Assessment and the Report Card

Assessment and reporting are interrelated concepts in education. Assessment refers to the process of gathering information about a student's knowledge, skills and abilities in order to evaluate their learning progress. This information can come from a variety of sources such as quizzes, tests, projects and observations of class participation. The purpose of assessment is to help teachers understand how well students are learning, what areas they need more support in and where they are excelling.

Reporting, on the other hand, refers to the process of communicating the results of the assessment to students, parents and other stakeholders. This can be done through written reports, progress reports, conferences and standardized test scores. The goal of reporting is to provide relevant, meaningful and timely information to support student learning.

In summary, the assessments provide the data and information used to create the report, while reporting communicates that information to others. Both assessment and reporting play important roles in education, as they help to monitor student progress, identify areas for improvement and support ongoing learning and development.

For assessment to be effective it must be communicated appropriately to the student. This means it must be timely, specific/focused and solution-orientated.

“Timely" feedback refers to the idea that feedback should be given as soon as possible after the event or behaviour is evaluated. This allows the individual receiving the feedback to quickly understand how they can improve and apply the feedback in a relevant context.

"Specific/focused" feedback refers to the idea that feedback should be clear, concise, and directly address a particular aspect of performance or behaviour. This helps to ensure that the feedback is understood and can be acted upon effectively.

"Solution-oriented" feedback means that the feedback should focus on identifying and addressing the root cause of any issues or problems and provide suggestions for improvement rather than just pointing out what went wrong. This type of feedback helps to empower the recipient to take action and make positive changes, rather than just feeling criticised or discouraged.

Together, these three elements form the foundation of effective feedback, helping to ensure that the feedback is both relevant and actionable.

Students must still be able to connect with what has been assessed. At a minimum, they must have access to the product being assessed. Ideally, they must still remember explicitly the experience of learning and the experience of developing the assessment product. This way they can reflect on, and adjust appropriately, the process as well as the product. This way they are better placed to identify connect with the feedback and are more likely to respond to it.