Critique of Assessment

This section will critique an assessment administered to students at the form two level at the
end of the third term. The assessment would have been based on topics covered throughout
the academic year at the form two level.

The assessment comprised of three sections and the structure is as follows:

A. Multiple Choice questions

B. Fill in the Blank

C. Short answers

In light of the first principle explored “Assessment inclusivity and equitability”, the

assessment tool was inclusive of various topics taught throughout the academic year. The first

section mainly encompassed content taught in the first term and a few topics from terms two and

three. The second section of the assessment dealt with content taught in the second term and the

last section assessed content covered in the third term of the academic year. This approach is

inclusive of content that was planned and gave the students a fair advantage to display their

understanding of the content.

 The assessment was administered to all students at the form two level and this may have

caused some exclusivity and inequity as some students may not have been exposed to some of

the content included in the assessment as there are four teachers at the form two level. The

teachers would have all agreed on the assessment tool, but the students would not have all

understood the content in the same way given differentiating modes of delivery.

To address such an issue I suggest team teaching as teachers who are more adept in

certain content areas can deliver the lesson to all of the students at each level. This strategy

would give the students a fair advantage as they are all exposed to the same content by the

teacher more adept at delivery of such. Teacher collaboration is another strategy as teachers can

ensure they deliver the content is like manner to ensure comprehension of the topics. The

teachers can all administer the same assessments throughout the term to ensure the students are

treated with equity.

The second principle of assessment is that of managing the amount of work assessed.

The content of the assessment tool was manageable as it would have covered topics taught

throughout the academic year.

There is argument that content taught over a year can be difficult to recall by the students

given the magnitude. The assessment tool being critiqued did present the content covered in the

first term in the form of multiple choice questions taking into consideration this information

would be harder to recall compared to the content taught more recently.

 The second section assessed content taught in the second term with a fill in the black

option, which also addresses the concern of recalling information not recently taught. However,

the terms were provided for filling in the blank spaces.

The last section of the assessment was based on content taught in the most recent term

which would have required students to provide definitions and short answers. The approach took

into consideration the ability of students to recall content taught throughout the academic year.

Some may argue that the examination would have been too simple for those with greater

capacity to recall content taught throughout the academic year, placing them at an advantage as

the assessment may not have been challenging for them.

The task is preparing an assessment that is manageable by all students and not just those

with greater aptitude. For those students with less aptitude the assessment may not have been

manageable as it called for the recollection of content they may not have understood throughout

the academic year. It is no easy task to prepare an assessment after an entire academic year that

will be manageable by all students, with varying capabilities. However, the assessment did

contain multiple choice, words for filling in the blanks as well as graphics, making the

assessment tool manageable for all.

In conclusion, the assessment tool would have been met with varying views all dependent

on the capabilities of each student. The arrangement of the assessment and strategies used for

design was inclusive and equitable as well as manageable to most students. The design of an

assessment to suit the needs of all students is no easy task but it is the duty of the teacher to

ensure the assessment can be managed by those willing to make the effort to do such.