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0 INTRODUCTION

Assessment is a broad term that includes measurement, evaluation, and testing. Assessment

defined as a process of gathering information for making decisions to facilitate teaching and

learning. Assessment occurs at various levels through various procedures. There are two types

of assessment, which are traditional assessment and current assessment. In traditional

assessment, teachers assess students’ understanding at the end of each session using quizzes.

While in current assessment, teachers assess progress at the end of an academic year through

year-end examination. Assessment procedures also differ in terms of difficulty. For example,

assessment of spelling ability is rather straightforward compared to assessment of

understanding of a passage or a novel. Assessment is needed for quality learning environment.

One of the key aspects of quality learning environment is learner-centred teaching where

teachers emphasize on not only what the students learn but more importantly, how they learn.

2.0 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN TRADITIONAL ASSESSMENT AND CURRENT

ASSESSMENTS

2.1 Level Thinking Skills

Traditional assessment is an assessment that requires low level thinking skills. Law and Eckes

(1995) point out most standardized tests assess only the lower-order thinking skills of the

learner. Besides that, traditional assessment often focus on learner’s ability of memorization

and recall, which are lower level of cognition skills. Additionally, traditional assessment tools

require learners only to display their knowledge in a predetermined way.

On the other hand, current assessments assess higher-order thinking skills. Current

assessment considered assess high order thinking skills because teachers provide challenging

tasks to student that require multiple steps, requires significant commitments of student time

and effort that challenge students mind. For example, teacher give tasks such as portfolios,

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independent projects, journals and so on. Through this tasks, its let learners express their

knowledge on the material in their own ways using various intelligences.

2.2 Implementation Of Assessment

Traditional assessment is an assessment that carried out in accordance with specific phases.

Traditional assessment standardized and for that reason, they are one-shot, speed-based, and

norm-referenced. Law and Eckes (1995) underline and state that traditional assessments are

single-occasion tests. For example, mid-year exams and final exam. This assessment made by

using paper and pencil. Student have to answer true-false question, multiple-choice question,

matching exercises and so on. That is, they measure what learners can do at a particular time

only. However, test scores cannot tell about the progression of students. At the same time, they

cannot tell what particular difficulties the students had during the test. In traditional assessment,

there is no feedback provided to learners. The projects are mainly individualized and the

assessment procedure is decontextualized.

While current assessment is carried out continuously. This type of assessment tools

focus on the growth and the performance of the student. Teachers assess student time to time.

The assessment is focused on complex learning. For example, teachers assess their student

through independent projects. Since current assessment is developed in context and over time,

if a learner fails to perform a given task at a particular time, she or he still has the opportunity

to demonstrate their ability at a different time and different situation. At the same time, the

teacher has a chance to measure the strengths and weaknesses of the student in a variety of

areas and situations.

2.3 Method of Assessment

An understanding of the difference between traditional assessment and current assessment is

vital. According to Peter W. Airasian, a Professor of Education in Boston College, in his book

“Classroom Assessment”, the comparison of traditional assessment and current assessment can

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be seen as below. Traditional assessment concerned mainly with the pupil’s acquisition of

knowledge and information while current assessment concerned with pupil’s ability to translate

knowledge into observable performances or products. Both of these assessment take time to

construct but traditional assessment can be administered to many pupils simultaneously while

current assessment produces rating forms that can be repeatedly reused with the same and new

pupils. Hence, can be concluded that traditional assessment focuses instruction on knowledge

of content while current assessment more focuses instruction on performance and process.

Besides, traditional assessment can be thought of as anything including a test or quiz,

with questions being multiple choice, true or false, matching, short answer, and essay. Current

assessment does not include the traditional means of assessment, but instead focuses on ways

to measure what students learn, or what students understand or do not understand, without

using the standard test or quiz. But .more focuses to observable products or performances.

2.4 Involvement in Assessment

In traditional assessment, assessment is done by teacher by using standard quiz and test. In this

aspect, traditional test are summative and usually designed and administered by people outside

the learning process which hardly know anything about what assessment should be achieved.

It also play a judgmental role and not a developmental one. Traditional tests also take up a lot

of teaching time and are very often not followed up as a basis for future teaching. Teachers are

in charge of test and give limited time frames as it is seen as a “one shot” event that gives the

learner only one chance to show competence. It is either students make it or break it. Since

tests are administered to large groups of students, they are not individualized and cannot be

tailored to the needs of individual learners. As a result, assessment done by teacher might fail

to take into account students' growth and development and inhibit their progress.

In current assessment, activity that might be carried out like presentation. Teacher can

developed a performance assessment form to judge the quality of the presentation. The form

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might contain a list of activities students should perform when delivering ideas, such as eye

contact with the audience, speaking loudly and clearly enough, changing voice tone to

emphasize points, presenting speech in logical order and summarizing main points. During the

presentation, other students will judge the presenters and comment their strengths and

weaknesses after the presentation. Hence, assessment is not only judge by teacher but also

students as well.

