Pakistani Educational Leadership Project at Plymouth State University

Assessing Assessment System at Higher Education: A Comparative Study on Continuous and Annual Assessment Systems 

ByMubasher Nadeem, Assistant Professor EnglishDivision of Arts & Social SciencesUniversity of EducationLahore  Abstract 

The paper throws light on the need of continuous assessment in the current educational environment at higher education in Pakistan as it focuses on the importance of different facets; from attendance of the students to individual, pair and group presentations, assignments as well as internal and external written examinations highlighting how annual examination system neglects all this.  Continuous assessment plays a vital role in the achievement of educational objectives and life skills.  It reveals that teachers get full opportunity to know the strong and weak areas of students through continuous assessment and also provides students opportunities for self analysis.  The post graduate students enjoy deep understanding of subject matter and can avoid rote learning which the annual system promotes.  The comparison shows that students perform better in the continuous assessment system in the classroom which is held on daily, weekly and monthly basis covering various components of learning.  Continuous assessment system is considered comparatively better than annual system which neglects important aspects of professional development as well as creates hurdles for them to become autonomous learners.

Assessment is the systematic, on-going, iterative process of monitoring learning in order to determine what we are doing well, and what we must improve.  Assessment involves observing, describing, collecting, recording, scoring, and interpreting information (What is assessment of learning? ¶1).  Without clear objectives it is not easy to achieve the determined goals of any programme because it is the effectiveness of assessment mechanism that promotes learning.

Assessment is effective when it:

• is student centered
• is congruent with instructional objectives
• is relevant
• is comprehensive
• is clear (in purpose, directions, expectations)
• is objective and fair
• simulates “end” behavior/product/performance
• incites active responses
• shows progress/development over time (What is assessment of learning?,  ¶ 2).

It is the use of assessment which makes teaching into teaching. Mere presentation – without assessment of what the learners have made of what you have offered them – is not teaching.  Assessment should not, therefore, be seen as a discrete process, but as integral to every stage of teaching, from minute to minute as much as module to module (Assessment, ¶1).

There are several reasons why assessments are made of children.  Six of these are, to maintain and improve standard, compare pupils, measure progress, evaluate teaching approaches, diagnose difficulties, and help match materials and methods to particular needs (Wray & Medwell, 1993).  Drummond (1993) gives a definition of assessment which clearly describes the process as it takes place in the classroom. She sets out as three crucial questions which educators must ask themselves when they consider children’s learning.

Those questions are:

v     What is there to see?

v     How best can we understand what we see?

v     How can we put our understanding to good use? (Sainsbury, 1996, p.

The assessment is concerned with the quality of teaching as well as the quality of learning.  In achievement (or attainment) the concern is with measuring what has been learnt of what has been taught or what is in the syllabus, text book, materials, etc. (Davies, 1990).

Table.1. Relation of Test Purpose, Use and Validity (Davies, 1990).

Classroom assessment is a simple method faculty can use to collect feedback, early and often, on how well their students are learning what they are being taught. The purpose of classroom assessment is to provide faculty and students with information and insights needed to improve teaching effectiveness and learning quality. College instructors use feedback gleaned through Classroom Assessment to inform adjustments in their teaching (Classroom Assessment Techniques, ¶1).

Assessment may be carried before, during or after a course, or it may not even be connected with a course.  Assessment may be of individual students, or it may be to check the capabilities of a whole class.  Assessment includes a whole range of activities from the informal short test on last night’s homework to the formal external examination which crowns several years of study.

At higher education there is many a stage where the instructor has to face problems regarding assessment of students without which nothing can guarantee the validity of teaching programme.  System of education in our society has experienced ups and downs, especially at higher education level, but most of the degree-awarding institutions still prefer to stick to the annual system of assessment so far as bachelor or post graduate programmes are concerned.  
Pakistan lags pedagogically behind many countries even in the 21^st century, and we probably are little apprehensive to reform the assessment mechanism.  Newly adopted continuous assessment system offers opportunities to teacher and taught and covers all those components which are considered success factors in a competitive society. It is based on different modules focussed on collaborative/interactive learning, presentations, discussions, assignments, weekly tests, students’ punctuality, etc.  The learning area assessment tasks are therefore supported by professional learning modules.  These modules provide effective feedback to teachers and reflections on students’ self assessment (Assessment for learning, ¶1).  This automatic and information gathering and impression formation is, in large part, a subconscious and implicit process.  Teachers depend heavily on their impressions of student learning and make important judgments (Angelo & Cross, 2007, p. 7).

 But it is interesting to note that there are fewer institutions which have brought changes in the assessment system at post graduate studies.  The current study reflects the response of public and private sectors post graduate institutions having annual as well as continuous assessment systems.  Both the systems have benefits but at present what we require is a system of assessment which can consistently provide students chance to overcome their weaknesses.  This is a bit hard in the annual system of examination.

Students at school level in our educational set up are assessed through annual system of written exams except some of the science subjects where practical is involved.  As some institutions lack logistic support for the conduct of practical, so again the students are exposed through writing.  It means our learners are mechanically prepared to manifest themselves through writing without considering that there are other areas where they need regular supervision and guidance.

In classroom a complete world is present where it is expected that students have close contact with the teacher but question that disturbs is whether the teacher follows those assessment items which are not prescribed in the course of studies.  Some teachers do not care about the things which are not recommended, like, presentations, weekly/monthly tests, assignments, punctuality of students, etc.  In annual system of assessment it becomes queer for teachers to pay heed to such items as their main focus remains on the completion of syllabus, and they may also think that such items will not be part of examination.  Teacher’s role in that environment is not of a facilitator or manager rather controller or master of the situation as (Figure. 2) shows.

