such as the knowledge, skill set, attitude and opinions, Educational assessment is a process that records and evaluates these factors in measurable terms. Assessment can be of many types. It can be objective and subjective, formative and summative, formal and informal, and criterion- based and norm-referenced etc.

It is the duty of a teacher to not only teach but also evaluate correctly a student’s performance by taking various kinds of tests. These tests or examinations help to determine how much knowledge has been acquired and how much development of reasoning and analytical skills have taken place.

KINDS OF ASSESSMENT

Before a teacher starts teaching, it is imperative that he/she provide a baseline or a benchmark to determine former knowledge. Only after its establishment should the teacher proceed with the lessons and subsequent evaluation also called as Initial assessment/ Pre-assessment or Diagnostic assessments.

Educative assessment or ‘Formative assessment’ is done throughout the ongoing course. It is simply the provision of feedback on the student’s work. This kind of evaluation can be done by the teacher as well as the fellow classmates and can take the form of diagnostic or standardized tests.

Summative assessment is done at the end of a course or project. They are the main evaluative assessments wherein the final grades are assigned to the students, based on the performance of their formative assignments and summative test results.

Criterion-referenced assessment is done when the student’s performance is evaluated against a pre defined objective or criteria.  Norm-referenced assessment is a great way of comparing students’ performances. e.g., IQ test

A Formal assessment is a systematic evaluation usually taken written wherein a student is graded on his performance, e.g. a written test. An informal assessment is very different. It is more casual and the student is questioned in a relaxed manner.

Internal assessments are very common. Usually it’s the teacher teaching the subject who grades or marks the assignment. External assessment is the evaluation done by an examiner who is non-biased. Usually, external examiners are called from a different school or college or they can be members of your school but are not the subject teachers of the particular class they are grading.

Evaluation plays a vital role in formulating effective teaching strategies. This is why the true purpose of assessment should be that children,

• Learn and acquire desired skills related to different subject areas

• Acquire a level of achievement in different subject areas in the requisite measure

• Develop child’s individual skills, interests, attitudes and motivation

• Understand and lead a healthy and productive life

• Monitor the changes taking place in child’s learning, behavior and progress over a period of time

• Respond to different situations and opportunities both in and out of school

• Apply what is learnt in a variety of environment, circumstances and situations

• Work independently, collaboratively and harmoniously

• Analyze and evaluate

• Be aware of social and environmental issues

• Participate in social and environmental projects

• Retain what is learned over a period of time

Source: http://educational-assessments.blogspot.in/

CBSE’s new Evaluation Pattern: CCE

“CCE helps in improving student’s performance by identifying his/her learning difficulties at regular time intervals right from the beginning of the academic session and employing suitable remedial measures for enhancing their learning performance. The scheme of continuous and comprehensive evaluation has inbuilt flexibility for schools to plan their own academic schedules as per specified guidelines on CCE.”

-CBSE, New Delhi

In this article we shall take a look at the three main features of CBSE’s latest education and educational assessment system.

1. The Brand New Education Pattern
2. The New Evaluation Scheme
3. The Grading Scheme

On your Toes!

Yes, this sums up CBSE’s new approach to education. The CCE pattern given by CBSE for classes VI to X, is a marked departure from the old conventional teaching and examination system where the student was tested thrice and even once annually at many places.

The CCE pattern stands for Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation. This new healthy pattern has been introduced with a view to nurture and develop every aspect of a child’s personality as he grows; and considerably lessen the study pressure and examination fear in students.

CCE pattern focuses on the development of these four skills:

• Investigation of the situation/topic,
• Deductive Method wherein the student makes explains a given situation/topic based on his previous knowledge,
• Co-relation with a real life situation and,
• Use of Information Technology i.e. how can the problem-situation be resolved with the use of information technology?

The four best features of this pattern are:

1. 6 Exams (4 Formative Assessments + 2 Summative Assessments) spread over the year.
2. No repetition of syllabus already covered by the previous tests.
3. Small course portions to decrease the pressure of studies
4. Oral reports, presentations and projects as part of the test scheme

Formative tests are conducted four times in an academic session, and carry 40% weightage during the final assessment. In addition to this, various assignments like projects, models, charts, group work, worksheet, survey, seminar, etc. are given to the students.

Summative assessments are three hour long written tests conducted twice a year. The first summative or Summative Assessment 1(SA-1) will be conducted after the first two formatives are completed. The second (SA-2) are conducted after the next two formatives. Each summative carries a 30% weightage and both together hold a 60% weightage during the finals.

New Scheme of Evaluation:

As a part of the new assessment plan, students are graded through a series of curricular and extra-curricular evaluations along with academics. This is done to foster an all round development of the student. Grades are awarded to students based on work experience skills, dexterity, innovation, steadiness, teamwork, public speaking, behavior, etc. It helps to instill confidence and bring to the forefront the talent of those students who are shy or do not perform so well academically.

The Final Assessment:

In the CCE pattern, emphasis on self improvement is given. Instead of letting students compete for marks, the CCE allows for grading wherein students work to better their own grades and not worry about losing to another child due to half a mark or one mark!

At the end of the session, the final results are calculated in the following manner.

Formative Assessment Weightage = 40%

Summative Assessment Weightage = 60%

The formative score is added to the summative score, i.e. 40% + 60% = 100%. Depending upon the percentage obtained, the board will deduce the CGPA and thereby determine the final grade. Along with this an optional online aptitude test is conducted to help students decide the choice of subjects for further studies.