After reading about the importance, principles, and different kinds of assessments, I have begun to reflect on the assessments, which I have thoroughly hated or enjoyed when I was still a student.

I hated paper and pen tests with a passion. I would always blame my faulty memory for not being able to determine the right answer. I would listen in class and immerse myself in the lectures. I asked questions and sought to fully grasp and understand everything, but to my utter dismay, I cannot seem to test well. I hated tests so much that I’ve developed a process just to get by.

I would read all the questions in the test once over, and reread before answering. I would mark my answers in pencil, especially for items that I am unsure of and then transfer the final answers in ink. I would eliminate choices that seemed far unlikely to be the correct answer, and then allow myself to ponder between two most plausible ones before deciding. At the end of the day, I would pass the test, but I would never exceed a 90%.

I thought it most unfair to be evaluated only based on my test scores. What about my effort? What about the things I understood which were not asked of me? What about everything I knew but couldn’t put in paper? I have once raised this to a teacher when I was still in elementary. She was stunned that I felt so strongly about it, especially that this was the established formal system of education. I started developing test anxiety and began to perform even more poorly in exams.

In high school, it changed as the system was quite different. Teachers were more open to different learning styles and had different forms of assessments. There were activities where we had to apply what we have learned into posters, comic strips, dioramas, reflection papers, role-play presentations, and fictional stories. It was very time consuming, but I enjoyed every minute of it. I recited more, as teachers would say that participation is also means for them to assess how well we understood the lesson. I still hated exams, but I wasn’t all that anxious anymore since I knew that other forms of my learning were being assessed. I did exceptionally well in projects, and I participated as much as I could. Because of this, I exceeded the 90% mark and even got into the honor roll.

As a budding teacher, I believe that this experience influenced me greatly on how I assess the learning of my students. Given the privilege of conducting a skill-based subject, Culinary Arts, I do not give paper and pen tests. What would be the point? My goal is for them to learn how to cook, and learn how to do it well. Sure, they need to learn the terms too and what tools and equipment are labeled as, but that’s not the main learning we want to achieve at the end of the year. I patterned my assessments based on my goals, and boy, did it change everything!

A skill-based assessment is done based on their performance. 40% is from values related to Culinary Arts. Were they responsible enough in following safety and sanitation procedures? Did they have the initiative to choose the right and fresh ingredients? Were they a valuable team player (so important in a busy kitchen)? Do they exhibit patience, creativity, and collaboration?

And the 60% is the actual skill. Was their dish the same as the expected outcome? Does it look, smell, feel, and taste the same way? Does it exceed expectations? These were the parameters of the graded activity, and dare I say that they do enjoy this, despite it being severely time-pressured.

Assessments need not be daunting. They just need to provide us the feedback and information we need to do our best as teachers that educate and encourage our students, not discourage and threaten with numbers and ranks.