When I was a high school student, I was primarily exposed to traditional forms of assessment. With regards to affective, were they threatening for me? Well, no. I am one of those students who excelled in the class. So, I did not perceive the traditional assessments to be threatening to me. If the slightest threat were to be identified, it should be the competitiveness that it brings out. Academically, I always competed with the other high achievers. I would be happy if I get a higher score at quizzes or exams. But if they win the “contest” I would feel inferior and that I needed to do better. Grading at that time did not include performance tasks as in the current educational system. However, extracurricular units were a part that could influence the outcome of our rankings. Other than grades, I was also concerned with the rankings. However, I was doomed to be somewhat lacking compared to my classmates because I lacked extracurricular units because I did not participate on them as much. My other classmates participated in science expos, athletic meets, literary competitions, and others. I did have my share of units, but compared to others, mine were really lacking. To give a perspective, in the overall academic grading, I was ranked second, just behind the valedictorian. However, with the computation for the extracurricular, I dropped down to fourth; the third place went up to second, becoming the salutatorian; even the fourth place became third place. So maybe, even as I recounted this experience now, I am still quite hung-up about it. Because I know that if I had just been more pro-active in activities outside of school, I would have maintained my position and graduated high school as salutatorian. Did I say this was a slight threat? Well, I seem to make it sound like something that is a matter of life and death. Compared to the other classmates who are struggling with their grades, I was being concerned with my own matters and ranking. Even if I was one of the high achievers, I was still somewhat stressed about my grades because I will feel inferior to those above me. I realize now that my high school experience could have been more fulfilling without all that drama.
When I prepare for assessments (when I was in high school), I would not say that I studied a lot. What I learned and jotted down from the teacher’s lesson is usually sufficient for my understanding and sufficient for gaining an excellent score. So, I was essentially one who pays attention to class and uses that attention to my advantage. I particularly pay attention to when the teacher says “this will be a part of the exam” or “make sure to study these terms and memorize them.” So, I used to be somewhat selective in what I study, because what mattered most to me was my final grade reflected in the final grading. Now, as a student of UPOU, I still prepare for assessments in a similar fashion. But I observe that I am not being selective as much. That is because the assessments used are no longer objective. Though rubrics are provided, there is no longer one single right answer. Which means that I will need to take into consideration multiple points of view and make my own synthesis of a solution or possible solutions.
When I become an educator, I am not certain whether the system will change such that norm-referenced rankings will no longer become used as references or be given such importance. Furthermore, unlike before, teachers now are to some extent given autonomy regarding their instruction and formative assessments. But summative assessments are likely to remain a big part of the overall assessment scheme and how student learning will become assessed. However, performance tasks which incorporate alternative forms of assessment such as constructivism, authenticity, and reflection are now becoming a part of the assessment scheme and carry as much weight as summative exams. I believe this is a good indicator of educational reforms that are moving towards true learner-centered instruction and lifelong learning. My job as a teacher will be to focus on giving my students meaningful learning experiences through alternative forms of assessment and to ensure that some parts of traditional assessment will be tweaked such that the scoring scheme will include some alternative aspects of assessment. Though I will likely be limited by the education authorities’ standards, we should, as much as possible, do our best to provide meaningful learning experiences to our students.
My Academic eJournal 