Continuous learning assessments
MUCH of education assessment in Malaysia is examination-focused. It is thought that students who do well in their examinations from kindergarten receive better academic placements to pursue higher education.
Moving away from this, Sunway International School (SIS) focuses on students’ continuous development through coursework assessment and evaluation throughout the semester. SIS is the only school in Malaysia that offers the Canadian school curriculum.
The principal purpose of assessment and evaluation is to improve student learning. To ensure that this is achieved, teachers use practices and procedures that are fair and transparent to all students.
Lessons are planned in relation to curriculum expectations and learning goals, which are communicated clearly to students and parents at the beginning of each year or semester. Events such as Meet the Teachers or Curriculum Night that are held at SIS at the beginning of each semester are the best platforms for teachers to share their plans for the semester or year.
A different approach
To provide students with multiple opportunities to demonstrate the full range of their learning capabilities, assessments must be ongoing, varied and administered over a certain period. At the same time, teachers are expected to provide ongoing, descriptive feedback that is clear, specific, meaningful and timely to support improved learning and achievements.
All in all, assessments should help students develop self-monitoring skills to enable them to evaluate their own learning, set specific goals, and plan the next steps in their learning journey.
Assessment and evaluation at SIS mirrors the guidelines set by the Ontario Ministry of Education in Canada. It is based on three styles – assessment for learning, assessment as learning and assessment of learning.
It is vital for students to monitor their own learning progress as part of their scholastic responsibility. Aligned with the expectations of the Canadian curriculum, teachers at SIS incorporate a variety of teaching practices and strategies that are based on each assessment style.
Assessment for learning and assessment as learning are intended to provide students with the opportunity to reflect upon and apply what they learn. These methods provide formative feedback and insight to students and teachers regarding everyday learning.
To this end, diagnostic quizzes, brainstorming sessions, presentation exercises, reflective journals, exit cards and peer assessments are commonly incorporated into learning strategies.
Assessment of learning is a summative approach that provides students with marks that will inform them about their achievements in respect to course curricula. This assessment serves to evaluate students’ learning of each unit and form a benchmark against which students’ progress can be compared.
These Ontario learning assessment styles do not only cater to parents’ and students’ needs, they also provide interpretative information to teachers and school leaders about their impact on students.
Educators can gain accurate information about further steps to take and how they need to change or adapt their teaching practices. This process of seeking and interpreting evidence by learners allows teachers to decide where students are in their learning journey, which direction they need to head in and how best to get there.
When assessment is continuous, students are given a constant stream of opportunities to prove their mastery of each learning outcome. Assessment becomes embedded in the flow of learning, and students can demonstrate their individual prowess as quickly as they choose to.
With these strategies at SIS, the path to progress becomes clear and students’ lives become increasingly orientated towards real learning.
Visit SIS’ Parent Info Session on Sept 22 from 10am to 1pm at its Sunway City and Sunway Iskandar campuses.
n For more information, visit www.sis.sunway.edu.my