Reflection on Assessment Competencies for School Leadership

Assessment Competencies Abstract Assessment in education is referred to a range of tools or methods used by educators to measure, document and evaluate the academics readiness, skill acquisition, progress and learning needs of students. The tracking progress report plays an important role to the student since it gauges where they are heading in terms of academics. Assessment is often likened to the traditional standardized tests but educators nowadays, use different types of assessment tools or methods. In the past, normal tests were the way to go when assessing students.

That has changes over the years. According to (Xu et.al, 2016) teacher assessment literacy has defined the field of research. Educators have come up with innovative ways to ensure that none of the traditional ways sees the light of day. Assessment involves a holistic evaluation of students or a leader. The result should bring a positive impact on the lives of both the educator and the learner.

Understanding assessment The concept of education is to share knowledge, assess the impact of this knowledge to the world and use it to change the world (Xu et.al, 2016). The use of assessment to gauge the needs of students has gone a long way to help students reach their potential. Whether in sports or academics, both educators and students have been able to find a balance on how to utilize their talents for the better.

It is important to know what types of assessment tools are used nowadays since in the world today, most educators struggle with the traditional assessment tools. Extra-curricular activities are an important aspect of a students’ life and ought to be used as an assessment tool. Just like academic lessons, assessment has different functionalities to measure the student’s strength, weakness and ability to be the best version of themselves in a school set up, or otherwise.

For example, the level of technical knowledge a student might possess about a subject and the teacher comes in to gauge the ability of the student to analyze and comprehend different types of texts and scenarios. Assessment is also used to gauge the strengths and weaknesses of individual students and a teacher is able to provide academic support where needed. Moreover, a wide range of groups and individuals including teachers, universities, and state institutions formulate assessments used by students in various learning institutions.

There are different levels of assessment in schools and each serves a different purpose in schools. High-stakes assessments, used for accountability purposes. It ensures students go the right schools, get competent teachers and thrive in academic excellence. Pre-assessments, which are mandatory assessment tools to determine if someone qualifies to join an academic program or school. It is an important assessment since most students get a chance to prove that they are competent enough.

Formative test that act as continuous assessment tests for students to measure the progress they make during the learning period. Summative assessments, which evaluate learning, process conclusively (Xu et.al, 2016). They are end of term tests and evaluations to see how the students faired on during the whole semester. It is important for educators to show interest in improving the performance of these students’ to prove the concept of work.

If assessment tools are deployed in different ways but if the teachers are ineffective, not much is gained by students’ going through the process. Assessment has changed over the years. In the past, students learnt skills towards an educational goal. Nowadays, there is a need to steer away from traditional one functional assessment to a dynamic view and application of the assessment practice.

In my view, there are three main factors that have contributed to the need to change the face of educational assessment namely: relationship between teaching, learning and assessment, changing nature of the educational goals from traditional job oriented goal to a holistic knowledge based acquisition model, drawbacks of the current assessment method of looking at grades to determine the intelligence of a student as opposed to a deeper understanding of the knowledge gathered in school and ability of the student to apply it in the world.

Learners need assistance in most sectors of learning since as an educator, there is an obligation to guide and pass down knowledge to the leaners for the betterment of their future. Some of the effective ways to ease learners’ process of knowledge acquisition include · Data and information where by the educator can be assisting in research. Information gathering is an important tool for learners and educators should see to it that students are trained and assisted on how to gather information · People and power.

Invitation of people in society that can encourage the students to chase their dreams. A doctor can easily convince students of the importance of studying hard in school and making it in the field. It is the initiative of the educator to present this to students to help them in decision-making process. Split the students into smaller groups to evaluate them on competency, career choice and willingness to learn.

This helps them discover their strengths and weaknesses and are able to determine what path to take in the academic or any other field to achieve success. · Curriculum and assignments. According to (Yamtim & Wingwanich, 2016), assessment of curriculum is determined by constant re-evaluation and is necessary to gauge skill levels of students. Most student are insecure or lack direction on their skill level and it is important to show them the right path. Assignments given to students should be such that they are all accessible.

Levels of understanding might differ but it is important to use clear language, direct questions and provide further assistance to the students to know how well they are fairing. A survey can also be taken to determine the students’ feelings on the curriculum and what changes might be needed. Inclusivity in curriculum development should be considered since the law provides for freedom of expression in all instances. Leadership Leadership roles in a school set up are important.

Most principals are role models in their schools since they represent the school in every activity and function. They lead the school towards excellence and it is their duty to ensure learning in institutions is smooth and acceptable. The ability to lead students in schools is a huge task. Normally, it is marred with disappointments and risks since you are dealing with children, in some cases adults and the need to keep a level head is important. Most of the leaders in school always have extensive training in leadership skills.

To be a principal, one must have been teaching in the classroom. To understand students, one must have gone through the system. Teachers act as a guide to students in various academic levels. There is a sense of direction a student gets when being guided by a trained educator. The teacher should ensure that the right curriculum is taught to the child and that all the necessary knowledge is passed down to the student for their future.

Not only in academic fields are teachers effective, but also in extra-curricular activities like sports which boost the students mentally and physically. The teacher ought to encourage the students to push on and be the best they can be. This assures the students of a good future in both academics and sports. The principal of a school is responsible for creating an enabling environment for students to learn.

As an administrator, the principal ensures that they have competent teachers in the institution to enable them pass on the right knowledge to the student and most importantly ensure that every student is learning and progressing well under their care in the institution. Improving assessment literacy in schools might encounter some resistance. Some teachers are trained in old assessment techniques and they usually carry that to their schools.

If there is any changes, they oppose it citing difficulty in adjusting or not being able to catch up to the new times. In this case there is need to retrain teachers on curriculum development every year to ensure that they catch up to the times. It is also important to gauge the level of understanding of teachers to enable them teach students.

Are they capable of teaching students holistically? If not, what is the next cause of action? Statistic shows that teachers involved in professional assessment literacy programs and are permanently employed tend to understand the process better. Resources need to be channeled towards helping teachers trained in designing classroom assessment rubrics that are relevant to the educational sector now. Teachers on temporary contracts tend to lean on the idea for a short term process since they fear likelihood of losing their source of income.

Such teachers need to be motivated to ensure they learn the professional development process and apply it in the classroom. Holistic learning in schools stems from the teachers developing a curriculum that ensures students are involved and learning well and the teachers get to benefit from it too. Self-assessment and reflection Self-assessment is the process of evaluating oneself to gauge you capability to lead. Most teacher are encouraged to do self-assessment tests to help them improve their techniques of teaching.

Students likewise are encouraged to do self-assessment to help them know how their progress sin academic work is going. School leaders are on top of the food chain when it comes to competency and self-assessment tests. They are responsible for inculcating knowledge to students and the need to know if the right knowledge is being passed down is very important. There is need to show the various ways in which self-assessment is effective to leaders since they matter in the academic sphere.

As a leader in the school system, critical thinking is important. Various conflicts occur in the course of being a teacher and the wisdom to solve such conflicts always carries the day. Most teachers train in psychology since not all is lost when you want to solve problems of students and at the same time teach them well enough to get the right knowledge.

In Ten Assessment Competencies for School Leaders (p.98 Figure 4-1; Part 4 of Chappuis text), a leader has the responsibility to develop an environment to allow for both teachers and students to prosper. It is inevitable as a leader to take the responsibility to ensure the institution you lead prospers. As a.