Paper Example on Summative Assessment

Introduction

Summative evaluation or summative assessment means the assessments of participants with an emphasis on the result of the curriculum in which the individuals participated. Summative assessment, unlike formative valuations, focusses on the outcome of the program. Formative estimates, on the other hand, summarize participants' development through a given duration of time. Numerous assessments often turn out as summative, with a few considered as formative. Summative assessments aim at evaluating students' learning by the end of instructional units by making a comparison against a standard outcome.

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Using instructional accommodation increases students' access to academic content through instructions in the general curriculum. Without changing the standards or goals that students work towards, the access to learning materials and programs can increase a student's performance over the assessment period. From the assessment of Vincente Flores and Mingyu Wong, for example, using multiple modalities and making precise instructions for Vincente Flores would ensure improvement in his performance. Elsewhere, for Mingyu Wong, simplifying language and using tapes or demonstrations can ensure her performance boosts. Use of instructional accommodation seeks to find a balance that can give students equal access to learning without compromising the learning content. For a student like Vincente Flores, their capabilities can be boosted by having their tests read to them instead of reading themselves. Oral participation, however, does not interfere with the content of the test but gives them an easy avenue to comprehend the test since oral content often proves easier to comprehend than written ones. Elsewhere, using tapes for Mingyu's assessment allows her to grasp the content of the test at her own pace and comprehend well since orally readout analyses may not offer an opportunity to hear a second time thus impacting negatively on her comprehension.

Learning Outcomes

The proper identification of figurative speech for English Language Learners suggests that the students can learn and understand both spoken and written languages and therefore allows them to communicate correctly using the word absorbed. The objective part of the assessment seeks to test the proficiency of the student. It aims to assess the ability of the student to communicate in the assessment language. For a level 4 student, the objective section of the assessment can be beneficial as they understand well the assessment language already. However, for level 2 students, the communication may still involve difficulty in expressions.

Such students as Mingyu Wong, in level 4, can have the assessment figuratively increase their proficiency. Being relatively advanced as compared to level 2 students, Mingyu Wong can construct sentences of varying complexity in oral discourse. Therefore, taking part in the assessment would assure that the development towards language use, with increased complexity, can soon be achieved. For the level 4 students, knowledge of the types of language they indulge in may assist in growing their language further. A student in level 4 can easily comprehend the distinction between sentences, knowing which ones form similes and which ones form metaphors as well as alliterations or oxymoron. The assessment would prompt them to remember and categorize sentences into their respective categories. The more they succeed at classifying the phrases, the more they increase their chances of using the phrases in those contexts. An example from the assessment test asks whether the words "America is a melting pot" falls under metaphors, simile, alliteration or oxymoron. The fact that a student will realize that the phrase falls under tropes places them at a better chance of knowing the meaning of metaphors and how to use them in sentences. Therefore it implies that the student in question may qualify to use metaphors in their sentences, whether in writing or spoken language. The ability to incorporate such complimentary vocabulary in language use elevates a student's level to the next one. Therefore, for the level 4 category, the objective section of the assessments could mean addition in the understanding of many complex forms of the language.

With the assessment, the expected learning outcomes imply that the student could, not only graduate from the use of simplified language but also would drop the use of tapes and demonstrations to understand the language they use. Presentations aimed at enhancing the learning abilities of students and allowing them to picture the content of the sentences that they use in expressions while tapes will enable them to have a second or third chance at understanding the sentences spoken. From the assessment, the students would not require further explanations to understand the contents of a sentence if they can answer the questions in the objective part of the evaluation. Moreover, the student would comprehend the materials from the onset of speech. Further, the assessment tests would enable a student of Mingyu's caliber to drop adaptations such as the creation of alternative assessment tests and reading of examination to them. Since level 4 students still rely on peer buddies to enable them to grasp the assessment languages better, the test would allow them to perform better on their own as their articulation of the speech would mature more.

