1. SME 3023
TRENDS AND ISSUES
IN EDUCATION FOR MATHEMATICAL
SCIENCES
NAME NO MATRIK
ATINA HASANAH BINTI MOHD RAZALI D20121058406
NUR SHUHADA SURIA BINTI SHA’ARI D20121058472
FATIN AMIRA BINTI YUNUS D20121058529
GROUP : A
LECTURER : Dr. MOHD FAIZAL NIZAM LEE BIN
ABDULLAH
2. INTRODUCTION
Assessment is the act of judging or deciding the amount, value, quality, or
importance of something, or the judgment or decision that is made. The teacher and
language learner need to identify goals, objectives, and expected results before
beginning to plan a lesson or activity. In other words, it is essential to determine what
the learner should know, understand, and be able to do. Van den Akker (2003)
described assessment as essential component of the curriculum practice. Assessment
is a process for obtaining information in curriculum operation in order to make
decisions about student learning, curriculum and programs, and on education policy
matters. Because of this, educators strongly suggest that assessment and curriculum
integrated in the continuous cycle of curriculum planning, operation, implementation,
and evaluation. For example, the attained curriculum both the experienced and the
learned are determined by assessment procedures. Assessment procedures in
formative ways could also help in the operation of the curriculum. Instructors make a
number of decisions. These include managing instruction, assessing student
competence, placing students to levels of education programs, assigning grades to
students, guiding and counselling, selecting students for education opportunities,
certifying competence and so on. All these can be possible when there are effective
assessment procedures in the curriculum operation and practice.
The purpose of assessment differs according to who is conducting or using the
assessment. School administrators use assessment as benchmarks for instruction,
placement, or exemption in course levels and certification. Teachers use assessments
as diagnostic tools and feedback for guiding instruction, evidence of progress, and
evaluation of teaching or curriculum. The purpose of the math assessment is to help
us and you determine your level of preparedness for mathematics and math-related
courses at Stony Brook University. It is important that your score accurately reflect
your level of preparedness and ability, because you will be most successful at the
university if you take courses best suited to you. In order to enrol in a mathematics
course, or a course with a mathematics prerequisite, all new students must
demonstrate the appropriate level of mathematics proficiency. This is done by taking
a proctored mathematics exam or its equivalent (appropriate transfer credit, AP
3. scores, etc.) New students must take the proctored exam prior to their scheduled
orientation.
According to Wilhelm and Chen Pei (2008), since the mid1970s, a number of
Asian countries have been concerned with economic reforms which in turn have
brought about various improvements in the education system. Malaysia is of no
exception. A new assessment system for Malaysian public schools will be
implemented by the end of 2010 to replace the current centralized examination.
According to the Malaysian Ministry of Education, the new assessment system
promotes a combination of centralized and school based assessment. Malaysian
Teacher Education Division (TED) is entrusted by the Ministry of Education to
formulate policies and guidelines to prepare teachers for the new implementation of
assessment. As emphasized in the innovation of the student assessment, continuous
school-based assessment is administered at all grades and at levels. Additionally,
students sit for common public examinations at the end of each level.
LEVEL OF ASSESSMENT
The attainment of learning outcomes as defined in the standards shall be the basis for
the quality assurance of learning using formative assessments. They shall also be the
focus of the summative assessments and shall be the basis for grading at the end of
instruction. These levels shall be the outcomes reflected in the class record and shall
be given corresponding percentage weights.
Clearly, there are fundamental differences in the information needed across these
three levels of assessment and in the users and uses of this information. The following
table sums up these differences:
4. The classroom level
This helps students understand how best to approach learning
Helps students better understand their own learning
Helps teachers keep track of what comes next in learning for each student
Helps teachers figure out how to enhance student learning
Provides teachers with information they can give to students about what their
classroom learning
Helps teachers evaluate student learning progress
The programme level
Provides educators and teams of educators with information that enables them
to examine and evaluate their own effectiveness as educators
Provides educators and teams of educators with information about the relative
effectiveness of a variety of programmatic and instructional interventions
designed to help students meet learning targets and master content standards
The institutional level
Provides state departments of education, superintendents, principals, parents,
and community stakeholders with information that can be used to assess and
evaluate the effectiveness of leadership, instructional policy, resource
allocation, and many more.
5. TYPE OF ASSESSMENT
FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT
Formative Assessment is part of the instructional process. When incorporated
into classroom practice, it provides the information needed to adjust teaching and
learning while they are happening. In this sense, formative assessment informs both
teachers and students about student understanding at a point when timely
adjustments can be made. These adjustments help to ensure students achieve
targeted standards-based learning goals within a set time frame. Although formative
assessment strategies appear in a variety of formats, there are some distinct ways to
distinguish them from summative assessments.( Garrison and Ehringhaus, 2009)
In example, at the end of the third week of the semester, you can informally ask
students questions which might be on a future exam to see if they truly understand the
material. An exciting and efficient way to survey students’ grasp of knowledge is
through the use of clickers. Clickers are interactive devices which can be used to
assess students’ current knowledge on specific content. For example, after polling
students you see that a large number of students did not correctly answer a question
or seem confused about some particular content. At this point in the course you may
need to go back and review that material or present it in such a way to make it more
understandable to the students. This formative assessment has allowed you to
“rethink” and then “re-deliver” that material to ensure students are on track. It is good
practice to incorporate this type of assessment to “test” students’ knowledge before
expecting all of them to do well on an examination.
6. SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT
Summative Assessments are given periodically to determine at a particular
point in time what students know and do not know. Many associate summative
assessments only with standardized tests such as state assessments, but they are
also used at and are an important part of district and classroom programs. Summative
assessment at the district and classroom level is an accountability measure that is
generally used as part of the grading process. (Garrison and Ehringhaus, 2009)
Summative assessment is more product-oriented and assesses the final
product, whereas formative assessment focuses on the process toward completing
the product. Once the project is completed, no further revisions can be made. If,
however, students are allowed to make revisions, the assessment becomes formative,
where students can take advantage of the opportunity to improve.
8. BENEFITS OF ASSESSMENT
Assessment should be viewed as a tool to measure the effectiveness of
teaching and learning process. It also should not be interpreted as the objective of
student’s learning experiences (Yong & Lim, 2008). It should serve as a mean to
attain educational goals. MOE Malaysia believes that school-based assessment
(SBA) has the characteristics that fulfill the above requirement. It is also the ideal
assessment system to relieve students’ pressure while at the same time allowing
teacher initiative in assessing their students (Brown, 2001). Well-designed
assessment can encourage active learning especially when the assessment delivery
is innovative and engaging. Peer and self-assessment for instance can foster
number of skills such as reflection, critical thinking and self-awareness as well as
giving students insight into the assessment process.
The benefits of SBA based on the researchers teaching experience is that students
themselves are evaluated based on school standards and school information.
Students are not compared to students in other locations when school-based
evaluation is used. Though NEAS regulates that SBA encompasses only a
percentage of the total evaluations used in school, the bigger picture impact is how
SBA itself transforms the classroom teaching and learning process that benefits the
students most. Because SBA is completely educator written and can create
evaluations based on their own students’ accomplishments. It is clearly shows what
have learned during a specific grading period or school year. It is unlike standardized
tests, which are researched and written by the state or by teachers in another
school.
Another important benefit laid down by the Hong Kong SBA Consultancy Team
(2005) for using SBA in teaching language subject such as English. It includes
providing stable and continuous pressure-free assessment, reducing the reliance on
standardized examination, improving test item reliability, reflecting students ability,
promoting leisure reading, fostering teaching, enforcing independent learning,
facilitating learning autonomy and empowering teachers in the evaluation process.
9. In the case of Malaysia, students are given mid-year and end-year statewide tests
for easy standardizations and school ranking practices. These tests assume that all
school study the same material covering similar topics. While this should be true, the
fact is that some schools do not get to cover every topic due to unexpected
situations or students’ inability to complete a study in a particular area. School-based
evaluations can be tailor made to include only what has been accomplished by the
students and the scores will reflect what the students have actually learned, instead
of what they were supposed to be learning.
All of the above suggest that the change in the assessment system has further lead
to a paradigm change in the teaching and learning process of all primary schools
that deserve the attention of academicians, educators and researchers including
stakeholders. Therefore, the role of teachers in this new assessment system is vital.
Teachers have to have a variety of teaching approaches and assessment techniques
that have a direct impact on the assessment outcomes (Chan, Sidhu & Yunus,
2006).
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, this report has achieved its purposed that describing about the
nature and purpose of assessment. Assessments have two types of assessment
which are formative assessment (assessment for learning) and summative
assessment (assessment of learning). This is also tells about the benefits of
assessment. The benefit is assessment should serve as a mean to attain
educational goals. Other than that, students are not compared to students in other
locations when school-based evaluation is used. Lastly, it includes providing stable
and continuous pressure-free assessment.
10. REFERENCES
Cheung, D. (2001). School-based assessment in public examinations:
Identifying the concerns of teachers. In Education Journal, Vol 29 (2). Winter
2001. P. 105-123.
Gavin T. L. Brown & John Hattie. The Benefits of Regular Standardized
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World Wide Web:
https://www.academia.edu/1964802/The_benefi ts_of_regular_standardized_a
ssessment_in_childhood_education_Guiding_improved_instruction_and_lear
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Hattie, J. A. and Brown, G. T. L. (2008). Technology or school-based
assessment and assessment or learning: development principles rom
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Catherine Garrison, D. C. (2009). Formative and Summative Assessments in
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Middle School Association and Measured Progress.
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https://www.azwestern.edu/academic_services/instruction/assessment/resour
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