Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation

Source Book On Assessment For Class I To V

Languages - English

Introduction:

Language provides the basis for meaning making and sharing with others. It creates possibilities of development of understanding and knowledge, providing the ability to symbolise, codify and to record. Development of language for a child happens together with development of understanding and identity, and also the capability of relating with others. This chapter is essentially located in the ideas of NCF 2005 and the position papers on Indian Languages and English. All children (unless they are differently abled in some way) arrive in school with fully developed language(s) and this system of knowledge, though highly abstract and sub-conscious in nature, is of great value for acquiring higher level skills in the languages they already know as well as in learning new languages and new content areas. Whatever be the subject a child may be studying, language is central to its understanding. Many scholars suggest that primary education is essentially all about language learning. If you can really learn to listen and read with understanding on your own, no domain of knowledge can remain hidden from you. In India, we are particularly lucky. Most children come to school with the knowledge of two or more languages; or at least, they can handle several varieties of their language with ease. We ought to think about using this classroom multilingualism as a resource for education. It is equally important to nourish this multilingualism, as it is closely associated with high academic achievement in different subjects, cognitive growth and social tolerance.

This Source Book consists of several illustrative tools for the measurement and analysis of the learner’s performance and a few sample units consisting of Hindi and English poems, short stories, prose passages etc. It is for the teacher to decide which unit or idea from a given unit she would like to use at a given point of time in the primary classes. Each unit implicitly tries to indicate how a teacher can help children to trigger their potential and make them do what they find difficult to do entirely on their own. We also suggest methods through which teachers can observe the transformations children go through, and obtain systematic feedback for their future work. It should then be possible for them to appreciate what children already know, the areas in which they may need minor suggestions and the areas in which they need substantial help. These units should indeed help you to teach your textbooks differently. When we say that a child has learnt to read, we do NOT mean that she can read ONLY her textbook. She should be able to read with understanding any text that is appropriate for her age and cognitive level.

The Source Book consists of activities that encourage children to observe and analyse and have group discussions and interviews; to engage in talk, anecdotes, evaluate each other’s work and give constructive feedback; to prepare posters, school wall newspapers and portfolios; and to read and critically examine texts which are not part of the compulsory course. Such an approach will not only ‘assess’ the child but also help the teacher and the system.

The idea is NOT to give the teacher a finite inventory of items only on the basis of which she can evaluate a child. The idea is to empower the teacher to create a large inventory on her own, an inventory which is continuously enriched and enlarged by her experience.For English Language Teaching, it is critical that in class I and II, which may be termed as level I, the approach is predominantly oral – aural. Beyond that, which may be termed level II (class III, IV, and V) the approach would be not only to focus on the oral – aural skills but provide greater focus on reading, writing and other communicative skills.

The purpose of assessment as a part of learning therefore would be:

Before

• To discover the needs, interests, and previous experiences of students

• To find out what students already know and can do

• To determine a particular approach or strategy

During

• To assess students' understanding and progress

• To identify successes or difficulties and confidence levels

• To assess students' abilities to verbalise their understanding and insights

• To assess students' abilities to work together while sharing ideas and completing tasks

After

• To find out what the students have learned

• To determine the quality of students' learning

• To gauge the effectiveness of the activities and approach in relation to the objectives and goals for language

• To reflect on teaching practice.

(Adapted from the book Teaching the Language Arts’ by Cathy Collins Block, 1997)

Click Here To Download Full PDF

Courtesy : NCERT