1

ASSIG
NAME: AYESHA NMENT MAQSOOD

ROLL NO. BZ787155

COURSE CODE: 6774 NO.1

SUBMITTED TO: DR. TANVEER AFZAL

Contents Page No.

Introduction 03
Formative Assessment 03
Summative Assessment 04
Interim Assessment 04
Diagnostic Assessment 05
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Norm reference Assessment 05

Criterion reference Assessment 06
Commonly used type of assessment in Pakistani teaching learning environment 06
Suitability of Criterion reference Assessment in Pakistani context 07
Conclusion 07
Introduction 09
Subjects and Grade level assessed by NEAS and PEAS 09
Standing of students in different levels and subjects 10
Language Results 10
National Mathematics Results 10
Competency in Urdu 11
Recommendations by NEAS and PEAS 12
Conclusion 12
References 13

Table of Contents:

Q-1 Explain different types of assessment by providing examples; identify

most commonly used type in Pakistani teaching learning environment,
comment on suitability of the type identified.

Ans: Introduction:
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Assessment is an integral part of teaching and learning process. It provides the opportunity to
collect and discuss information from variety of sources to understand that what students have
learnt and are able to do as a result of learning experiences. Assessment is helpful for instructors
as well as learners as it is a tool to assess the performance of learners which gives data according
to need and analyze this data to improve teaching strategies for successful learning because it
shows that specific outcomes have achieved or not.

It is rightly said:

“Assessment is the engine which drives the learning of students.”

(John Cowan)

Assessment is used to judge, measure the readiness of learners, their academic progress and
acquisition of skills. It also helps to recognize the individual strengths and weaknesses of any
student so that instructor can give individual support to overcome these weaknesses. In this
question, I am going to discuss different types of assessment, their importance and to identify
that which type is most frequently used in Pakistan.

Types of Assessment:

Assessment follows a set which contains four components as first is plan, second is do, third is
check and fourth is act. These are components are followed in order. There are different types of
assessment.

1. Formative Assessment:

This assessment is carried in beginning or during a course which is an opportunity to get

evidence about the learning of students in a specific program. It acts as an index for the progress
of students as well as teachers and allows them to rethink and redeliver. It usually not involves
grading system as its purpose is to enhance the understanding of learners. It helps to modify
curriculum when learners fail to meet the outcomes. It provides meaningful and immediate
feedback to the learners to make them enable to understand that where they may be wrong and
need to improve. It is ongoing and informal observation during a course of study. We can say
that formative assessment prepares the learners for summative assessment by providing them
continuous feedback. A useful way to carry out formative assessment and to check the current
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knowledge about any specific content is the use of clickers in which teacher poll questions about
any topic and if large number of students are confused about that questions and are not able to
respond correctly then its mean that teacher needs to go back and review that topic and teach it in
most effective way. Examples of formative assessment involves quizzes, Homework, peer work,
practice exams, in class activities and problem-solving classes.

2. Summative Assessment:

Summative assessment is carried out to check the learning level at the end of any program and is
comprehensive in nature and provide feedback that sums up the process of learning and teaching.
When teacher will take the test after completion of program then it is summative as its base is on
cumulative learning experience of learners. It tells us that goals and objectives of program has
achieved or not. There is no formal learning takes place at the stage of summative assessment.
This type of assessment helps to judge and measure achievement of students against learning
outcomes. It also used to check the effectiveness of any program or teaching strategy. Rubrics
are mostly used for this type of assessment which are developed around a standard. Result of
summative assessment is in the form of grades which shows that student is able to promote to
next class or not. It gives the final product and more product oriented. Example of summative
assessment are open book exam, objective type exams, seen or unseen written exams, term
papers, portfolios, projects, and dissertations etc.

3. Interim Assessment:

This type of assessment is carried out in different intervals during study year to check the grasp
of student on content and help them about future instructions. It is carried after formative
assessment and before summative assessment. Interim assessment provides data to measure the
academic progress of students especially for a limited time frame. Sometimes it is also called as
Benchmark or predictive assessment. As compared to formative assessment, its results are
considered at broader level at school as well as district level. It is an easy and quick way to
obtain valuable information about the performance of learners. Examples of interim assessment
includes test of any chapter and extended essay etc.
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Fig: Types of assessment

4. Diagnostic Assessment:

This assessment helps to improve knowledge of learner. It looks backward as compared to

forward. It concentrates on that part of information which learner already knows and try to
diagnose those problems which a student is facing during learning. It is mostly used when
students face any problem or carried out before learning and used to assess about skills,
capabilities, interests, experiences, achievements and difficulties of any student or class. It helps
to know the strength and weakness of learners so we can plan in better way that what should we
teach and how. Examples of diagnostic assessment includes aptitude test, observation and
discussion, pretest, brief interviews and self-assessment etc.

