Student assessment and evaluation is an important part of teaching, as it allows the teacher to plan and adapt instruction to meet the specific needs of each student. It also allows the teacher to discuss the current successes and challenges with a student and report progress to the parent or guardian. It is important that teachers use a variety of assessment and evaluation strategies to evaluate student progress. Additional information on evaluation of student achievement can be found in the Saskatchewan Learning documents entitled Student Evaluation: A Teacher Handbook (1991) and Curriculum Evaluation in Saskatchewan (1991).
It is important that the teacher discuss with students the evaluation strategies to be used in the course, when the evaluation can be expected to occur, the weighting of each evaluation strategy, and how it relates to the overall student evaluation. The weighting of the evaluation should be determined in relation to the amount of time spent and emphasis placed on each area of the course, as suggested in these curriculum guides.
The Photographics 10, Photography 20, 30 and Graphic Arts 20, 30 Curriculum Guide provides many opportunities for teachers to use a variety of instructional and evaluation strategies. Evaluation instruments used in the teaching of this course are included the Practical and Applied Arts Handbook. Sample copies of overall evaluation for the course, evaluation for general student skills and work study are included for teachers to adapt and use.
Here is a sample evaluation scheme:
| Tests (written) | 10% |
| Project work | 20% |
| Presentation Portfolio | 20% |
| Homework and Assignments | 10% |
| Personal Career Portfolio | 10% |
| Classroom Presentations | 15% |
| Work Study (Optional) | 15% |
As discussed in the Practical and Applied Arts Handbook there are three main types of student evaluation: diagnostic, formative, and summative.
Diagnostic evaluation usually occurs at the beginning of the school year or before a unit of instruction to identify prior knowledge, interests or skills of students about the subject area.
Formative evaluation is an ongoing classroom process that keeps students and educators informed of students' progress.
Summative evaluation occurs most often at the end of a module, to determine what has been learned over a period of time.
For information about program evaluation refer to Saskatchewan School-Based Program Evaluation Resource Book (1989).