21st Century Assessment Trends

21st Century Assessment

• Preparing teachers to cater to the needs of 21st century learners is part of the adjustments being made in the education system.
• Characteristics of 21st century assessment include:
  • Responsive: generates data that informs curriculum and instruction
  • Flexible: requires lesson design, curriculum, and assessment to be adaptable
  • Integrated: incorporated into day-to-day practice rather than as add-ons
  • Informative: clearly states desired goals and objectives
  • Multiple methods: a spectrum of strategies is used
  • Communicated: data is clear and transparent for all stakeholders
  • Technically sound: adjustments and accommodations are made to meet student needs and ensure fairness

Types of Educational Decisions

• Diagnostic: determines a student's strengths and weaknesses
• Selection: involves accepting or rejecting students based on assessment results for admission or qualification
• Placement: identifies students who need remediation or enrichment programs
• Guidance and Counseling: uses test data to assist students in making personal career choices
• Program or Curriculum: made at a higher level (division, regional, or national) to improve student learning
• Administrative Policy: determines resource allocation to improve student learning

Instructional Decision in Assessment

• The primary aim of educational assessments is to provide a comprehensive evaluation of a student, considering academic achievements and environment
• The educational assessment process starts by analyzing the criterion with the teaching-learning environment
• Decision-making is used in different phases of the teaching-learning process, including before starting instruction, during, and after instruction

Assessment Approaches

• Contextualized Assessment: focuses on students' construction of functioning knowledge in real-world contexts
• Decontextualized Assessment: focuses on declarative and procedural knowledge in artificial situations
• Analytic Assessment: assesses specific learning outcomes (e.g., mechanics, grammar, style)
• Holistic Assessment: assesses global learning outcomes (e.g., reflection papers, peer assessment)

Decision-Making in Teaching-Learning Process

• Different phases of decision-making include:
  • Before starting instruction
  • During instruction
  • After a teaching segment
• Sources of information for decision-making include observations, evidences, and other sources
• Data from informal and formal assessments serve as a basis for teacher decision-making

Explore the adjustments in education towards preparing teachers for 21st century learners, as outlined by Greenstein (2012). Learn about the characteristics of 21st century assessments including responsiveness, visibility of performance-based work, flexibility in lesson design, curriculum, and assessment.