Many assume that technological assessments have only made an appearance in recent years however, nations for nearly 100 years have been using machines to support assessments. As early as 1920, standardised testing was introduced and used worldwide. Standardisation of tests is one example of digitally assessing. There are numerous pros and cons to this approach of assessment. 

Digital assessments have become more creative with the surge of hybrid and online learning solutions. Furthermore, teachers – for generations – have their methods on how to assess students throughout the term and at the end. The best educators are not rigid with their assessment forms. All great educators know that each student’s learning approach is different, so to have all the same types of assessments is a bit short-sighted in offering the best holistic approaches.

With the CBSE curriculum, all summative assessments are the same; the board exams. What are summative assessments? At the end of the unit or term, students usually have a project, an end essay, or an overall exam. These larger-scaled assessments are summative. So what are students preparing for all term? They’re preparing for board exams. Even though educators feel the pressure of making sure their students are well prepared, they have a bit more freedom with their formative assessments. Students take these assessments both formally and informally throughout the term to check progress. 

So what are some ways that educators, parents, and students can use digital assessment to check progress throughout the term? Here are some fun ways:

What can teachers do?

Teachers can use a variety of fun digital tools ie: Kahoot!, virtual flashcards, discussion boards, or warm-up questions. Most of these kinds of progress checks rely on “in-the-moment” production. However, many students feel too much pressure to perform in real-time. Giving students homework that requires online research ie: online scavenger hunts, discussion boards through Google Docs, etc allows students to produce results in their time. Just because students struggle to produce on the spot, doesn’t mean they do not know the material.

Here’s a fun list of other activities that teachers can integrate into their lessons to do formative assessments.

What can parents do?

While there are many advantages to online resources, there are many dangers as well. Especially for younger students, there are more vulnerabilities when it comes to working online or finding online resources. Parents can help their children by monitoring their online activities, doing them together, or modeling safe digital access. Parents that keep a close eye on their student’s progress can also encourage them to practise their weak areas at home. 

What can students do?

With the help of teachers and parents, students have amazing opportunities to learn new digital skills. In this day and age, more and more students are learning digital literacies at younger ages. This means that they better understand how to communicate through digital means. Students online have the ability to engage in the same peer-to-peer assessing that they would have in a physical classroom. One of the best ways for students to solidify their learning is by teaching their knowledge to a peer. With adult supervision, students can work together on group projects in an online space, do peer-to-peer reviewing and offer feedback, and compete with each other through online platforms.

Assessing at ConnectEd

Our team of teachers uses a range of both formative and summative assessments. The combination of both ensures that students have a well-balanced, holistic academic journey. Through our connection with our students’ parents, we hold parent-teacher meetings to share progress in different areas of both Maths and Science. We believe that the support of parents ensures great academic growth at home. 

All our assessments are done digitally both synchronously and asynchronously. It is important that we clear the doubts our students face so that they are ultimately prepared for those daunting board exams. Our mission is to do the best work possible to keep our students at ease. We want to make sure students across India have the same educational opportunities.