Question

Introducing internal assessment as part of the evaluation process is good because it helps the teachers to
1. encourage the students to behave well in the class
2. give weightage to the behaviour of students in the classroom.
3. know the formative process of the students.
4. improve the aggregate score of the students.

Answer 1

Correct Answer - Option 3 : know the formative process of the students.

Assessment

1. It is “a systematic procedure for collecting information that can be used to make inferences about the characteristics of people or objects”.
2. Assessment is referred to as “a process of collecting evidence and making judgments relating to outcomes”.

The assessment of learner performance are of two types: 

1. Internal assessment (Continuous assessment); and 
2. External assessment (Terminal assessment). 

1.  Internal assessment (Continuous assessment):  

• Internal assessment is the one where the learner and the tutor are directly involved in assessing the progress of student learning. 
• In IGNOU assignments, practical activities, contact programs, project work, dissertations, etc. are the means through which internal assessment is made. 
• In an internal assessment, it is necessary that a variety of tests are administered and proper statistical weights are given to each and then an overall grade is arrived at, as a true index of the capabilities of a student.
• Even an internal assessment requires continued research to improve its reliability and validity.
• Internal assessment may be conducted for in-school purposes, 
• For example, to decide who follows which course, or it may be mainly for the information of the teacher and his/ her pupil.
• It is even possible to completely internalize the assessment.

This is linked to learning from mistakes, confidence, and motivation. It can also prioritize procedural learning over conceptual understanding. Hence, the internal assessment helps in knowing the formative process of the students.

2 External assessment (Terminal assessment):

• External assessment refers to the tests conducted by educational institutions or by an outside agency.
• External assessment may be terminal assessment and it is usually conducted at the end of the learning period.
• In such cases, it is also known as summative assessment or term-end assessment