Assessment Practices among Malaysian Cluster School Teachers

Summary (By: Salfiza Bt Zahari)

This article was written by Ravi Kumar Varatharaj, Abdul Ghani Kanesan Abdullah
and Aziah Ismail which all of them are from Universiti Sains Malaysia. It was published in
the year of 2014. The issue that lead to this written research paper is the importance of
assessment for learning (formative assessment) in increasing the quality of teaching and
learning processes. Thus, the purpose of this research paper is basically to address the view
on the most acceptable and effective assessment practices by Malaysian cluster schools
teacher. In this research study, only formative assessment practices that has been focused on,
together with its value uphold by the involvement of cluster school teachers in Peninsular
Malaysia. Based on the result findings, it can be summarized that giving feedback is the most
acceptable and effective practices that can be made by teachers and also being viewed as the
highest value that being uphold by most of teachers. Giving feedback can improve students
learning by helping and advising progress towards goal. The second highest practice that
being applied by teachers is identifying students strengths in carrying out the assessment or
task given, concomitant with their value uphold as well. The quality appropriate to the
knowledge teachers teach are needed in this kind of practice. This two on top findings make
summarization that their knowledge about these kind of practices go along with their
application in teaching and learning period. Not just that, questioning also fall in the high
category as it is believe can help students to stay focused in the class and ultimately would
promote higher order thinking skills. Apart from that, discussing learning objectives is
another important factor in formative assessment that has been viewed by them. Meanwhile,
comparing students performance in relation to others is decidedly fall among the bottom list
of practices. Hence, it indirectly generalised that not comparing students performance in the

classroom is the other best assessment practice that has been valued and applied by the
teachers.
Opinion/Comments
In general, the overall main points that made up the content of this research are make
sense and strongly agreeable. However, there must be certain specificity for each approach of
assessment practices to make them fully effective in schools. Let us take a look into the first
best assessment practice for students, which is giving feedback. Although giving feedback
could bring a huge success in students performance, somehow, it can greatly reduce students
motivation too. The way feedback presented can affect the receiver. As Stanger (2015)
remarked, not all feedback is equally effective and it can even be counterproductive.
Counterproductive could occur in several situations especially when learners feel to strictly
monitor by teachers and most importantly when learners feel uncomfortable sense of
competition among their peers which automatically contribute to the disengagement in
learning. Thus, giving contingent, specific and credible praise or feedback to each students
can eliminate this negative vibes.
In term of determining students strength, it is undeniable that appropriate knowledge
regarding the assessment given to students are needed. As by mastering those knowledge and
skills, only then the teachers would be able to analyse students assessment, including their
strengths and errors. James R. Sanders (1990) supports this opinion by saying that teachers
should be skilled in administering assessment method. For instance, Chemistry teachers are
not advisable to mark the Biology assessment, since they do not have specific knowledge in
that Biology subject even though both of the subjects are in the Science niche.
Looking deeper into the third point, higher order thinking skills can only be achieved
via questioning if and only if, rich questions are being asked by the teachers to their students.

In other words, teachers should post questions that stimulate students reflection, instead of
just asking them direct questions (Nicole Lauzon, 2015). The best three examples of rich
questions are those which focusing students attention, encourage students to compare
between two things and encourage them to anticipate what would happen next. According to
Neil Finney (2012), effective questioning drives students engagement in curricular goals.
Not just that, students are also need to be encouraged in asking worthy question to teachers.
Apart from that, not comparing students performance is a crucial need to be practised
by the teachers. Personally, current performance in the classroom such as participation does
not show the individual students development as a whole. It is supposed to believe that each
students have their own strength and weaknesses. Based on Kareem Smith (n.d.), all students
have ability and desire to succeed no matter any skill level they occupied. Hence, always
have a positive expectations for all students. For instance, giving them cues, prompting and
time to think whenever they being asked.
Lastly, discussing learning objectives need to be done in appropriate ways. Teachers
need to clearly state the objectives with a friendly language or stating them verbally in order
to avoid any difficulties faced by students in the beginning of the lessons. This clarity in turn
help students in decrease their anxiety about ability to succeed (Ceri, 2012). In correlation
with that, Ceri (2012) also stress on teachers that they are permissible to explain connection
between current learning objectives with the previous lessons. This kind of assessment
practice contribute a lot in improving students learning.
To conclude, the result findings has been successfully wrapped the purpose of this
research study. The selection of teacher in cluster schools are based on their experience and
performance. Formative assessment can become one of the most effective assessment
practice if the teachers understanding are in line with their application in the classroom

during teaching and learning process. Effective assessment practices can break the bound of
traditional teaching method and in turn producing many effective learners in the future.