INFORMAL ASSESSMENT

Summary:

Informal Assessment - a procedure for obtaining information that can be used to make judgments’ about children's learning behavior and characteristics or programs using means other than standardized instruments.

TYPES OF INFORMAL ASSESSMENT

1)    Test and Quizzes - this is the typical way students are evaluated for their acquisition of knowledge.

2)    Grading - this is how teacher normally assign value to a student work.

3)    Portfolios - an assessment tool that is a great help for students as well as their parents and teacher to see their progress over time.

4)    Written Samples - this entails any type of written sample that students create to show their comprehension of materials.

5)    Project base Assessment - type of assignment that is usually quite extensive and allow students to show his or her comprehension in various ways.

SAMPLE of INFORMAL ASSESSMENT

§  Homework - any written works that students do alone whether in school or in home.

§  Games - this can provide students with challenging method for increasing their skills in various areas such as math, spelling, etc.

§  Brainstorming - this technique can be used successfully with all ages of children to determine what they may already know about a particular topic.

§  Checklist - specify the students behaviors or products expected during progression through the curriculum.

§  Story Retelling - this technique can be used in either oral or written formats.

§  Anecdotal Record - this method can be used by teachers to record behaviors and student progress.

§  Logs and Journals - individual method of writing.

§  Writing Samples - students can write anything on specific topics, their products can be scored by using one of the technique.

§  Questionnaire - it is a self-report assessment device on which students can provide information about areas of interest to the teacher.

Reflection:

Informal assessment involves observing the learners as they learn and evaluating them from the data gathered. It is sometimes referred to as continuous assessment as it is done over a period of time. It give much more valuable information to make findings on the characteristics of students.

As a future teacher, this informal assessment will be useful for me so I can easily diagnose the strengths and weaknesses of my students. This will do a better job of using a student’s interests to motivate and encourage students. With the Informal assessment, I can easily adapt to meet the needs of the student and his/her specific style of learning.