POSITION PAPER PRESENTATION

Thoughtful Assessments in the

New Normal: Approaches and
Strategies for Formative and
Summative Assessments
Presented by Learning Team 1
Adam, Jerica B.
Apil, Reymark B.
Bartolo, Kim B.
 JERICA

Introduction
 We can't manage what we cannot measure. Therefore, we
need to find effective and efficient ways to measure what we
need to manage.
Assessment is one of the major parts of instruction that helps
determine the goals of education. It influences decisions about
how students should be taught, and it also helps determine the
instructional needs of the school. Assessment inspires
educators to reflectively consider the following questions: "Am
I teaching what I think I am teaching?", "Are students learning
what they are supposed to be learning?", and "Is there a better
way to teach the lesson?"
 Nowadays, learners must not only learn the basic reading,
writing, speaking, and problem-solving skills, but also the skills
that will allow them to see both real and virtual worlds vis-a-vis,
for them to adapt to each continuous change. Therefore, one must
be able to think critically, analytically, and inferentially.
Changes require new learning goals; learning goals that improve
learners’ knowledge and skills from basic to complex and alter
the relationship between assessment and teaching-learning
instructions. Hence, educators must take an active role in
making decisions in terms of identifying the purpose of
assessment and the content itself that is being assessed.
 CONTENT
AND ANALYSIS
OF THE TOPIC
KIM

The webinar on designing thoughtful assessments

was hosted by VIBAL Publishing, an institution
that aims to inform and enlighten teachers on the
use of tools in the new normal as well as topics that
would benefit not just teachers but other
stakeholders in coping with the shift in the
educational system. This webinar covered four
topics of importance.
 (a) Measure what is essential to be
measured.

(b) How to be a thoughtful designer of

The following assessments.

topics were : (c) Formative assessments in distance

learning

(d) Summative assessments in distance

learning
 In the first part on what needs to be measured, the speaker
emphasized that the current system of education, we are
pushing and teaching our students to become cheaters. This is
concerning since we are teaching our students to be good in
doing something which is not supposed to be good at. In our
case, this is indeed true since we cannot monitor our students
especially those who are into pure offline learning. Because of
this, we must be creative in formulating assessments in such a
way that we do not encourage our students to cheat.

The part of the speaker’s topic is on how to design thoughtful assessments. In this
topic, five key points were mentioned.

First, a thoughtful assessment designer must recognize the

diversity of learners. In this time of pandemic, students are not
just diversified based on their skills. They are further subdivided
due to some being in full online classes, blended learning, or pure
modular classes. In doing our assessments we must first consider
that the type of assessment that we are going to give is applicable
to all modes of learning and should consider available learner
resources. There should also be a choice of options to do should
the learners not complete the assessment due to constraints.
Differentiated instruction is highly encouraged.
 Second, Let us consider flexibility. Flexible assessments
should be done. For instance, we lean in to more Performance
Based Assessments during this time in order to lessen the
probability of cheating amongst students.

Third, being emphatic. As teachers, our patience extends

beyond our limits just for our students. We are open to
catering to our students’ inquiries and should remain so.
This builds our virtual presence amidst the pandemic.

 Fourth, assessments should be focused. The Department of

Education has developed the Most Essential Learning
Competencies in order for us to better assess our students. The
speaker emphasized that in order for our assessments to be
effective, we should stay focused on what needs to be assessed.

Finally, the speaker explained that a thoughtful designer of

assessments should be innovative. We should be able to find
alternative ways of assessing our students’ progress. Lean
away from traditional tests.

 Reymark

CONCLUSION
AND

LEARNING TEAM’S TAKE-AWAYS

 Based on the key points presented, the Learning Team 1 concludes that
in formulating formative and summative assessments, we must consider the
diversity of learners; the flexibility of the assessment; empathy of teachers;
specificity of assessment; and innovation in assessment. These key factors
will greatly influence the effectivity of assessment not only for the students
but also for the teachers.

As teachers, we don’t want our students to get a passing grade because

of cheating and luck. Thus, crafting meaningful and thoughtful assessment
is really important in the educational system. This pandemic has challenged
educational leaders, teachers, students, parents, and other stakeholders in
the different modalities of learning and giving assessments. However, sense
of adaptability and timeliness will always be helpful in facing different
problems in education.
 The take-aways of Learning Team 1 will revolve in
the notion that every learner is unique. Thus,
crafting assessments must be thoughtful and careful.
As teachers, we believe that we do not only give
assessments for the sake of tangible records of the
learners’ knowledge, skills, and values. We give
assessments for the learners to apply the things that
they have learned from us which they can use in the
actual world.