Formal examinations vs regular assessment with projects
Formal examinations vs regular assessment with projects
Formal examinations vs regular assessment with projects and course work to evaluate a students performance.
Examine the statement and take a stand.
Education experts par education industries have been discussing various methods of evaluation with the aim to come down to an evaluation system which is most effective, that is, which is able to judge the student on maximum parameters.
However, there is no one method which is exhaustive and can judge a student on all the parameters. Hence, instead of relying on just one method, evaluation system should be designed in such a way that it broadens the options and is most suited to the type of students, the curriculum, teaching and learning strategies.
Most of the education systems have relied solely on formal examinations for the final assessment of the students for centuries. However, with emergence of new courses, new curriculums every year due to Globalization, it is being realised that formal examination can be just one component of evaluation but are not equipped enough to assess multiple skills of the students but merely their performance on one single day.
However, having regular assessment can be more effective as it reduces the stress load on students. Also, it makes the students more attentive in the class for throughout the course rather than just the last few months which are approaching close to the formal examinations. Also, it increases the research orientation of the students. Various non – conventional techniques like case studies, project reports, presentations etc enable to judge various skills of the students like communication skills, analytical skills, time management skills, ability to work in a group and many more which are not assessed in a formal examination system.
Due to these advantages of the regular assessment over the formal examination, many education institutes are now opting for a lethal blend of the two systems. Management education is a good example of this. MBA colleges have an evaluation system that gives equal weightage to multiple components like case studies, presentations, projects, course work, group presentations etc and are known to have effective evaluation system.
Role plays and online quiz are also becoming very popular means of evaluation as they are able to assess various unique skills of the students like expression, confidence, presence of mind, spontaneity etc.
Hence, a good evaluation system is the one which has high level of credibility, and ample scope of providing feedback to the students for their development.
Discussion
- RE: Formal examinations vs regular assessment with projects -Teena Bhatia (09/06/14)
- Formal Examinations as well as regular assessments have got a distinct role in shaping students career. Formal examinations are set form of standardized tests which assess the students at the same level. The tests are well tried and experimented to know whether the students are able to grasp the teachings or not. Formal examinations are a better way to check the key teachings imparted to students in the classes. The results are mathematically computed, checked and summarized.
Coming to regular assessment with projects; it is more focused on content and individual performance. There can be different projects assigned to students randomly to assess the students. The key difference here is it will assess the individual learning and skills of students. It is not a common platform where all the students are checked on same parameter.
Whether formal examinations should be used or regular assessment should be done depends on time. Formal examinations cannot be eliminated from the system. They are the most successful form of comparing student’s performance with others in a same age group. The assessment allows knowing the strength and weaknesses of student as compared to its fellow classmates. Regular assessments are criterion referenced measures where performance is measured on individual basis. The assessment form will vary as per the objective of assessing.
Also, formal examinations are the bench parameter to check whether the teachers are imparting the education in right format or not. Teaching and learning are two different things. Initially students need knowledge and teaching so that they can understand the things in a better and open way. The most effective format that can be followed is to impart teaching, then take the formal examinations and along with it include the regular assessment with projects time to time. It will enable students to get the theoretical as well as practical knowledge at the same time.
