What role does assessment play...

[tesrocks]

in the teaching and learning of business education?

Currently in the last few weeks of my PGCE. I have lesson plans to write, work to assess, resources to create and another two 4000 word essays to write! I am not complaining merely appealing for a little assistance. I need your thoughts on assessment - Do you get letters informing you of when the exams are? Do you get written resports about DCs progress? Are you happy with levels of communication between you and school? How can it be improved? Does your DC take Business Studies/education? etc.

Any feedback wold be v gratefully received. Its a stunning day here in Brighton and I am stuck in dusty office eating DC cadbury creme eggs !! Boys have two more hours at friends house B4 I need to collect them have promised them I will not do anymore work after that. Thank you

DCs school has got some sort of award for communication and we get letters and email for everything

There is a timetable on the website which has the exam dates for all years. This is usually put in writing a few weeks in advance with advice of what the children need to bring for those days.

We get a progress report in December which is basically a score for homework, effort, behaviour, attendance etc for each subject as well as levels and targets.

We then get a written report later in the year, have already had DS's yr9 because of options but not Yr7. Not sure when that is due but info available on website. The reports are also available online through something called e-school.

There is very little I can critisize about the communication even if you email a teacher there is a reply usually that day if not within 2 or 3 days.
Copies of most letters are also on the website.

Some schools also have a VLE (Virtual Learning Environment) - Moodle, Its Learning etc. Assessment feedback for pieces of work can be given via that - so as a parent you can see how your cherubs are performing. At parents evenings I am always reminding parents that they can get their child to log on and then they can have a nose around all the subjects that their child does. I usually get 'the evils' from squirming pupil by then

Not all pupils will give parents letters and some characters will hide post from the school.

Most units of work across the subjects at my school now has an AFL grid in child speak not in QCA speak

Dcs school have Moodle

Thank you for responses! I have almost finished essay. Have a bit of an epic conclusion whereby I state my teaching pedagogy and rant about testing and lack of funding for students most in need - all this bloody assessment and I have two students in my class who can't speak English yet only received 100 minutes of a TA once a fortnight!!So not in anyway anti the students who are wonderful just anti budget and budget allocation.

Work in a v v challenging schools and the social problems these kids have just amazes me and breaks my heart. Young lad (15 years)just lost his mum at XMas, broke down in tears, I said do you still have your Dad, "He's still alive but doesn't want me, don't be sad miss my foster family said they'd keep me until I'm 18 years"

Have you mentioned peer assessment? Very big at the mo.

Its a way for teachers and pupils to monitor progress both short term and long term, so within a lesson for example and at the end of a topic for longer term. It gives a point to the lesson and is very important for the teacher too. If assessment is not made you will find it very difficult to know where you are going. And OFSTED will look for it too.