5. Norm-referenced Assessment:

This type of assessment is used to compare the performance of student with their peers. It shows
that a student is performing better or worse than other fellows. IQ tests are best example of norm
reference test. Results of this type of assessment are used to check the academic progress of
learners, determination of readiness or identify that additional academic support is needed or not.
It includes MCQs type questions and open-ended questions. This assessment is used to rank the
students, to check language proficiency

6. Criterion-referenced assessment:
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It allows to measure the performance of students against a fixed learning standard or pre
determines criteria and which student successfully meet the criteria will get high scores. It tells
us that what students are able to do at a specific level of learning, their mastery in any skill or
any subject content taught to the learners. This is also known as standard based assessment.
Results are usually recorded in percentage. This assessment shows that learner has any learning
gap or not and can qualify to receive a certificate or not. Example of this assessment is placement
test and Driving test is the best example in which learner is judged against a standard driving
criterion.

Commonly used type of assessment in Pakistani teaching learning

environment:

If we talk about the assessment of Pakistan then we have come to know that, most commonly
used assessment type which is used in teaching learning environment is Criterion reference
assessment. It involves the questions which have pre-determined criteria and calculate the scores
of learners relative to this criterion. After the completion of CRT, teachers can calculate results
immediately. Teachers ignore the alternative ways of assessments like practical and project
work, peer work and portfolios type assessments. Reason of this practice is failure to manage
time, non-availability of resources, Lack of training about assessment, crowded classrooms,
shortage of time and fail to properly manage time and psychomotor nature of assessment tools.
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Mostly teachers carried the assessment through traditional practices in Pakistan which are less
SLO’s oriented. It is due to the lack of mastery in skills and content knowledge, lack of
professional training, non-availability of online and physical facilities.

Suitability of Criterion reference Assessment in Pakistani context:

Criterion reference assessment is suitable in Pakistani teaching learning environment because it

is one of the most traditional method of assessment used. In this method, passing criteria is fixed
and students are assessed against this criterion as in Pakistan 33% is the passing criteria which is
mostly used in different institutions to qualify any course or degree. It is suitable due to its
usability and easy to achieve as teachers as well as students are familiar that passing criteria is
33% so they can do effort to achieve this easily. There is no ambiguity regarding this criterion.
Its results are easily administered by teachers and they can judge about the performance of
students in less time.

There are overcrowded classrooms in our institutions so it is not easy to conduct alternative ways
of assessment as it is difficult to check the work individually of each and every student so it
results careless behavior in marking and purpose of assessment fails. Sometimes due to heavy
work in overcrowded classroom, teacher is not able to ensure the psychomotor properties of
assessment which results the collection of wrong data and it leads towards wrong decision and
effective learning is not ensured.

Conclusion:

It is concluded that there are lot of assessment types which are effective for successful teaching
learning process and we cannot say that which type is most important as compared to others as it
depends on the situation and problem that which type will be carried and give effective result. In
Pakistan, we should cope with challenges like shortage of facilities, lack of professional training
and time management so teachers can effectively use all types of assessment frequently
according to situation. CRT cannot be used to assess the psychomotor abilities of students and it
is not enough to judge the capabilities of learner so teachers should use multiple ways to assess
the capabilities of learner.
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References:

1. Angelo, T. A., & Cross, K. P. (1993). Classroom Assessment Techniques: A Handbook for
College Teachers (2nd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
2. Athar Khan. (2019). Meaningful Types of Assessment. Retrieved from:
http://www.bytes.html.com
3. Jennie Tookoian. (2018). Different types of Assessment and what you need to know about
them. Retrieved from: http://www.edulasticblog.html.com
4. Knowly. (2020). What are the types of assessment? Retrieved from: http://www.
easylmsOnlineassessmenttool.com.html
5. Types of assessment Federation. Retrieved from: http://www.universityaustraila.html.com

Q-2 Enlist the subjects and grade levels assessed by

National Assessment System and Provincial Assessment Systems in Pakistan.
What is the standing of students in different subjects and levels? Summarize
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the major recommendations of National and Provincial assessment Systems

for improvement of instructional process.

