Assessment in the lifelong learning

Hakem A Jabbar

Assessment in the lifelong learning

Assessment is defined as judging the learners’ performance and work andevaluating them in respect of the course assessment criteria. In otherwords, it is the process of “Checking that learning has taken placeand/or checking all the activities and processes involved in judgingperformance or in measuring learners’ achievements” (Frances and Gould2009:137). There are many different reasons for assessing learners suchas supporting teaching and learning processes, revising educationmethods, measuring the effectiveness and correcting errors inperformance in order to modify learning methods to be more effective inthe future. Assessment also concerns the funding bodies that sponsorlearning activities. Moreover, it concerns parents and employers as theywant to know about the progress and the competence of their

2013 Adult learning centre

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children/employees. It also plays a role in making sure that thelearners’ objectives have been successfully met and a bigger role inmonitoring the best teaching standards to finally give learnerscertificates which prove that they have passed the courses and got thenecessary knowledge. Assessment results are used by the colleges andother institutions for accountability reasons, in other words, to checkthat a reasonable amount of students have achieved, thus ascertain thatthe institutions provides learners with good quality and effectivelearning.

There are three types of assessments and they are sequentially applied.The first type is called initial assessment and is the first stage ofthe learning cycle and the one that other stages depend on. By initialassessment the teacher can identify the learners’ needs “it is a processto identify and support individuals’ needs to enable the design of an


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individual learning plan which will provide them with the structure oftheir learning” (Department of Education and Employment 2001:6);Learners often need additional help to alleviate barriers that preventthem from achieving their goals in the learning program (appendix 1).One aspect to be assessed in initial assessment is learners’qualifications, because any information about learners’ qualificationsand achievements can provide an indication of their general level ofability and can indicate their strengths and their weaknesses (forexample, grades in GCSE Maths and English). However, learners’qualifications and achievements may not reflect their other talents, forexample, they are not an indicator of success in vocational learningprogram (Department of Education and Employment 2001:6). The teacheralso can find out the level of the candidate’s skills and suggest orrecommend basic skill-courses which can help the student in succeedinghis/her chosen course. Effective initial assessment helps teachers inestablishing a clear idea about the candidate’s suitability for a course


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and as a result save both the candidate and the institution fromfinancial strains. There are some issues that can be found out throughinitial assessment such as physical needs, aspirations (what thecandidate hopes to achieve from attending the course) and motivations.During the initial assessment teachers also have to find out therequirements of the course so they can plan for the way of its delivery.At this stage they can decide what facilities and resources they need,for example, if they have a disabled student, they need a classroomwhich is accessible with a wheelchair or if they have a deaf studentthey can get in touch with the learning support department to checkwhether an interpreter is available or not.

There are several methods which can be used in initial assessmentsuch as diagnostic tests, application forms which should be completedprior to the entry to the learning program and should containinformation about the courses that the learner has studied,qualification that he/she achieved, employment and work experience. This


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information is useful in matching the learner to the appropriateoccupational area and in deciding his/her level of qualification.However, it is important to avoid repetition and choose the course thatfills the gaps of the learner’s experience. The limitations ofapplication forms are that sometimes they fail to get clear answers ifthe learner has “difficulties in literacy and numeracy or English ashis/her second language"(Department for education and employment2001:13) or not. Besides, the application form does not tell aboutpersonal problems or problems that he/she has with certain employmentskills.

Another method which can be used in initial assessment is the individualinterviewing which can provide an opportunity to discuss and collectinformation from the learner about the accuracy of the information inthe application form and about his knowledge that qualifies him toundertake particular types of careers and jobs. Interviews can show thelearner’s confidence, his communicating skills, his motivations and


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other personal issues. However, finding a mutually convenient time aswell as the costs are a serious consideration when organizinginterviews. Also, some students are too shy and do not come acrosswell.

The second type of assessment is called formative assessment. Thisassessment is ongoing and specifically intends to generate a feedback onthe performance to improve and accelerate learning (Sadler,1998). Theformative assessment is a process which involves teachers and studentsand focuses on measuring the line of progress that has been made alreadyand the student’s closeness to the main goals of the course. However,there are downsides to formative assessments because students may nottake it as seriously as summative assessment. It is also time consumingin some situations especially in courses which are deliveredintensively. Moreover, as it is informal and often not recorded, itmight give an elusive result.


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The effect of the teacher is vital; the student comes to hold a conceptof quality roughly similarto that held by the teacher. In other words, students have to be able to judge the quality of what theyproduce and be able to regulate what they are doing during the doing of it”. (Sadler 1989).This means that the learners could absorb thecriteria that the teacher want them to learn step by step and bymonitoring continuously, “to judge the quality of what is being producedduring the act of production itself, and to have a repertoire ofalternative moves or strategies from which to drawon at any given point"(Sadler 1989 : 121). The teacher’s feedback isimportant for the learners to evaluate their effort and lead them tochange as much as they can to improve the quality of learning bythemselves and before the summative assessment arrives. However, theteacher has to find the best way to give feedback without destroying the


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learners’ confidence but on the contrary encourage and motivate them towork on the areas that need to be improved.

