Assessment is a very complicated issue. I would like to say that I assign everything (a lot of busy work) and mark everything, but I know this reality and it is very hard on the teacher.
Working at international private schools I never had the option of marking a little. Accountability comes first. I was told what to mark and how much to mark, so assessment was never a concern as I was constantly assessing (nearly) everything…..so it felt.
But assuming I do not have to assess everything, then it becomes very difficult as what (should) count, what (will) matter to to the students, to their future and to the underlying principals of the course.
I do not know what is just and fair……..
In terms of the students marking serves as a method of verification and validation for effort made. Parents want to see progress and students want to know that they are progressing.
In this sense marks serve both extrinsic and intrinsic motivational factors depending on the students frame of mind (I know more extrinsic than intrinsic)
For the sciences I believe in busy work and I believe in completion marks. I believe that homework should be primarily completion based with a proportion of performance in order to manage issues of justice.
I believe that performance should be test orientated.
I believe assessment is as far as anything tied primarily to motivation. In reality, at the end of the day that is all that matters, because if you continue to always try in the end you will succeed. So teachers should asses as needed to ensure progress
But I don’t know how that can be done……..yet