3.0 HOW CURRENT ASSESSMENT TRENDS CAN OVERCOME THE

SHORTCOMINGS OF TRADITIONAL ASSESSMENT

Assessment carried out continuously is one of the main point which strengthen the fact how

current assessment can overcome the shortcomings of traditional assessment. This is because,

assessment tools focus on the growth and the performance of the student. Compared then

traditional assessment, teachers need to wait the right time to assess student. For example, final

exam. This assessment cannot assess the current ability of students. Different then current

assessment, current assessment assess the reasoning process because the assessment are usually

tied to real-world challenges and situation. Furthermore, students more engaged in active

learning as a part of the assessment. At the same time, skills are more directly assessed and

there are more opportunities to observe the process students use to arrive at answers or

response. For example, by observing students while they are conducting a laboratory

experiment, strengths and weaknesses in the use of equipment and in technique can be assessed.

In summary, current assessment give student opportunity to improve themselves in the coming

assessment.

Besides, although a paper-and-pencil test can be administered to many pupils

simultaneously, it can be administered to the class only once. Think of giving a class the same

paper-and-pencil achievement test three or four times. The test result would be corrupted the

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second time it was given because pupils would know what was going to be asked and would

find and memorize the correct answers. Current assessment are not corrupted by repeated use

because the pupil is always required to perform the actual behaviours each time. Memorizing

facts or rules is not sufficient to succeed on a current assessment; one still has to demonstrate

the performance itself. Hence, current assessment able to overcome the shortcomings of

traditional assessment.

4.0 DIFFICULTIES FACED BY INEXPERIENCED TEACHERS IN INTEGRATING

ASSESSMENT AND TEACHING

4.1 Teachers Lack of Knowledges In Integrating Assessment While Teaching

During teaching and learning period, teachers only teaching solely without thingking about the

importance of assessments. Most of the inexperienced teacher assumed that assessment only

can be conducted after teaching and learning process. There are also some teacher states that

assessment only can be do during monthly test and examination of the year. Hence, it is vital

because assessments during teaching and learning process might help teacher to test or identify

comprehension and ability students in a topic that taught by teachers.

For instace, while teaching, teachers only using text books to notify the contents of

teaching only but teachers usually forget to use the questions that already have in a text books

to test student’s comprehension. This happen because, most of inexperienced teachers lacks of

knowledge in integrating assessment while teaching.

4.2 Using An Incorrect Assessment/Questioning Techniques

There are various techniques in assessment that can be use by teacher. Each teacher must have

skills in each assessment method. Assesment can be carry out by several ways such as

observation, oral and writing. Inexperienced teachers often use wrong assessments method

that is not suitable with teaching approached or situation.

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 For example, teachers who wants to test the students skill in kicking the balls, then

teachers use writing assessment method (pencil and paper test). The result of assessments are

invalid because the assessment can’t be measure the actual abilities of students skill in kicking

the balls. Assessment that should be done is observation.

Besides use the wrong assessments, inexperienced teacher also often use a wrong

questioning techniques in order to test students comprehension. This can be happen into two

matter that is teachers give questions to students that not related into the topic and how the

teachers give the question (inaccurate questions) to students. For example, teacher teach about

pets but teachers give a questions about wild animals. This scenario occur facing by

inexperienced teacher assess during teaching.

4.3 No Preparation In Teaching

Preparation in teaching is important to ensure that teaching and learning progress run smoothly.

No sufficient preparation will affect the effectiveness and it will difficult to achieve the learning

objective. If the teachers make early preparation, so teachers can control the classes efficiently.

Indirectly, it help teachers in to undergo assessment process effectively. For example,

inexperienced teachers not prepared in daily and individual lesson plan. It causes the teacher

hard to control classes and automatically interrupt assessment then data collected is invalid.

4.4 Not Expert In Teaching

Most of the fresh graduate get an offer from school to teach student that are not in their main

subject so it’s hard for them because they don’t have knowledge, qualification and experience

about the subject. For instance, teachers assigned to be special education teachers while he/she

supposed to be a normal teacher. This situation can affect either in terms of teaching and

assessment. For example, assessment that used in a normal students is monthly test and

examination while special student needs teacher to assess them in a observation, check list,

anecdot records and others.

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4.5 Using Less Variety Of Teaching Methods

Inexperienced teacher have limit ability to apply various teaching method. Normally, they rigid

in a particular method. Although the teachers expert in certain method, it’s not guarantee the

teachers can overcome wisely the problem that occur in teaching and learning process.

Therefore, variety of method is important to make sure teachers can choose, determine and use

method that fit to time, place and student needed. Usually, when teachers use the same method

in teaching, it means assessment method that are conducted also the same.

For example, habitually teacher use a traditional teaching method. This method need

teachers to give information in a lecture while student only watch and hear. Usually when

teacher use this kind of method, they use questioning method to assess students. This type of

assessment can’t be measured how far the students actual comprehension. So, this assessment

less effective.

5.0 CONCLUSION

Kelangsungan proses pengajaran dan pembelajaran akan menjadi lebih bermakna sekiranya

dipadankan bersama proses pentaksiran yang berkesan bagi mencapai sesuatu objektif

pengajaran. Tugas ini perlu digalas oleh individu guru bagi memastikan proses pengajaran dan

pembelajaran dan proses pentaksiran dapat dilaksanakan secara beriringan. Bagi tujuan

ini,guru perlu memiliki pengetahuan dan pengalaman yang kompeten berkaitan proses

pentaksiran yang bakal dilangsungkan.