Assessment is a process. Its purpose is to improve student
learning through effective feedback. Assessment provides an
effective tool for communicating educational expectations and
progress toward accomplishing those expectations.
Assessment involves the ongoing process of collecting and
interpreting data for the purpose of improving understanding
and adjusting teaching.
In essence, assessment and learning are two sides of the
same coin. As students engage in an assessment exercise,
they should learn from it as well.
The challenge is for teachers to shift the assessment paradigm
to embrace the concept of assessment as more than a
terminal event.
The focus of assessment is student learning and
understanding.