Ways of Assessing

The 'ways of assessing' complement 'ways of teaching' and aim to support teachers in developing effective assessment practices in Health and Physical Education.

The 'ways of assessing' also complement the principles of assessment contained in the Western Australian Curriculum and Assessment Outline. The assessment principles, reflective questions and assessment snapshots support teachers in reflecting on their own assessment practice in relation to each of the assessment principles. Here teachers will find:

background information for each principle
reflective questions
guidance for addressing the principle within their own assessment practice.

Refer to the Western Australian Curriculum and Assessment Outline (http://k10outline.scsa.wa.edu.au) for further guidance on assessment principles, practices and phases of schooling.

The key to selecting the most appropriate assessment is in the answers to several reflective questions. For example:

How do you use assessment as the starting point of your lesson planning?
Do your assessments have a clear purpose?
Do you design assessment tasks in a way that meets the dual purposes of formative and summative assessment?
How do you use your observations of students (during the course of classroom activities, in assignments and in tests) to determine how learning can be improved?
How do you identify students' misconceptions or gaps in their learning?
How do you identify the next skill or understanding a student, or group of students, needs to learn?
What information do you collect to evaluate your own teaching?
How do you work with colleagues to evaluate student achievement data and how does this work inform your teaching?
What range of evidence do you draw on when you report student performance and evaluate your teaching?

Refer to the Judging Standards tool in the Western Australian Curriculum and Assessment Outline (http://k10outline.scsa.wa.edu.au/home/judging-standards) when reporting against the Achievement Standards; giving assessment feedback; or explaining the differences between one student's achievement and another's.

The following table provides examples of assessment strategies which can enable teachers to understand where students are in their learning. Assessments should also be based on the integration of a range of types and sources of evidence.

Examples of assessment strategies	Examples of sources of evidence
Group activities	Cooperative activities that provide opportunities for individual and peer-learning. During group work, teachers should stop at key points to check individual student understanding.
Field-work and practical (authentic) tasks	The demonstration of learning on health-related issues through activities, such as virtual and actual fieldwork, such as community audits and needs assessments.
Tests or quizzes	These may include verbal questioning, multiple choice, short-answer responses or open-ended questions that require longer, structured written responses.
Written work	This includes short and extended written tasks. These may take the form of short responses, such as worksheets with sentence or paragraph answers. Longer responses may include essays, information reports or imaginative texts, such as journal entries. Students may also conduct inquiry tasks in which they develop questions; gather, analyse and evaluate information; communicate findings; and reflect upon conclusions.
Graphic organisers	The demonstration of learning through making connections, showing relationships and concept-mapping of student knowledge.
Visual representations	The demonstration of learning through maps, tables, graphs, diagrams, posters, brochures, photographs and other digital media (i.e. slides, animations, blogs).
Performances or oral presentations	The demonstration of learning in practical performance, role-play, speeches, simulations, debates and structured discussions.
Physical education performance Years P–6	Student performance is assessed using checklists, rubrics and/or anecdotal records in the context of the activities which provide students with the opportunity to develop movement skills and strategic awareness. Assessment should be incorporated into: static drills, increasing in complexity as determined by student ability increasingly dynamic drills in years 4–6 simple games adventure/challenge activities modified sports.
Physical education performance Years 7–10	Student performance is assessed using checklists, rubrics, anecdotal records, self-assessments, peer assessments and/or video in the context of the sports studied, which provide students with the opportunity to develop skills and tactical awareness. Assessment should be incorporated into: static drills, increasing in complexity as determined by student ability dynamic and competitive game-like drills modified sports competitive situations.
Conferences	Discussions or interviews that are conducted either face-to-face or via audio and video recordings.
Self-assessments and evaluations and student journals	The self-reflection of achievement and progression towards goals. It allows for metacognitive thinking about their learning and personal reflection upon their strengths and weaknesses. Journals provide personal accounts of student responses to learning activities, experiences and understandings.
Peer assessments	Individuals, peers, or a group of peers, provide evaluative feedback on performance or activity.

Ways of Assessing

Subscribe to our monthly K–10 Circular