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A New Era of Personalised Assessments in Education
Article source: https://businesschiefsinsight.com/a-new-era-of-personalised-assessments-in-education/
Education is a crucial cornerstone in the progression and enlightenment of individuals and societies. However, the prevailing educational framework faces a persistent problem of standardized assessments that undermines its effectiveness. While assessments aim to measure students’ knowledge and aptitude, they can need to be more holistically evaluating each student and recognise their distinctive capabilities.
Standardized assessments provide only a fragmented representation of students’ true potential. By adhering to a one-size-fits-all paradigm, these assessments must more adequately capture the multifaceted strengths and weaknesses that set each student apart. Consequently, students may be marginalised or unfairly judged, with their unique talents and growth opportunities left untapped and undiscovered.
A swift and resolute shift towards personalised assessment methods is imperative to address this pressing predicament. By embracing a customised approach to learning, education can transcend the limitations of standardized assessments and create individual learning experiences for every student. Personalised assessment provides a holistic understanding of student progress, considering distinct learning styles, interests, and specific challenges. By considering these critical variables, educators can create a differentiated curriculum that caters to each student’s particular needs, empowering them to flourish academically and personally.
Essential Assessment is at the forefront of reframing educational experiences for Australian schools by delivering a whole-school approach to summative and formative assessment. They offer robust assessment tools and personalised and differentiated curricula, recognising students’ needs. Essential Assessment supports educators and students with unwavering dedication and innovation, creating inclusive and effective learning environments.
Reframing Learning: Unleashing the Power of Data and Personalisation
Essential Assessment, an Australian-based company founded in 2012, has emerged as a leading provider of online assessment and curriculum platforms for numeracy and literacy. With a decade of experience collaborating closely with 2500 schools, they have become a trusted partner in driving whole-school improvement from Foundation to Year 10, aligning seamlessly with the Australian Curriculum, Victorian Curriculum, and NSW Syllabus.
The organisation’s inception stemmed from the vision to establish consistent reporting practices and curricula in Australian schools. Guided by sound pedagogy principles and education research, the founder recognised the importance of reliable data and personalised learning experiences to grow educational outcomes. Leveraging technology, the company has created a comprehensive platform empowering educators to make data-driven decisions, implement targeted instruction, and foster continuous improvement within schools. “We strive to deliver a best-in-class educational experience to support educators and leadership in our partner schools to improve numeracy and literacy teaching and learning outcomes”, says Andrew Spitty, the founder and Managing Director of the company.
Essential Assessment understands the significance of consistent and reliable data reporting in education. Their platform simplifies data analysis by summarising student assessment data into actionable results aligned with the curriculum. To meet the diverse needs of students, the platform equips teachers with tools and resources for personalised instruction. After pre-assessments, the platform generates personalised learning goals and individual plans, catering to each student’s unique requirements. These plans can be easily adjusted to provide support or extension activities, ensuring every student receives the necessary guidance for growth and achievement. Teachers and learners can benefit from immediate, high-quality feedback, fostering ongoing improvement and personalised learning experiences.
Essential Assessment offers schools annual subscriptions to Numeracy and Literacy assessment and curriculum bundles encompassing online and paper-based learning plans and a wealth of curriculum resources. Their whole-school approach to assessment and curriculum provides a comprehensive and affordable platform enabling educators to align teaching strategies, track progress, and report on whole-school growth year after year.
Seamlessly Integrating Assessments into Teaching and Learning
Essential Assessment is a trusted service provider facilitating differentiated formative assessment in schools, specifically focusing on numeracy and literacy through the My Numeracy® and My Literacy® programs. The company’s commitment to safety and security is evident through implementing advanced technology, policies, and processes, making it a reliable and trusted school resource. Its user-friendly online platform seamlessly integrates into any teaching and learning program, providing a best-practice approach for classroom teachers, school leaders, and students that consistently yields valuable data.
One of the company’s key strengths is its flexibility, accommodating diverse assessment methods encompassing formative and summative assessments. This adaptability supports schools in making assessment decisions aligned with their unique approach using a consistent framework. The online platform allows teachers to efficiently pre-assess students across various strands or sub-strands of the Australian Curriculum, Victorian Curriculum, or NSW Syllabus. Automatically compiled student results provide teachers with comprehensive insights into each student’s current progression point or level and a detailed report highlighting the achievement standards understood and misunderstood.
Beyond assessment, the online platform tailors the curriculum to address students’ needs. The program offers customised paper-based and online curricula for students, groups, or entire classes by analysing achievement standard results within each sub-strand. This personalised approach supports targeted and impactful instruction, facilitating growth in areas requiring improvement. Once assessments are complete, it compiles student results and generates a summary report for teachers. This report showcases vital information, including pre-assessment progression, demonstrated achievement standards, post-assessment progression, and growth achieved. With these insights, teachers can accurately track student progress and identify areas requiring further support or enrichment.
Furthermore, Essential Assessment’s “Analyze School” feature dynamically updates throughout the academic year, enabling teachers and school leaders to monitor progress at various levels. Educators can comprehensively understand their students’ achievements by comparing progress across year levels, classes, and individual students. This data-driven approach empowers educators to make informed instructional decisions and implement tailored interventions. By leveraging the platform’s robust analysis features, schools can effectively measure their progress against the curriculum and benchmark against other Essential Assessment users, fostering continuous improvement in teaching and learning outcomes.
Unparalleled Support and Customisation: Essential Assessment’s Distinct Advantage
Essential Assessment stands out from its competitors with its comprehensive support and customised approach to school trials, giving it a distinct advantage. The company offers a free 30-day trial for schools to experience its assessment and curriculum resources. During this trial period, schools receive personalised support to set up student accounts, classes, and assessments for seamless implementation. This tailored trial support showcases Essential Assessment’s commitment to the success of whole-school trials. Ongoing professional learning opportunities to partner schools include free face-to-face Educator Conferences, customised online support sessions, and on-demand learning video resources. These resources help educators to adopt a best-practice approach to using Essential Assessment’s assessment and curriculum materials, resulting in enhanced teaching and learning programs.
Positive testimonials further reinforce the company’s competitive edge. Sally Mitchell, a Literacy Learning Specialist at Ballarat Specialist School, commends the differentiated assessments that allow students to be assessed at their appropriate levels, enabling tailored learning programs. Jacinta Morris, Deputy Principal of Spring Mountain State School, highlights the significant time savings achieved through the user-friendly digital platform, which allows teachers to focus on targeted teaching. The immediate and specific feedback provided to students motivates them to improve their understanding, and the accessible data informs teaching practices and supports learning.
These testimonials validate the effectiveness and value of Essential Assessment’s differentiated, personalised approach, user-friendly platform, and ongoing support. By continuously striving to meet the needs of educators and students, Essential Assessment maintains a competitive edge in the Australian market and aspires to expand its reach internationally. With its proven track record of providing comprehensive support, tailored resources, and ongoing professional learning opportunities, Essential Assessment is well-equipped to positively impact education systems in other regions.
Pull Quote: “We strive to deliver a best-in-class educational experience to support educators and leadership in our partner schools to improve numeracy and literacy teaching and learning outcomes”.
Company Description: Essential Assessment is a provider of a unique Australian Curriculum, Victorian Curriculum, and NSW Syllabus Numeracy and Literacy assessment and curriculum model that delivers a whole school approach to summative and formative assessment for Australian schools.
Executive Name: Andrew Spitty
Title: Managing Director
Company Name: Essential Assessment
Website: essentialassessment.com.au
