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 4/10/2008 10:18 AM
 

Dear Teachers

Are there too many Assessment tasks for Foundation Phase: Grades R-2 16 Tasks for Literacy Home Language and a further 8 tasks for Grade 3 First Additional Language . Therefore Grade 3 will have 24 Assessment tasks for Literacy only?

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 6/9/2008 1:56 PM
 

Policy emphasise that there are formal as well as informal assessment.

The assessment tasks are regarded as formal assessment.  Assessment tasks are compiled of a number of activities that form part of discreet teaching to ensure that a learner will be able to show his/her level of performance.  All activities are assessed but not all are recorded.

Informal Assessment can be considered formative assessment and are very important for the developmental learning that should atake place.  Teachers in the Foundation Phase are making daily observations that form part of informal assessment.

Through discreet teaching and informal as well as formal assessment barriers to learning are identified and teachers are requested to do intervention with learners were these barriers occur.

Concerns:

  1. Contact Time in the Foundation Phase
  2. Background of the Learners
  3. Language
  4. Educators
  5. Learner teacher Ratio
  6. Resources 

For learners to be able to learn and achieve optimally is it fair to have a formal assessment task weekly? Shouldn't we rather reduce formal assessment tasks and concentrate more on informal assessment?

I would like to communicate on this and also hear the opinions of other.

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 7/1/2008 8:05 PM
 

I agree that we can over assess children, especially children at such a young age.  On the other hand, the sooner one puts interventions in place the quicker the problem can be addressed. However, a teacher in the Foundation Phase does not always need a formalized assessment to help her see a problem. Experienced educators have the know-how to tell when there is a problem.  However, we must also understand that in order to get a more scientific approach to our results we need some formal standardised tests. Often this is the only way one can get through to a parent that there really is a problem.   I think weekly formalised tests are not ideal in the Foundation Phase.  Rather use informal assessment and concentrate on the creative side of teaching!

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