Technological and social changes taking place across diverse aspects of the society require news ways to access, disseminate and improve the quality of knowledge passed delivered to learners. The desire to improve the levels of students’ performances has led to a dramatic attention towards the development of effective assessment methods. This is more so when examined from the drastic changes in learning environments, which have called for the need to examine the effectiveness of national and regional performance-based assessments. These developments in education have generated interests among stakeholders in the education sector.
A significant number of researchers as well as reviewers in educational support the fact that the development of an effective assessment method is an indicator of a continuous evolution in the process of learning, which will continue to mutate.
Whereas there is lack of consensus on preference for a particular method of assessment, a significant number of researchers reveal that teacher-based is an effective method of certifying the performance and achievements of students at the end of their studies. According to Newton (2005, p. 1957), “in many other countries, whether the assessment system consists entirely of school‐based assessment components, externally marked assessment components, or a combination of school‐based and externally marked assessment components, the judgments about students’ achievements are typically made by teachers.” Mercurio (2003) supports the assertion in stating that teachers play the critical role in certifying the performance and achievement of students.
In addition, through education, an individual acquires the requisite knowledge that shapes personal views and thinking and prepares one for the challenges in future. The well-meaning educators search for ways to serve all students with a prescribed body of norms, skills and values that are essential to society (Macklaren, 1988). It is on this basis that considerable research has been directed towards the analysis of the effectiveness of teacher-based assessment.
Giving teachers the opportunities to make judgements on the achievements of their own students in seen as a viable path towards realizing accurate summative assessments of students’ performances. The role and position of the teacher in training and development of a student enables him to draw on a wide range of evidence from numerous events that encompass the learning process of student. In principle, this enables teachers to make judgments backed by evidence and present assessment reports that accurately reflect the overall performance of a student.
Mansell and James (2009) have supported this assertion in stating that:
Teachers can sample the range of a pupil’s work more fully than can any assessment instruments by an agency external to the school. This enhances both reliability (because it provides more evidence than is available through externally devised assessment instruments) and validity (it provides a wider range of evidence (p. 14).
On the other hand, many schools observe the challenge of ensuring that all students attain skills, knowledge, as well as the disposition they require to succeed. The current economy demands that students be prepared to work and attain high standards of achievement. This has been the main reason behind the push for the development of autonomous learning contexts, which refers to the environments in which learners have the ability of learners to take charge of their learning.
This generation of students need to graduate with the ability to think critically and compete in a globally competitive society. Carrying out an assessment on the capacity of the students to compete in a globally competitive environment and handle challenges in the future has been a daunting task for most governments and stakeholders in education. It is on this basis that a growing number of stakeholders want teachers to take a central role in the assessment of students. Teacher based-assessment can therefore form a solid basis for achieving broad educational goals. It serves the purpose of being fairer to students and enhances the confidence of the public in educational policies and assessment systems.
In addition to the above, the purpose of education is to reinforce important skills in learning such as critical thinking and problem solving. Teachers play the most significant roles in enhancing these skills on their students. Teachers develop activities that stimulate student’s growth through engagement. The understanding that teacher-based assessment is teacher based should be valued and acknowledged as the most effective path in capturing a holistic perspective of a student’s performance.
On the other, building the capacities of the teacher to improve learning and develop effective methods of instructions and assessment forms one underlying path of achieving the broad goals of teaching and learning. This is because teachers are key stakeholders in education sector who play a critical role in the development and implementation of educational policies. It is against this background that their skills and knowledge should be enhanced to enable them deliver in the goals. According to Newton (2005), one viable path of “building the capacities of teachers to understand assessment processes and thereby improve learning” is to let them take a central role in assessments.
In the analysis of the validity and reliability of the external assessment methods, it is discerned that teacher-based assessment is preferred over other assessment methods. The fact that teacher-based assessment enhances the validity of students’ assessment reports has been widely captured in literature. According to Wilmut (2004), teacher-based assessment provides a wide range of evidences in the assessment of a student’s learning programmes. Reliability and validity of a framework in methodological process undertaken during an activity depends on the amount and accuracy of evidence presented. Teacher-based assessment relies on consistent evidence collected throughout a learner’s training and development period.
Examined from psychological and social contexts, learning is seen as a form of social interaction and influence in decision-making that involves the teacher as the role model and source of knowledge (Frank, Michel & Ben, 2012). This is because of knowledge on the effects of social influence, interpersonal relationships, group behaviour and self and social identity. Active social interactions have been demonstrated to involve “feedback loops that create interdependencies between the choices individuals make” (Frank, Michel & Ben, 2012, p. 181).
In classroom or autonomous learning contexts, this affects the way in which decision making process takes place because both passive and active interactions have significant influence on aspects of content the learner considers interesting and appropriate.
This implies that teachers have immense influence on their students. Students are more likely to perceive teachers’ perspectives on an idea as the universal truth. Teachers on the other hand stand at a very vantage position in gaining insights into these developments and changes taking place on the students during these interactions. The application of this knowledge and evidence forms the backbone of the development of accurate assessment.
From the analysis of educational instructional methods that have shifted from the traditional approaches in order to adopt inclusive education leadership that focused on power, authority and coercive influence to more inclusive and motivational approaches, it is observed that teacher-based assessment is leadership driven. The above description of emerging paradigms in leadership within instructional designs illustrates that effective leadership is different from coercive actions and adopts a lesser degree of authority and influence and forms the underlying framework upon which inclusive principles and practices, which takes cognizance of the learner may be anchored.
Teacher-based assessment is an inclusive education strategy because it seeks to understand, improve and apply methods focused on the production of desired changes in skills as well as knowledge of the learner, delineating key aspects holistic leaning upon which accurate assessment of student performance may be anchored upon.
In summary, it is seen that teacher-based assessment is the most effective method of measuring gains in all learning contexts. An examination of the relevance and effectiveness of the method in measuring gains made in autonomous learning contexts has revealed similar results. There is consensus that teacher-based assessment offers a more holistic and comprehensive analysis and presentation of all aspects of a student’s learning programmes, which are key determinants of accurate measurement of a student’s performance and achievement.
In addition, it relies on a wide range of evidence retrieved from a student’s interactions and association with the teacher, which enhances the validity and reliability of the assessment reports. The above reasons form the underlying reasons for the push towards the adoption of teacher-based assessment in a number of learning contexts and countries.
References
Frank C. B., Michel, A. and Ben, M. (2012). Action-centered team leadership influences more than performance. Team Performance Management, 18 (3): 176 – 195.
Macklaren, P. (1988). On ideology and education: Critical pedagogy and the politics of education. Social Text, 19(20): 153-185.
Mansell, W and James, M. (2009). Assessment in Schools. Fit for purpose? A Commentary by the Teaching and Learning Research Programme. London: Economic and Social Research Council, Teaching and Learning Research Programme.
Mercurio, A. (2003). Questions as Answers: Understanding Upper Secondary Selection and Certification Practices in South Australia, Adelaide: SSABSA.
Newton, P. E. (2005). Examination standards and the limits of linking, Assessment in Education, 12(2): 105‐123.
Wilmut, J. (2004). Experience of Summative Teacher Assessment in the UK: A Review. London: Qualifications and Curriculum Authority.