Ans: Introduction:

Assessment is necessary to evaluate the overall performance and quality of education system of
any country and to modify the education systems and policies in the light of findings of these
assessments. In Pakistan, National Education assessment System (NEAS) is a subordinate office
of the Ministry of Federal education and professional training for the conduction of national
assessments on large scale which is working with the collaboration of 35 provincial and area
assessment bodies. In this question, I am going to explain the working of NEAS and PEAS and
their recommendations to improve the instructional process.

Subjects and Grade level assessed by NEAS and PEAS:

NEAS has developed under Education Sector Reform Action plan. Its main purpose is to
enhance the capacity of assessment at school, provincial and federal level, to measure the student
learning outcomes, improve the effectiveness of interventions in instructional programs. Vision
statement of NEAS is to provide standard and fair assessment to enhance the quality of learning
of students in Pakistan. Mission statement of NEAS is to conduct fair assessment at national
level with related activities to achieve objectives and to promote equity, quality and easy access
to education for all. Main purpose of NEAS project is the enhancement of capacity of institutions
at all levels so that they can meet the education standard at national level. This project facilitates
the initiation of national and provincial baseline of achievement of students which is to be
measured against a national and standard curriculum. National assessment will provide reliable
data and provide feedback for instructional system to improve the allocation of resources,
formulation of policies, curriculum, textbook and improvement of instructional material all are
required for quality enhancement of education. Sample based large assessment was conducted by
NEAS in 2004 to 2008 and in 2014 at Grade 4 and Grade 8 in four subjects which are
Mathematics, Science, Language and Social Studies. NEAS designs and do pilot testing to
check the reliability of assessment tools and circulate strategies related to assessment to achieve
the learning outcomes. NEAS selected sample of Grade 4 and 8 th through stratified random
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sampling. Clustering takes place only at school level and maximum 20 or minimum 6 students as
a sample were selected from each school.

NEAS has many objectives for the betterment of instructional process as:

 It points out the link of inequality with gender and geography and its impact on student’s
performance.
 It monitors the standards and find out that how curricula are well translated in knowledge.
 It finds the way to re direct the allocation of resources and correlation of achievements.
 It facilitates the instructors to direct their efforts for the improvement of performance of
students.

Standing of students in different levels and subjects:

Analysis of NEAS results is carried through widely used statistical programs. Data is collected
and then analyzed through SPSS software. NEAS in 2005 reported results of Grade 4 students of
Government and community model schools in languages and mathematics. These students
achieved a mean score of 369 for Urdu language, 368 in Sindhi and 421 in Mathematics on a
national scale mean of 500. NEAS conducted assessment in Urdu except of Sindhi language.

Language Results:

Reading capability depends upon the cognitive demand of items. NEAS results shows that
students find question about reading comprehension least difficult. It shows that reading from
textbooks is most common task carried by students during class. During NEAS test, average
students answers correctly to the questions related to first stage of Bloom’s taxonomy like
knowledge or information but language questions related to understanding level of Bloom’s find
more difficult for students. This shows the trend of rote learning in our institutions. Similarly, in
writing, students found difficulty in tasks like describe in your own words and grammar related
questions.

National Mathematics Results:

In mathematics, students easily tackled knowledge-based questions, performed average in

understanding level of questions but results were least in application type items like line and pie
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graph, measure the length of line segment, problem solving. If we see the results of provinces
then Sindh and AJK students scored less than other provinces.

Competency in Urdu:

NEAS tried to achieve following competencies of Urdu as enhancement of creativity and

observing power in Narrative writing that is write a story on any topic, to develop and organize
ideas during essay writing, use of Urdu language effectively during letter writing, vocabulary
and reading etc. Results of Urdy language are far better then English language. Students got
good results in reading as compared to creative writing.

Results of NEAS shows a large difference in performance of students and reveals that results are
different among different provinces. Results are based on gender difference, background of
students, location of schools, teaching methodologies and reward and punishment. Results of
NEAS strengthen the process of education as they highlight the issues in implementation of
policies and show actual condition of schools.

