HEADING: PHILOSOPHY OF ASSESSING STUDENT LEARNING

Chapter 11, Part 2 Assignment

Audrey Lowe
EDU 1010
April 14, 2016
Salt Lake Community College

HEADING: PHILOSOPHY OF ASSESSING STUDENT LEARNING

Assessing student learning is very important for both teachers and students. Its general
purpose is to evaluate the progress of the students and what they have taken from the curriculum
and lessons. There are different types of assessments; formative and summative. Both give great
feedback, have similar focuses, but are efficient in different ways.
The purpose of assessing student learning is to evaluate the progress and understanding
of the students and where they are at in their learning. This helps both the teacher and students be
aware of any certain necessities, and what subjects or concepts may need to be focused on. It
also puts a clear understanding between the teacher and the student to make sure they are on the
same page. The teacher will then be informed by the feedback on how and if her teaching is
effective and what he/she can do to continue student learning progress.
Formative assessment is an informal assessment for learning. As we discussed in class,
this assessment will give you an immediate feedback. Because it is more informal, it is normally
ungraded, and creates more a discussion on the curriculum and what was learned. Its point is to
focus on monitoring students progress. This may include a self-assessment, discussions,
portfolios and observations.
Summative assessment is also for learning, of course. Its focus is to determine what the
student has learned at the end of the unit, or even the end of the school year. This is very efficient
and can help guide teachers into useful teaching methods to improve their curriculum and
teaching. This assessment is more formal, normally given as a test, and students are graded. This
gives both the teacher and students the idea of what they have learned overall, and demonstrates
what they have obtained from the unit and/or school year.

HEADING: PHILOSOPHY OF ASSESSING STUDENT LEARNING

Overall, I believe that both student learning assessments are very important for several
reasons. As said, the assessments are affective and important for both the teacher and the
students. These assessments are efficient and can help the teacher improve their curriculum, as
well as let the students know as to what they have accomplished, learned, and may need extra
help on. Though these assessments have different focal points, they have the same objective.