The effects of the educational assessment on the students life Essay

The effects of the educational assessment on the students life - Essay Example Assessments take different forms and range from simple but subjective judgments to complex standardized tests. Educational assessments have profound effects on the lives of students. This is because they often determine the chances that a student has to advance in academics and other aspects of life. This paper focuses on effects of educational assessments on the students’ life. In any learning institution, assessments form an integral part of the curriculum. They indicate how well the students understand academic aspects. Additionally, the results obtained after the assessments are used for different purposes such as education advancement, grading, seeking funds, and in placement or ranking of students. Depending on the purpose that the assessment was designed for, the effects of the outcomes affect students differently (Gibbs and Simpson 16-19; Mclnerney, Brown and Darmanegara 72-76). Every assessment is designed to serve a given purpose. Academic assessments are intended to determine the student’s status regarding a given topic. There are numerous arguments on whether assessments reflect the intelligence of students. Traditionally, the role of teachers entailed teaching or instilling knowledge on the students. The students were supposed to concern themselves with learning whatever the teacher teaches. Assessment was considered a tool of evaluating how well the students had understood. The focus of the assessment was for judging the students (Mclnerney, Brown and Darmanegara 101-104). The effects of educational assessments on the students life is greatly determined by the purpose of the assessment. Learning institutions and instructors use assessments for varying purposes. Being able to determine the level of knowledge in students can be hard. Assessments are important in that they enable the instructors determine the level of knowledge a student possesses. Assessments are used in making educational decisions such as whether a student is qualifi ed to proceed to the next learning level. This is because the assessments are supposed to evaluate if the students have the capacity to understand courses given at each level. If students fail to prevail in a test, they may be barred from proceeding to the next academic level. Therefore, assessment affect the rate at which student complete a curriculum. Assessments for purposes like those that have been discussed above should be tailored appropriately to ensure that they are reliable and fair (Gibbs and Simpson 24-26). There is always competition for resources. Assessments are often used to determine the individuals who can benefit from such resources. Awards such as scholarships are often based on academic performances. For students who may not have enough finances and may want to apply for scholarships, assessments are crucial. They are often used by those awarding scholarships for selection purposes. In such cases, assessments may determine the chances of the students to further their academics (Gibbs and Simpson 24-26). Academic assessments may result in labeling of students as failures or achievers, depending on their scores. Since assessments are used to evaluate the level of knowledge in students, those students who fail to achieve the set pass mark are considered failures while those who prevail are considered successful. Being considered a failure or successful has effects on the students. When students fail,