Examine and appraise your use of diagnostic assessments.

  Reflect on and
discuss both your satisfaction and frustration with diagnostic
assessments.  

     I have used diagnostic assessment to identify skills and previous knowledge of my

students before starting a new school year. It also serves to provide the feedback
needs. The assessment guidelines of the Ministry of Education state that teachers
must apply a diagnostic test and inform the results to implement activities that help
students match their skills to continue with the curriculum proposal. The purpose of
this diagnostic assessment goes in concordance with Erie, PA., Public Schools (2017),
who stated that “these tests determine students’ level of knowledge, skills, and
understandings at the beginning of a course and allow the instructor to adjust the
curriculum to meet the needs of the students” (p. 1). I used to design a typical
multiple-choice test to assess the English skills: reading, listening, writing and use of
language. Then, I prepare my report to my coordinator to begin designing the
activities to reinforce what they have not answered in the test.

     From my experience, I can express that a diagnostic test might be a feasible tool
to apply in the first week of starting class to address the weakness and needs of the
students. It seems that students feel comfortable with a multiple-choice test. Another
thing is that they know this kind of test does not get a mark that affects their final
report. One of the biggest challenges I have faced is the large classes that I must
manage. When I read about the context of Christine and Paul (Rethinking classroom
assessment with purpose in mind, n.d, p. 18), I think it is easier to identify academic
needs in a small group of students. I have about fifty students per class. The
challenge is after applying a diagnostic test to identify the needs of all my students
individually. It takes time, and I have to be sincere; I do not set enough time to
design an individual profile. It is a load of work since I have five classes of about fifty
students.

     An essential issue that I must consider is the relevance of grasping the purpose of
the diagnostic tests and the different other ways and alternatives to using them. This
year, I tried to apply them during the diagnostic period. I used observation and
group activities to evaluate the previous skills of the students. My students asked me
about the diagnostic test they usually take. I explained that they could work on other
activities to demonstrate their knowledge. They accepted the challenge and felt more
comfortable working on those tasks. I registered my observations and the results of
the group activities in a paper to prepare my report. The results showed that if I
create more opportunities to assess my students, they will be motivated to
participate in the assessment process. They also are willing to be accountable for
their learning and become reflective students. As the guide of my students, I need to
remember that “assessments are a great way for educators to understand students’
progress because helping students learn is the primary objective of education”
(Ronan, 2015, p. 6).

  What advice would you give other teachers about the use of diagnostic
assessments?

I would offer the following advice:

- It is vital to understand the purpose of the assessment, the context and the
resources you have available. Rethinking classroom assessment with purpose in mind
(n.d.) highlighted that “assessment needs to allow students to make their learning
apparent without anxiety or censure” (p. 14).

- Place students into groups to address their needs and design a plan to support
them with differentiated assessment.

-  Create student profiles to register their needs. We can use technology to save time
to be more productive.

- Involve parents in the assessment process; they can contribute to our students
having an appropriate attitude towards assessment. We all can work together to
assist learners.

- Diagnostic assessments were not limited to tests alone; we can design other
activities that address all learning styles.

-  We need to design meaningful and relevant diagnostic assessments that motivate

students to participate in their learning.

     To conclude, diagnostic assessment is part of the learning process. Thus, it needs
to be used effectively to get the desired results and combine them with other
evidence of progress. I am sure this course will help me polish my assessment
practices to improve the quality of learning and instruction. Consequently, “when
assessment is conducted appropriately it will help people to learn in a way that is
meaningful and encourage their motivation to learn” (Lamprianu & Athanasau, 2009,
p. 8).

References

Erie, PA., Public Schools. (2017). Diagnostic assessment.

ERIESD. https://www.eriesd.org/cms/lib/PA01001942/Centricity/Domain/
1917/Types%20of%20Assessments%20information%20sheets.
Lamprianu, I., & Athanasau, J. (2009). A teacher’s guide to classroom
assessment. Sense
Publishers. https://my.uopeople.edu/pluginfile.php/1589421/mod_book/
chapter/349550/TeachGuideEduAssessment.pdf    

Rethinking classroom assessment with purpose in mind. (n.d.).

WNCP. https://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/assess/wncp/full_doc.pdf

Ronan, A. (2015, April 29). Every teacher’s guide to

assessment. Edudemic. https://www.moedu-sail.org/wp-content/uploads/
2014/02/CFA-Handouts-for-C-Assessment-Design.pdf