ACTRC is a partnership between

the University of Melbourne and the

University of the Philippines, supported
by the Australian Government.

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Building Basic Assessment Competence: Session 3

Evidence Collection

Key Understandings
● A progression of learning shows how concepts and skills should develop over time
with increasing complexity. Designing assessment based on progression allows
teachers to determine what their students know and can do.

● The teacher can find out what concepts and skills a student needs help with by
determining his or her zone of proximal development (ZPD).

● Creating assessment tasks that cater to varying levels of knowledge and ability helps
teachers ensure that all types of learners in the class are learning.

Highlights
Progression of learning
- refers to the sequence of topics and competencies
- shows how a particular topic should develop from the simplest or most fundamental
concept and understanding to the most complex ones
- a useful tool in identifying what knowledge and skill should be assessed
- aligned with curriculum learning standards

Prerequisite knowledge and skills

- knowledge and skills that students should learn and acquire prior to the introduction
of a new concept or topic
- make up the lower level/s of the progression of learning

Zone of Proximal Development

- the distance between what students are currently capable of doing independently
(actual development) and what they can do with assistance or support (potential
development) from an adult or from more capable peers.
Zone of Actual Development
- the zone that consists of competencies that are already established or acquired by
the student.
- At this zone, students can perform tasks without assistance or guidance.

Assessments should be designed to assess the concepts and skills within the zone of
proximal development. Assessments designed for the zone of actual development will not
promote development and will not inform instruction. Assessing concepts and skills that are
too difficult or currently beyond the reach of students will not be beneficial for both teacher
and students.
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info@actrc.org

ACTRC is a partnership between the University of Melbourne and the University of the Philippines, supported by the Australian Government.