ABSTRACT

Having looked at what can and should be assessed, the question remains, ‘How can it be assessed satisfactorily?’ This question has been partly answered in chapter 1 under the headings of ‘making sense of the judgment’, ‘modes of assessment’ and ‘principles of assessment’ in an effort to understand assessment. So this detail will not be repeated but the reader will be referred to chapter 1 at the appropriate place. In the teaching situation, the question is partially answered through the teacher having clear purposes in mind as this will lead to the selection of modes of assessment and particular tasks and techniques. So the teacher must decide first of all whether the purpose is formative or summative, whether it is for feedback to the pupil, diagnostic, or for certification and selection for example (see chapter 2). The teacher will select the appropriate modes and methods such as continuous, terminal, practical task, theoretical or examination.