There are many methods which can be used for formative assessment suchas observation, question and answers, quizzes, games, gap exercises andmultiple choice questionnaires. By observing students throughout thecourse, the teacher can determine what students do and do not know.The teacher can keep short notes during a lesson as students work ingroups or individually, or after the lesson. However, in a large classit is difficult to observe all students at all times and take notes.Also, the teacher may be bias or may misinterpret the students’behaviour or body language. Questions and answers are the most commonlyused method and can help ascertain whether students have a fairunderstanding of the session. It gives instant feedback, it helpsmotivate the students but it is momentary and difficult to be recorded.Short tests, quizzes, homework exercises, multiple choice questionnaires


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can also be used for assessment but they take time to produce and use inclass.

The final stage of assessment is summative assessment. It is “ a process that concerns final evaluation; to ask if the project or programhas met its goals “( Brown 2006:2). It is the type which most people arefamiliar with. It is usually conducted after the course or the session is finished, formally, to see how well students have achieved. . The results are normally used to determine if the student has fulfilled the specified learning outcomes and if he is able to achieve any kind of accreditation, certificates or rewards.

The result of the summative assessment can cause a degree of anxiety andworry since the grades received from summative assessments are final andcan affect the students’ future prospects. In summative assessments,therefore, students are less keen to experiment with ideas and concepts(Biggs & Tang, 2007), so they give the answers they believe they are theexpected ones from them. Summative assessment should match the material


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taught and should align with instructional / curricular outcomes. Thereis evidence from studies that passing tests or exams is a high stake;some teachers may adopt a teaching style which emphasises on thetransmission of knowledge, thereby they favour those students who preferto learn in this way and disadvantage and lower the self-esteem of thosewho prefer more active and creative learning experiences. “The valuingof test performances and the undervaluing of other students’achievements makes teachers’ assessments summative functionally ratherthan formally”( EPPI-Centre, 2002 ). There are many methods which canbe used to carry out summative assessment, one of them isessay/assignment; it is one of the successful tools to measure theunderstanding of learners after the teacher covers a subject during thecourse. Students can work at their own pace and time to research thetopic but the teacher can never be sure whether the work is authentic ornot. However, the depth of knowledge that an essay/assignment candisplay can hardly be matched by any other summative assessment tool.


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Another summative assessment process is taking a formal exam to teststudents’ knowledge, or, performing a practical task under controlledconditions to show that a particular skill has been mastered. Time isan issue and nerves can adversely affect the results. However, examsare reliable in the sense that everyone has to answer the same questionsand, usually, there is only one right answer to each question(Kellaghan T, Madaus G, Raczek A (1996))

Peer assessment is another kind of assessment; it is theassessment of students’ work by other students "Peer assessment is anassessment method through which the peers of a candidate or student arerequested to provide information about his performance. It is consideredby many educators and teachers to be a key technique to get students totake more responsibility for their learning”. (Reinders and Lazaro2007:397). It adds a valuable dimension to learning and gives studentsthe opportunity to talk, discuss, explain and challenge each other.Group activities can be more successful if the students are involved in


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assessing the outcomes. With some help from the teaching staff thelearner can become aware of the assessment criteria and ways to meetthem which can help in increasing the learner’s responsibility,subjectivity, judgment, and deep understanding of the subject matter.

For peer assessment students assess each other's contributions using apredetermined list of criteria which can be made by the learners withagreement of the teacher or by the education departments. Grading isbased on a predetermined process, but most commonly it is an average ofthe marks awarded by members of the group. However, peer assessment hasadvantages and disadvantages. One of the advantages is that itencourages learners to reflect on their role on the group and contributein the process of the group work that can enhance the learner’sjudgmental skills. Talking about its disadvantages, the most common oneis the risk taken in respect to reliability of the students’ judgmentsas they can be bias against each other.


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Another assessment is self assessment, which means students’assessment of their own contributions using an established set ofcriteria that helps students in encouraging their responsibility anddeveloping judgment skills. “A number of empirical studies indicate thepresence of increased productivity and autonomy, higher motivation, lessfrustration, and higher retention rate is among learners whendevelopment-oriented self-assessment is utilized” (Dickinson, 1987 p:2 ) . Self-assessment can be performed through teaching processes whichare affected by many uncontrollable factors, but will certainly providevaluable insights into the nature of teaching, learning, and assessment.

Assessment should be SMART: Specific, measurable, achievable, relevant,and time-bounded. The learning objectives should be described clearlyto be more specific of what learners are able to do in the assessmentand what kind of results the teacher expects. The measurable part ofassessment is that the teacher must find evidence after the assessmentwhich can be used to show if and how well the task has been done


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measurably, and after the task is completed, we measure the differencesthat have been made. Moreover, the teacher should make the assessmentachievable and within the capabilities of the intended learners andsufficiently challenging. The assessment should be relevant to theobjectives of the students. The last phase of SMART is time-bounded; itis important to put a deadline for any assessment process, it willagitate the activity of learners to finish their assignment in time.

