Continuous Assessment

Continuous assessment is more likely to be formative, process-oriented, informal, internal, learner-involved, and/or self-referenced in nature. It can take the form of daily work (e.g. essays, quizzes, presentation and participation in class), projects/term papers and practical work (e.g. laboratory work, fieldwork, clinical procedures, drawing practice). http://www.cdtl.nus.edu.sg/Handbook/Assess/types-cont.htm

Video games utilize continuous assessment. Without understanding/completing a portion of the course, you don’t move on. Students get feedback that gives them the information they need to keep them on track.

Increased self-awareness for students who, through continuous assessment, come to understand their proficiencies and knowledge gaps. Time and again, we encounter evidence that self-awareness — understanding of how one feels, thinks, and learns — is one of the most significant factors in professional and personal success. The famous psychologist, Gardner argues that self-knowledge — “intrapersonal skill” — is one of the eight defining types of intelligence (the others being “linguistic,” “logical-mathematical,” “naturalist,” “bodily-kinesthetic,” “spatial,” “musical,” and “interpersonal”). The more continuously we assess students, the more knowledge they can gain about themselves — what it takes for them to master something, how they can approach problems differently, what their blind spots are, and how to eliminate them. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continuous_assessment

Instructors learn what tools are effective for students during the learning process instead of at the end of the course. Continuous assessment takes the emphasis and stress away from end of period or course testing. In contrast, assessments may require longer preparation time from the instructor. I could imagine with time and experience; the continuous assessment process would become more streamlined and time efficient.

Companies like Daymap http://www.daymap.net/ create a network of communication that includes students, teachers and parents. Using continuous assessments educators can tailor and correct individual students’ learning paths. They are not just targeting quotas at the end of the courses but students’ potential throughout the learning process. I think using collective data from different regions of the world platforms like Daymap can grow into extremely effective learning tools.