Importance of school-based assessment in South Africa

Importance of school-based assessment in South Africa (Life Orientation Grade 12 answers). On this page, reasons and purposes on why school based assessment is important for a grade 12 learner are explored. These notes will assist learners on how to do well in school-based assessment.

Life Orientation Grade 12

What is an assessment?

• An assessment is a continuous planned process of gathering information on achievement.

Why do we assess?

Reasons and advantages for assessments:

• To indicate clearly what needs to be achieved and to inform the learner about the areas of study that need more attention. This will help improve the standard of their work.
• To identify how a learner cope with new knowledge, content and skills.
• To specify whether a learner needs to do extra work or not.
• An assessment is an important tool to identify the development of a learner’s potential.

The process of Assessment

An assessment has both positive and negative impacts on the learner.

• May increase anxiety due to the fear of failure (e.g. negative impact).
• Might be excited as a result of obtaining a high score in a particular task (e.g. positive impact).

Types of Assessments:

• Baseline assessment-Usuallytakesplaceinthebeginningoftheyearorwhen starting something new e.g. topic. It is useful for both a learner and a teacher.
• Formative assessment-Tochecktheprogressofthelearneronacertaintopic.
• Summative assessment-Usuallyhappensattheendoftheproject,termor year.
• Self-assessment and peer-assessment-Thisprovidesthelearneran opportunity to assess himself or classmates.

An Important Tool for Assessment Preparation

• Mindmap-Linkinformationinalogicalwaythatwillhelpalearnertoremember the information.
• Summary-Alearnercansummariseinformationbywritingonlytheimportant sentences of a paragraph.
• Mnemonic- Song creation can be used with a rhythm will help a learner to remember more information.
• Table-Alearnermightdesignatablewillhelphim/hertoorganiseinformationin a logical connected way.
• Flashcards-Smallcardsorpiecesofpaperonwhichthelearnwriteskeypoints and short bits of information.
• Talkandlisten-Readyournotesoutloud,discussthestudymaterialoutloud.
• Be colourful- Use different colours to highlight important points in your notes or flashcards.
• Move about – Walk around while reading or repeating your notes on your flashcards
• Role-play -Role-play being the teacher and explain the work to others.
• Study to music and rhythm – tap your foot while reciting your notes

Importance of School Based Assessment Questions

1. Define the term assessment.
2. What is School-based assessment(SBA)?
3. What is school-based assessment in South Africa?
4. In your view can SBA assist in reducing pressure of the examination?
5. Again, in your view, does SBA help the learning process, say why?
6. How many types of SBA are there, name them?
7. Most importantly, who administers, scores and records SBA?