However, for Vincente Flores, who still cannot speak either conversational or academic language without difficulty, the assessment should assist him to grow and reduce the burden of language use. Level 2 language students would benefit from the assessment test by improving their language further by using assistive pictures to construct sentences. The tests also would assist Vincente's caliber to graduate from oral examination to written ones. Since level 2 students may not fully work independently in the understanding of the assessment language, the tests would assist them to make the most out of their study buddies. Interaction with the peer buddies would enhance acquisition of the assessment language and further impact their comprehension concerning the language. Additionally, with the improved acquisition of language from peer buddies, the student would not rely on interactions with the teachers in a class alone. Communications outside of classes can, therefore, form part of the learning process for these students once the assessment graduates further. The assessments aim at fostering understanding and promoting the success of the students at this level.

Assessment Modifications

For level 2 language students, the performance section of the summative assessment should gauge the ability of the students to communicate using their basic knowledge of the language. For this caliber of students, the simplicity in language can emerge from the use of graphics and pre-taught vocabularies. The assessment, however, involves the use of advanced language proficiency in the performance section; requiring students to write sentences about people, places, and objects. To exploit the most out of such students, the requirements of this section should be based on the association of artifacts and images with the language itself. Graphic organizers, should identify key ideas from the texts and assist in graphically reproducing the documents. However, with the limited ability of such students to express themselves through the language, in written format, the students should be allowed to answer the questions orally. Instead of the students being asked bluntly to construct sentences about people, places, and objects, the system could adopt an approach such that they provide a set of pictures to the student. They then would comprehend the set of images and make something out of them in the form of a sentence. However, due to their less advanced knowledge of written English, they could give an oral answer to the test. Another way to ensure peak performance of the students without strain would involve allowing them to form sentences using pre-taught vocabulary but in an original context. The assessment may, alternatively, require the students to use these pre-taught vocabularies in sentences of their own making. This way, the students could learn the meaning of the vocabularies they incorporate into sentences. Additionally, they will have known how to combine those vocabularies and to use them correctly in sentences by themselves. The assessment should also utilize oral forms of communication since it would boost the performance of the students at their level of comprehension of the language. The assessment should, therefore, involve reading of the tests to the students as they may not easily comprehend written language.

For level 4 students, however, the performance section of the summative assessment should involve either oral or written tests, regarding the level of understanding of written language. Moreover, the tests, if given in oral format, should require the use of tapes. Level 4 language students, like Mingyu, may comprehend the questions once they replay the tapes and hear the question the same way a second or subsequent time. Alternatively, the assessment could involve the reading of the questions from a written script, to allow for repetition of the question similarly for a subsequent time. The use of tapes plays a huge role as it would be if the questions were written and the student could refer to it the number of times that they wished to. Due to the level of comprehension, the test should allow for an oral answer to questions. However, in cases where the tests come in written formats, the student may answer in written form as well.

Justification

The kind of assessment that each student gets subjected has varied reasons and implications. The reasons could imply the relevance of the curriculum of the student or the instructional need for the student. Curriculum benefits for students get applied in their respective learning institutions while instructional strategies get applied in daily life to communicate ideas and involve in discussions.

Curriculum Content

Summative assessments should benefit students at the language level of Vincente Flores to enable them to learn and understand more complex language. For this group of students, learning the complexities of languages may not be the immediate need for assessment. The students in this language level need to learn simplicity in the language and the need to understand and give simple direction. By understand the assessment language correctly, the students can graduate from only simple understanding directions to understanding the comparatively complicated course. Understanding figurative communication and knowing the classifications adds value to their knowledge of assessment language. For level 2 students, knowing the kinds of statements which form similes or metaphors may not be essential in the understanding of the dialect. An expression constitutes a vital aspect of understanding a given language. People strive to learn languages so that they can communicate effectively when the need arises. However, for level 2 students, knowing language classifications such as onomatopoeia may not constitute their growth in learning effective communication in expressing themselves yet. Onomatopoeia, for example, contributes to the complexity of language commanded by an individual as it gives the individual an avenue to explain event occurrence with minimal use of words, which relates to precision. However, for level 2 students, such as Vincente Flores, the striving to learn complexity in the language might not be necessary first. Such students need to learn the simplicity in the language first before getting subjected to the complex language assessment.

The performance section of the assessme...