Educational reform concepts and implementation

Educational Reform

The views that I hold on matters education are more aligned to the point and not at all to the counterpoint. The assessment cannot be carried out on a do or die circumstance or the one shot approach but has to be a continuous activity that the teachers get involved in with their students. There are various reasons why the continuous assessment works better for learners as compared to the one shot examination. The continuous assessment provides diagnostic feedback that will help the teacher know the knowledge base of the student, the performance base of the student, the needs of the student in a continuous manner and also know when to adjust or change what is to be taught. These cannot be easily determined by the one shot assessment, and even when identified, they may not be easily fixed or resolved as it would be too late into the academic term to change the content hence to the detriment of the student.

The continuous assessment will also help the educators set standards. It will enable them know on a progressive basis what performance is an indicator of understanding, which performance indicates acquisition of knowledge and the performance that is indicative of mastery of the content (Zakhe F., 2007).

The continuous assessment is also important in that it can help in evaluation of progress by telling the teacher in a continuous basis how the student is doing and not what he has done in the one exam, which teaching methods are appropriate or effective and the needed modifications to the lesson in order to help the student.

The continuous assessments are also known to be having a better capability of motivating the student in the course of the term as compared to the one shot exams that the student may end up demoralized since it was the only chance and they failed to make it. This assessment method allows the student to feel much in control over their studies and performance, it makes them want to do better in the next assessment test and look for more things to learn unlike the one shot exams where once the student fails there could be no reason to look for anything new to learn since there is no other assessment awaiting.

This continuous assessment approach also allows the teacher in better planning for the term and making regular and necessary adjustments as the term progresses. They will know in the course of the term what is working for the students, he will hence be determined to look for what else he can do to help the students and change in direction if need be.

Generally, the continuous assessment is the best way to go since the teacher and the students are able to work in unison towards complementing the weaknesses that the student may have and compensate with the strengths that they have, all in an effort to ensure the weaknesses of the student are not left undetected until it is too late and also that the strengths of the student are identified and used appropriately to help the student (University of Connecticut, 2014).