The term Assessment has been widely used by educators to evaluate, measure, and document

the academic readiness, learning progress, and skill acquisition of students throughout their
learning in life. Different terminologies are there for assessment and evaluation such as
Measurement, Tests, Examination, Appraisal and Evaluation. There are certain Learning
theories which are having conceptual frameworks describing how information is absorbed,
processed and retained during learning. This essay will discuss importance of terminal and
continuous assessments.

In education, the term assessment refers to the wide variety of methods that educators use to
evaluate, measure, and document the academic readiness, learning progress, and skill
acquisition of students from preschool through college and adulthood. It is the process of
systematically gathering information as part of an evaluation. Assessment is carried out to see
what children and young people know, understand and are able to do. Assessment is
very important for tracking progress, planning next steps, reporting and involving parents,
children and young people in learning (Williams, 2006). Though the terms assessment and
evaluation are often used interchangeably many writers differentiate between them.
Assessment is defined as gathering information or evidence, and evaluation is the use of that
information or evidence to make judgments (Angelo, 2003). Measurement involves
assigning numbers or scores to an attribute or characteristic of a person in such a way that the
numbers describe the degree to which the person possesses the attribute. Assigning grade
equivalents to scores on a standardized achievement test is an example of measurement.

The term continuous assessment is used to describe assessments that are completed during
the course module. The method is also referred to as curriculum integrated assessment or
embedded assessment. Continuous assessment can replace the final assessment or can be
combined with the final assessment to calculate a final grade. The reason for doing
continuous assessment is to secure/enable a continuous and independent work rate and
learning for students during the course. Most the education curriculums and syllabi must
include a variety of examination forms to reflect the content and working methods of the
course. Accordingly, it is important that students practice the assessment method before the
final assessment. This ‘curriculum embedded’ or ‘continuous assessment’ allows for
feedback to students and teachers (Thorndike, 2010).
Continuous assessment can be used in two ways; summative assessment on
activities/products contributing to the final grade or formative assessment on
activities/products not contributing to the final grade. In both cases, feedback to the teacher
and/or students is part of the process. Summative assessments scoring/grading students’ work
during the semester or term is a way of avoiding the challenges with long periods of no
assessment followed up by a single high-risk opportunity to demonstrate learning at the very
end of the subject materials. As such, continuous assessment signals to students that
engagement throughout the course is needed for successful completion, and that studying is
not just about intensive work at the very end. For this reason modules with continuous
assessment motivates students to work harder, but can also increase stress levels for some
students (Williams, 2006).

Continuous assessment can become a very powerful way of introducing feedback to students’
work especially if students are given a chance to act on feedback so that assessment becomes
incremental for example 1) students hand in a draft 2) students receive feedback on draft
from peers/teaching assistant 3) students re-submit the improved draft after taking feedback
into account 4) students' drafts are assessed. Continuous assessment provides day-to-day
feedback about the learning and teaching process (Freshie, 2009). Assessment can reinforce
the efficacy of teaching and learning. It also encourages the understanding of teaching as a
formative process that evolves over time with feedback and input from students. This creates
good classroom rapport. Student assessments are necessary because, throughout a lesson or
unit, the teacher might want to check for understanding by using a formative assessment and
students who are experiencing difficulties in learning may benefit from the administration of
a diagnostic test, which will be able to detect learning issues such as reading comprehension
problems, an inability to remember written or spoken words, hearing or speech difficulties,
and problems with hand–eye coordination (Sedlacek, 2004).

Terminal assessment is assessment that is carried out at the end of a course or major unit, for
instance by sitting an examination, undergoing a practical or situational assessment, or
submitting a major item or collection of work for example a dissertation, thesis or portfolio.
Terminal assessment is almost invariably carried out for summative purposes, for instance to
determine whether students can progress to the next stage of the course, to determine whether
they should be accredited with having satisfactorily completed a module, unit, or to
contribute to their final mark, grade or degree classification (Thorndike, 2010).
Terminal assessments are important because the help students to understand topics that they
might have missed in the classroom lessons. For example, they are the real motivation for
students to study harder. It is not students’ responsibility for trying hard to get higher score in
the exam, but they have to do the best to achieve it (Sedlacek, 2004). Moreover, the test may
compel us to solidify what they have learned, study further and practice skills instead of
being lazy and feeling bad about studying or learning something new. On the other hand,
students learn a lot in order to pass the exam, it also gives back some value skills and lessons.
During the examination time, students have learned how to do the test correctly, finish on
time and so on. Furthermore, Exams teach us a lot of things and give training to various
things like punctuality, writing skills, timing sense, expressing our thoughts and opinions
(Thorndike, 2010).

Terminal assessments are equally a great way to assess what the students have learned with
regards to particular subjects. Exams will show what part of the lesson each student seems to
have taken the most interest in and has remembered. With every pupil being so individual,
exams are also a great way for teachers to find out more about the students themselves. The
test environment comes with added stress, which allows teachers to work out how their
students argue and how they think individually by their works, which is a great attribute for
them to keep in mind for future class activities (Freshie, 2009).

Strengths and weaknesses can also be assessed through exams. The teachers will be able to
understand where more attention in class may be needed when teaching the particular subject.
A pattern of weaknesses may be apparent when marking the works. This is where mock tests
are a great technique to use when teaching before the formal examinations. This will give
students and teachers the opportunity to understand where their weaknesses may be, in time
for the preparation of the formal exam. This will give them all the chance to ensure that they
are able to achieve the best of their abilities in class, thus helping them in the future (Angelo,
2003).

In summary, assessment is a key part of today’s educational system. Assessment serves as an

individual evaluation system, and as a way to compare performance across a spectrum and
across populations. Both terminal and continuous assessments are important because the are
help to gather relevant information about student performance or progress, or to determine
student interests to make judgments about their learning process.
 References

Angelo, T. A., (2003). Classroom Assessment Techniques: A handbook for college teachers.
(4th ed.). San Francisco: Jossey Bass.

Freshie, D.A. (2009). Essentials of Educational Measurement, New Delhi: PHI Learning
Pvt. Ltd.,

Sedlacek, W. E. (2004). Beyond the big test: Non cognitive assessment in higher
education. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass

Thorndike, R.M. (2010). Measurement and Evaluation in Psychology and Education. New
Delhi: PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd.,

Williams, D. D., (2006). Online assessment, measurement and evaluation. Hersley:

Information Science.