Fundamental Assessment Principles for Teachers and School Administrators
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14th November 2020
- Summary
In the “Fundamental Assessment Principles for Teachers and School Administrators,” McMillan presents and discusses eleven fundamental principles to guide teachers’ and administrators’ assessment training and professional development. He begins by claiming that assessment is inherently a professional judgment process and, as such, professional judgment is required to comprehend and utilize all assessment elements. According to him, this first principle significantly helps administrators and teachers realize the significance of their judgment and others in examining assessment quality and the meaning of results. McMillan argues that assessment is based on distinct but associated measurement evidence and evaluation principles in the second principle. He strongly recommends that administrators and teachers understand the variation between the two. Thirdly, he argues that due to competing uses, pressures, and purposes among administrators and teachers, assessment decision-making is often influenced by several tensions, including the ability to choose between formative and summative assessments. His fourth principle outlines the influence of assessment on student learning and motivation, while his fifth principle gives various assessment errors that administrators and teachers often encounter and commit. The sixth to the eleventh principles highlight the attributes of a good assessment. According to the article, a good assessment is valid, fair, ethical, efficient, and feasible, and incorporates technology appropriately.
- Analysis
It is indeed true that assessment is an essential aspect of learning even though little emphasis is put on it during teachers’ and administrators’ training. Whether it is conducted in the confines of a classroom or on a large scale, assessment needs to embrace universally recognized principles. I agree that assessment must be built on a strong professional judgment, in which teachers and administrators have a basic understanding of all the elements required to make it exemplary and goal-achieving. Teachers and administrators must understand the variation between measurement evidence and evaluation principles, which are the basis on which assessment is defined. Essentially, I agree that teachers and administrators should appreciate that assessment is rarely 100% accurate, but often contains some errors. They should always give an allowance for such errors to increase the accurate of their assessments. Importantly, the basic functions of assessments are to influence students’ learning and motivation and, as such, should be valid, fair and ethical, efficient, and feasible, and incorporates technology appropriately. I believe that an assessment that incorporates all the eleven principles is accurate and effective. These principles equip teachers and administrators with all the relevant skills and knowledge to appropriately examine their learners.
- Personal Reflection
From a personal point of view, I believe that the information contained in McMillan’s article applies to me as a student. First, I have embraced the fact that assessments are not 100% a reflection of a student’s ability. Most of them, even though they are effective, have some errors. Ideally, these errors are not occasioned by students but mostly by teachers and administrators. However, to some extent, the blame cannot be leveled against teachers and administrators only, but majorly on the system of training that rarely empowers them with the required skills and knowledge. If I become an administrator or a teacher in the future, I would ensure that I pay attention to all the assessment principles.
References
McMillan, J. H. (2000). Fundamental assessment principles for teachers and school administrators. Practical Assessment, Research, and Evaluation, 7(1), 8.
Stiggins, R. J. (2000). Classroom assessment: A history of neglect, a future of immense potential. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association.
Stiggins, R. J., & Conklin, N. F. (1992). In teachers’ hands: Investigating the practices of classroom assessment. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, Albany.