Learner evaluation – a complex task
Review spoke to teachers and spokesperson for the Department of Education to find out how they ensure this process is done fairly.
POLOKWANE – Teachers are responsible not only for educating classes that vary in size, but also documenting each learner’s performance and giving feedback at quarterly intervals
Review spoke to teachers and spokesperson for the Department of Education to find out how they ensure this process is done fairly.
A teacher at a local school, Grace Thompson told Review that evaluation of learners is one of the main issues that causes friction between parents and teachers and there is a big need for the two parties to get together and discuss how and why it is done.
She agrees with other teachers in the city who say learners demonstrate their knowledge of a particular subject in different ways and they therefore evaluate learners’ performances by applying the following methods:
Rubrics – A rubric is an objective set of guidelines that defines the criteria used to score or grade an assignment. It describes the requirements of the assignment and clearly outlines the points the learners will receive based on the quality of his or her work. Teachers can give students the rubric in advance to help them understand the requirements and expectations for the assignment. Teachers can use the same rubric for grading all their students.
Portfolios – A portfolio is a collection of individual work samples that represent a learner’s performance over a period of time. In general, this type of assessment allows teachers to more accurately evaluate a learner’s mastery of content or a skill rather than a single assessment such as a test that captures one moment in time. A portfolio also allows a student to reflect on his or her performance over time and to perhaps establish future goals.
Self-assessment – Self-assessment is the process of students using specific criteria to evaluate and reflect on their own work. In doing so, students become more responsible for their own learning and may be more prepared to work with the teacher to develop individual learning goals. For students to effectively evaluate their own work, teachers should provide them with criteria to evaluate themselves.
Assigning Grades:
In addition to evaluating performance, teachers must also assign grades for each instructional period. Typically, teachers consider three factors when they assign grades, these include:
· Achievement (i.e. how the student is performing in relation to expected grade-level goals)
· Growth (i.e. the amount of individual improvement over time)
· Habits (e.g. participation, behavior, effort, attendance)
Spokesperson for the Department of Education, Dr. Naledzani Rasila, says when they assign grades, teachers should keep several principles in mind.
“First, teachers should understand that an assessment is a means of collecting information about their learners and that every assessment does not have to be graded. Second, grades should be based on a learners’s performance in relation to grade-level standards,” he said.
He reiterated that grades should only reflect learners’ achievements and not their growth or habits.
“Finally, learners should be graded against established criteria and not in relation to the performance of their peers. In addition to these principles, teachers should consider practices related exercises to grading,” Rasila continued.
He said parents who want more information on the evaluation of their children’s school work should contact their school or a specific teacher for more insight.