Figure. 2

            Through this technique a teacher can only deliver lecture without getting proper feedback.  Further, this methodology never allows teacher to assess multifarious aspects of teaching/learning process such as assignments, class participation, individual, pair and group presentations, practical display of their learning, etc.  As these aspects do not have any share in the assessment process of annual evaluation system, the teacher does not think of focusing them, and if he/she does, consequently, the teacher starts thinking about the time factor which is allocated to complete the syllabus, whereupon teacher covers the syllabus only at the cost of other aspects of teaching/learning process.

Continuous assessment, on the other side, provides maximum time to all aspects of teaching/learning process. Each item is given due weight age so that students can perform better in all the areas instead of cramming which, obviously, does not promote creativity among the students who desire to share their critical thinking with the teacher and peer as well.  

There is a vast variety of approaches for continuous assessment. The columns in Table 2 identify different approaches to assessment, e.g., Selected Response Items, Constructed Responses, Products, etc. Under each approach is a list of commonly used assessment methods. For example, the approach Selected Response Items refer to an assessment measured with a test (the approach) which item type (the method) is described in the list of methods.

Table 2. Examples of Continuous Assessment Approaches 

From McTighe and
Ferrara (in press) © 1994 National Education Association 

There are some post graduate institutions which promote continuous assessment, both in public and private sectors.  The results based on the interview, taken from the students, of public and private sectors show that there is a visible difference of opinion among the students.

Those who study in continuous assessment mechanism feel their analytical skills are sharpened during the semester as they have to focus many areas, like, individual and group presentations, group and individual assignments, projects, regularity, etc.  So much so they are assessed internally at the end of each semester, and to avoid bias they take the comprehensive test- prepared and assessed by external examiners.

The responses of 300 students are shown in the tables taken from two public sector institutions, constituents of a university, two affiliated public sector degree colleges and two private sector universities, on the following questionnaire regarding continuous assessment system:

1.      Are you satisfied with the assessment system at your institution?

2.      Do you feel the assessment system is suitable according to the students’ needs?

3.      Do you think your progress in various aspects of learning and understanding is checked thoroughly in this system?

4.      Do you think writing based exam can assess all the skills you learn?

5.      Do you get a chance to share your knowledge with your teacher and classmates regularly?

6.      Are you given feedback on your performance to over come your weaknesses during the semester/year?

7.      Do you think according to your assessment system you have to do more labour through out the academic session as compared to others?

8.      Do you think you can cram and pass the exams?

9.      Do you do selective study before the exam?

10.  Are you given a lot of chances in the class to demonstrate what you learn?

The results show that students studying in the annual system are less satisfied so far as the modern requirements in the practical life are concerned.  Their responses reflect they need their problems to be shared, discussed and remedies may be given during the academic session as annual system of assessment does not allow teacher to discuss all other important areas, which are not the part of assessment. On the other hand continuous assessment system is based on those components that are considered important for the promotion of the faculties of students required after entering into practical arena. Almost a majority of students is of the opinion that continuous assessment meets the needs of modern education which ultimately prepares them to face future professional challenges.

            The results suggest that it is time to pay attention to continuous assessment system at the higher education level that has been neglected for years.  Practically speaking, this system never over-burdens the teachers rather provides them plenty of time to think, re-think and re-organize themselves as the students become equal partners and generate creative environment in the class by taking some of the time of teachers. On the other side, in the annual assessment system teachers remain occupied most of the time to complete syllabus and have to perform single role of the master of situation.

 Present is an era of reforms and rethinking where the entire world is becoming a global village and easy access to the market has made youth a thinking generation.  In the current scenario we need a paradigm shift; we need such a system of assessment which could provide students chances in the classroom to learn how to tackle problems of the challenging world in the latest fashion to avoid future discrepancies.

It is felt that continuous assessment may be adopted widely at higher education level to provide all the students equal and fair chance to show their multi dimensional characteristics as it promotes collaborative/interactive teaching/learning which is attracting educationists and teachers because of its quick and instant results.  On the other hand annual system of exams does not have capacity to fulfill such requirements of students who are becoming demanding and inquisitive day by day.  Continuous assessment not only suits the students but makes teachers active and update so far as achievement of their students is concerned and can also enable students to solve classroom problems themselves as independent learners.

References

Angelo, T.A., & Cross, K.P. (1993). Classroom Assessment Techniques: A Handbook for College Teachers. Jossey-Bass.

Assessment. Retrieved April 12, 2007 from                              

http://146.227.1.20/~jamesa//teaching/assessment.htm

Assessment for Learning. Retrieved April 17, 2007 from http://cms.curriculum.edu.au/assessment/default.asp

Assessment: Types. (n.d.). Retrieved January 15 2007 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AssessmentDavies, A. (1990). Principles of Language Testing.
Oxford: Basil Blackwell.Drummond, M.J. (1993). Assessing Children’s Learning. NJ: Taylor & Francis.McTighe, J. & Ferrara, S. (1994). Performance-based assessment in the classroom.
Pennsylvania Educational Leadership, 4-16.Sainsbury, M. (1996). Tracking Significant Achievement.
London: Hodder & Stoughton.

SouthernIllinois
University Edwardsville: Classroom Assessment Techniques. Retrieved April 17, 2007 from http://www.siue.edu/~deder/assess/catmain.htmlWhat is assessment of learning? Retrieved April 16, 2007 from

http://www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/ae0/al_what.htmlWray, D., & Med Well, J. (1993). Literacy and the Language in the Primary Years.
London &
New York: Routledge.
Appendix: A 100 respondents from public sector institutions studying in annual system: 

Appendix: B 100 respondents from public sector institutions studying in continuous assessment system: 

Appendix: C 100 respondents from private sector institutions studying in continuous assessment system: 

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