In a progressive classroom, assessment of learners during the process of…
2021
In a progressive classroom, assessment of learners during the process of teaching-learning —
- A.
is not at all helpful in children’s learning.
- B.
creates a hindrance in the process of children's learning.
- C.
is helpful in identifying ‘high’, ‘low’ and ‘non’ achievers for the purposes of giving feedback to the parents.
- D.
is very important since it gives insights into children’s understanding and helps the teacher to reflect on her pedagogy.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: D
In a progressive, constructivist classroom (the philosophy behind NCF 2005 and continuous & comprehensive evaluation), assessment is treated as an ongoing part of the teaching-learning process itself — assessment for learning — rather than a one-time judgment applied after teaching ends. Its purpose is diagnostic: to reveal how learners are constructing understanding while it is still happening, so that instruction can be adjusted in response.
Assessment carried out during the process, as described here, gives the teacher a real-time window into each child's understanding. This lets her check whether her teaching methods are actually working and adapt her pedagogy accordingly — which is exactly why continuous assessment is considered important rather than a distraction from teaching.
Treating this ongoing assessment as having no value at all ignores its diagnostic role — without it, a teacher would have no way of knowing whether learning is actually happening.
Calling it a hindrance mistakes a support mechanism for an obstacle — assessment embedded in instruction does not stop learning, it informs how that instruction proceeds.
Using it only to sort learners into 'high', 'low' and 'non' achiever categories for a parent report describes a summative exercise carried out to classify outcomes, not something that takes place continuously while teaching-learning is still under way.
So the assessment integrated into the teaching-learning process is valuable precisely because it gives the teacher insight into children's understanding and a basis for reflecting on and adjusting her own pedagogy.