All provinces also formulated assessment units under the supervision of NEAS for standard
assessment. NEAS conducted assessment in multiple rounds from 2005, 2006 and 2007. After
18th amendment, NEAS working has freeze for many years. Ministry of Federal Education
reinstate NEAS in 2014 and sample-based assessment namely NAT was conducted for grade 4
and 8 in language, science and Mathematics. Then NAT conducts another assessment round as
pilot testing in 2016. PEAS continue to work at provincial level for assessments but it fails due to
the shortage of funding and ambiguous instructions. After this failure, PEAS was merged with
PEC and now PEC is conducting assessment for Grade 5th and 8th.

PEC papers are based on SOLO taxonomy and creative items are added in these tests to impart
critical thinking among students. At elementary level in Punjab, SLOs are assessed by
conduction simple MCQs test items through DTEs which are prepared with the collaboration and
supervision of Directorate of staff development but it does not remain continue due to lack of
supervision. Now monthly tests of students have been conducted through Monitoring and
Evaluation Assistants to ensure grade level competencies of students. PEC exams are modern as
compared to traditional BISE exams. Cheating is there but is less common in PEC as compared
to BISE exams.
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Recommendations by NEAS and PEAS:

NEAS and PEAS is working for the improvement of instructional process. Following
recommendations for this purpose are:

1. Assessment system in Pakistan should be systematic and effective by addressing the issues in
current assessment system.
2. Assessment system in Pakistan should be standard and harmonious so that students of all
provinces can be assessed against same benchmark.
3. Malpractices like cheating and unfair means should be strictly handled to improve the
standard of assessment.
4. Summative assessment should be reliable and valid so that it can reflect learning of students
in true sense.
5. Performance based assessment of students should be based on SLO’s which are explained in
national curriculum.
6. Methods to conduct assessment should be modified periodically and revised according to
requirement.
7. ICT should be used in assessment system to ensure its efficiency.
8. Proper check mand balance should be there in paper setting, marking, accountability etc.
9. All examination boards should align their papers with curriculum and questions should be
based on understanding and application level of Bloom’s taxonomy.
10. Policies should be effectively modified in the light of assessment data.
11. All assessors attached with assessment system like paper setters, Head Examiners, marking
group and invigilators should be trained continuously for their professional development and
well aware about their roles in assessment system.
12. There should be balance between multiple and traditional assessment as formative,
summative and high-stake assessments are equally important.
13. Assessments should not be based on rote learning but it has the ability to measure
knowledge, understanding sense of learners, critical and analytical thinking and creativity
among students and cover all cognitive concepts of curriculum.
14. Assessment has the ability to provide constructive feedback to learners, their teachers and
parents and other stakeholders to meet SLOs.
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15. Assessment should concentrate on those outcomes also which induced the attitude, life skills
and behavior among students to ensure their positive and effective participation in society.

Conclusion:

It is concluded that NEAS and PEAS are working for the standard based assessment of the
country but due to the shortage of funding and lack of supervision these are fail to fulfill its
objective completely. Assessments results shows that our students are habitual of memorization
and fails to apply knowledge and concepts so it is the need of time that we should construct such
type of questions in assessments which create critical thinking and motivates the learners to
enhance their cognitive abilities. All provinces should work with collaboration and such
assessment policy should be formulated which streamlines all types of assessment for the
betterment of instructional process.

References:

1. Abdul Jabbar. Punjab School Education Sector Plan 2013-2017, School Education
Department, Government of Punjab
2. Ahmad, S. & Malik, S. (2011) Examination Scheme at Secondary School Level in Pakistan:
Composite vs Split, Canadian Social Science 7 (1) Pp. 130-139.
3. M. Aziz et al. (2014). Education System Reform in Pakistan: Why, When and How? IZA
Policy Paper. No. 76. Islamabad.
4. Minimum Standards for Quality Education in Pakistan, 2016
5. Rehmani, A. (2003) Impact of Public Examination System on Teaching and Learning in
Pakistan International Biannual Newsletter ANTRIEP, 8 (2) Pp.3-7.
6. Shamaas Gul Khattak. (2012). Assessment in schools in Pakistan School of Arts and
Education, Middlesex University (London) miss_khattak@live.co.uk
7. Werner Liepach. (2019). School Education in Pakistan, A Sector Assessment