There are many different reasons for skill assessments to be used. A student may be tested for skill assessment in order to see what information they know in a particular subject. This will give the teacher a good starting point for lesson planning and remedial services if needed. Many employers and career services conduct assessments to see if a person can handle the responsibility of the job. Many of the assessments tests are only looking to see if a person knows basic skills and are used as a tool to help them improve their educational levels.
Conduct Assessment Testing
Assessment testing can be used to get a baseline of a person’s skills. A person may also be retested at a later date to see if they have improved after specific instruction or an intervention was used. The teacher or instructor giving the assessment must decide what test is appropriate for the population they are testing. The assessment should be testing on the information the teacher would like to know. If the teacher wants to know the reading level of the student a comprehension test should be given. The directions of the test must be easy for the person taking it to understand. For example small children would not be given a test that required ready or writing about their grade level.
The assessment being used should also have a scale that will tell the teacher the grade level of the skill level of the person taking it. The person taking the assessment should be allowed to sit in a room that is quiet. The room can have other people taking the test but should be free from noise and outside distractions. The teacher has to read all directions as stated in the assessment manual to make sure the person knows exactly what to do. The teacher needs to keep time if the assessment is timed. Students may be given a warning when they have a little bit of time left to complete the test. Once the test is done all material should be collected and the assessment
Interpreting the Assessment
The teacher or instructor should grade the assessment when the students are not present. The assessment is graded and then the score from the test if located on the scale. This will give the instructor the grade level the person is performing at. Some assessments will go further and show their areas of strengths and weaknesses. This information can be used to provide additional assistance in the areas where the students need the most help.
A research based intervention can then be applied that has been shown to help others improve in this area. Other instructional methods can be used based on the learning styles of the students. Students can be retested if needed at a later date to see if they have improved in the given area. An assessment can give general information of where a student needs improvement and further help.