Assessment must be valid in order to meet standards described inobjectives and to cover the skills, knowledge and attitudes described inthe objectives. The assessment must be authentic to ensure that thelearner has completed the work themselves. It should also be currentand relevant to what has been taught and sufficient to measure whathas been achieved by the learner over the particular period of time.Moreover, the assessment must be reliable and yield the same score ifthe exam was taken at another centre and marked by another teacher. Inother words, results should be consistent throughout the provision.


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There are factors that can influence assessment such as student orteacher illness; it is understandable that if a person is unwell theycannot perform to the best of their ability. Also there are otherproblems such as students’ problems at home which have a very deepeffect on their achievements, and technical problems like the lack orfailure of equipment ( computers , lights, tables ….. etc) . The weathercan also affect assessment in the sense that if the weather conditionsare bad the students may arrive late or feel too hot or too cold to takethe exam.

Assessment records are tangible evidence of that learning has takenplace. They can give insights of what has been taught to measure theprogress of the course, and help in identifying the learners who needmore help (U.S. Department of Education 2004). Keeping records providesinformation needed about ex-students for higher institutions oremployers. It also enables the service provider to collate informationfor decision-making for law courts, security agencies and othergovernment agencies, when needed. There are different types of records


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such as admission registers which record the information about students’entry and exit and details of education. They also provide personal andfamily background of students. The Attendance registers record thepresence or absence of students on a daily basis. These all help inidentifying problems related to sickness situations and absences andthen in taking administrative decisions. Besides, the Personal files anddisciplinary records can provide comprehensive information about thestudents such as address, date of birth, next of kin information,previous qualifications and needed support to ensure that properprocedure is followed. Teachers record assessment results of learningwhich can provide details about the quality of the measurement of theassessment with a description of what each component measures, with whataccuracy and against what criteria and reference points, it shouldinclude supporting evidence related to the outcomes as justificationsand the criteria used to make the judgement. The recorded assessmentprovides teachers, inspectors, the institution and the Awarding bodywith an authentic tool to record observations in the light of contentstandards. As a part of a regular observational method in the classroom,the teacher can manage records of learners’ assessment, analyze


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observational data, and provide adequate recommendations. It helps inmaking cumulative reports and the system of recording facilitates partof communication with the learners, their families (to value theircontribution), and educational system that sponsors the participants inthe assessment process.

Records should be kept according to the Data Protection Act (2003).They should be kept secure so unauthorised people or personnel cannotaccess them. They should be kept for a certain period of time, afterwhich, they must be destroyed. It is important that records are keptup to date, are legible and, where possible, written and recordedusing technology (Francis and Gould 2009).

Assessment measures if and how students are learning and if the teachingmethods are effectively relaying the intended outcomes. The selection ofassessment methods should accommodate the course objectives and satisfythe Awarding Body’s assessment criteria. There are three stages of


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assessment, initial, formative and summative. Initial assessment is thecornerstone of the teaching process as it informs planning, formativeassessment is informal and remedial and summative produces the finalresults which lead to qualification. The results of summativeassessment concern the student, the teacher, the Awarding Body, theInstitution, employers and Government inspection bodies. There arevarious methods of assessment and each one has advantages anddisadvantages. In implementing inclusive practice, teachers shouldinvolve the learners in the assessment process through peer and selfassessment because these practices put the student in the centre and incontrol of his/her learning. Keeping records is an integral part ofassessment because they are tangible evidence of the students’achievements and help with accountability, funding and inspectionprocesses.


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List of references


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1- Armitage, A. et al. (2007). Teaching and Training in Post-Compulsory Education. Buckingham: OpenUniversity Press.

2- Black, P. et al. (2003). Assessment for Learning: Putting it into Practice. Maidenhead. OxfordUniversity Press.

3- Brown , S,.2006. Using Formative Assessment to promote student learning. University of Leeds .uk.

4- Department for education and employment,. 2001. Initial assessment and of learning and supporting needs. uk

5- Department for Education and Employment,. 2001.Initial Assessment For Learning And Support Needs AndPlanning Learning To Meet Needs .Sheffield .uk

6- Dickinson, L. & Wenden, A. (Eds.). (1995). Autonomy, self-direction and self-access in language teaching andlearning. Uk

7- EPPI-Centre,. 2002. A systematic review of the impact of summative assessment and tests on students'motivation for learning .University of London.

8- Francis, M. & Gould, J. (2009). Achieving your PTLLS Award. London. Sage Publications Ltd. Uk.

9- Kolb D.A. (1984) 'Experiential Learning experience as a source of learning and development', NewJersey: Prentice Hall

10- Reinders, H., & Lazaro, N. (2007). Current approaches to assessment in self-access languagelearning, uk


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11- Sadler, R,. 1989 .formative assessment and the design of instructional systems. University ofQueensland,, Australia.

12- Kellaghan T, Madaus G, Raczek A (1996) The use of external examinations to improvestudent motivation. Washington DC, US: AERA

13- APPENDIX 1


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Kolb D.A. (1984) , Learning cycle


Assessment in the lifelong learning

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