CXC Examiner May 2012 - Caribbean Examinations Council

The Caribbean ExaminerUnderstanding Continuous Assessmentto occur when the tasks to be engaged by thestudents are similar to tasks usually encounteredin the real world. Continuous assessment, byits definition and its procedures, stimulates theemergence of authentic assessments within aschool programme.Continuous assessment provides a way ofviewing assessment that integrates at least fiveperspectives of assessment. It emphasises theadvantages of viewing assessment activities as:1. formative along a formativesummativecontinuum of activities2. internal along an internal-externalcontinuum3. informal along an informal-formalcontinuum4. process along a process-productcontinuum, and also5. divergent along a divergentconvergentcontinuum.Brief defining statements of these modesof assessment should serve to convey a sense ofthe size and scope and structure of continuousassessment, as practised by CXC.1. Formative vs. summativeFormative assessment, designed toinform teachers about future teachingand students about future learning.Summative assessment, designedto produce a summary of what thestudent has learnt and can do withina domain usually specified by asyllabus.2. Internal vs. ExternalInternal assessment - where theassessment is done by someonewithin the school setting, usually theclassroom teacher.External assessment, where the tasksare devised and set by persons outsidethe school setting, sometimes by ateacher from another school.3. Informal vs. FormalInformal assessment - where theassessment is conducted most oftenduring the teaching-learning activitiescarried out daily in classrooms.Formal assessment-where theassessment is usually conducted as aset of discrete and highly structureddata-collection tasks; tasks are set tofit given specifications and to be donein a set time.4. Process vs. ProductProcess assessment - where theassessment is focused on what isbeing done in real time and usuallyrequire the presence of an examineror teacher.Product assessment where theassessment is focused on assessingwhat has been produced in the formof concrete, tangible objects to fitgiven criteria.5. Divergent vs. ConvergentDivergent assessment – where theresponses of the learners to tasks areexpected to span a range of answerswhose quality is to be judged by thenature of the analysis and soundnessof opinion. However, the responsesrequire highly trained marking skillsor at least sensible rubrics, flexiblyconstructed.Convergent assessment is aboutassessment which is generally easyto mark, by machines or by persons.Wherever knowledge or mere recallof facts is the primary concern,convergent assessment is valid andrapid.Continuous assessment is a unitary conceptintegrating the activities that are defined bythe three axes associated with the formativesummativecontinuum, informal-formalcontinuum and internal-external continuumactivities (see Figure 1).The space which this miniature symbol(see figure below) attempts to represent is thecartesian space of interest known as continuousassessment. Our senses and everyday experiencesenable us to form easy images of a 3-dimensionalspace. Nevertheless it seems more useful andsatisfying to think of the space of interestspanning as many as five dimensions, namely• Formative - summative• Internal - external• Informal - formal• Process - product• Divergent - convergentContinuous assessment is an on-goingassessment of all pupils throughout a Grade 5 orGrade 6 programme, for example. It involves theschool, teachers, students and teachers’ colleges.Its purposes are:1. a) encouraging studentinvolvement and motivationb) involving parents in the tasksdone by studentsc) encouraging parentalinvolvement at many levels2. a) monitoring and providingfeedback to students on theirprogressb) linking tasks done in school totasks done in homes and thecommunityFIGURE 1: Rectangular axes defining a continuous assessment spacewww.cxc.org MAY 2012 19